The battle over the Los Angeles Lakers' ownership future has escalated into a full-blown war of words, and ESPN's Shams Charania is not backing down. After the Buss family's legal team accused him of false reporting, Charania took to The Pat McAfee Show to defend his work, making it clear he stands by every word.
On Monday, Charania reported that the Buss family was selling its remaining 17.8% stake in the Lakers to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger. But the story took a twist when Jeanie Buss' attorney released a statement claiming Charania falsely stated that all six Buss siblings voted for the sale, and that Jeanie was being pushed out as controlling owner.
Charania, however, says the lawyer's own words prove his reporting was on point. "The first line of the statement from the lawyers said that I 'reported that the six Buss siblings voted to sell.' That key sentence right there is inaccurate," Charania said. "So I fully stand by my reporting. I've handled every story with care, including stories with the Lakers."
The ESPN insider clarified that he never implied all six siblings agreed. Instead, he noted that five siblings believe they hold a majority vote under the family trust's tag-along provision. "Only the siblings, the lawyers involved, have access to what the trust actually says," he explained. "The five siblings believe they have the majority votes, that they have the 5-to-1 majority votes to go along with the tag-along provision."
This isn't just a he-said-she-said. The stakes are massive. A year ago, Jeanie Buss pushed a $10 billion sale to Mark Walter. Now, Walter—who is reportedly under two federal investigations—has flipped the team to Kushner and Iger at a staggering $12.5 billion valuation. That's a record-breaking flip that has left NBA fans stunned.
Charania sees this as a family trust trying to exit cleanly, but the situation is anything but clean. "The family trust believes it's now time to cleanly exit, and in their words 'gracefully exit,' but this is now setting up to be a potential legal battle in the courts between one sibling, the controlling governor as of right now, and her five siblings," he said.
The lawyer's statement went further, accusing Joey and Jesse Buss of leaking false information to Charania to harm Jeanie's reputation. "This is just the latest instance of a years-long pattern whereby Joey and Jesse Buss leak false, defamatory and pernicious 'information' to Mr. Charania," the statement read. But Charania remains unfazed, pointing out that his reporting has always been meticulous.
This saga has already taken some awkward turns, including the revelation that Bob Iger, one of the buyers, was once a Clippers fan. That's an uncomfortable detail for Lakers faithful, but the bigger story is the fractured family dynamics now playing out in public. With a potential court battle looming, the future of the Lakers' ownership is anything but settled. Charania's defense underscores that the real battle is just beginning.
