Schultz acknowledged he was wrong to think lessons he took from Starbucks could apply to the SonicsGETTY IMAGES
Starbucks Founder & former Sonics Owner HOWARD SCHULTZ sold the team to a group of investors in '06, five years after buying the team, and his short-lived tenure with the Sonics was "marred by conflict with star players, fraught negotiations with lawmakers and private outbursts at low-level employees," according to sources cited by Stein & Siegel of the WASHINGTON POST. Sources said that Schultz "flailed under a new kind of public scrutiny from fans and media." In a book released earlier this year, Schultz acknowledged that he was "wrong to think the lessons he took from running Starbucks could be applied to running the Sonics." Schultz wrote that he "still feels regret over the decision" to sell the team when he "sees fathers and their sons wearing Sonics hats and T-shirts in Seattle." Schultz wrote: "The loss of Seattle's professional basketball team devastated Sonics fans. Almost everyone blamed me, and after some initial denial, I realized they were right to do so" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/9).
