"Partnership,formed in 8 days,dissolved in sea of squabbles" by Daniel Benjamin

The article was about five businessmen (Steve Belkin, Bruce Levenson, Ed Peskowitz, Michael Gearon Jr, and Rutherford Seydol) who formed a partnership, known as the Atlanta Spirit LLC, to purchase the NBA's Atlanta Hawks and the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers. Now, less then two years after the business relationship was forged the group is without its major stockholder (Belkin) after numerous squabbles between the different fractions in the ownership group. However, the managerial style of the partnership was designed to be consensus in nature (rather than the traditional structure of a single leader at the top) where Belkin had a single vote,while Levenson and Peskowitz shared a vote as did Gearon and Seydel. Some of the friction between the groups was because Belkin (who invested twice as much as any of the other partners)felt his voice in the decision-making process should be proportionate to the amount of his investment as compared to the other partners. The relationship came to a head when Belkin citing fiscal responsibility (he was the Hawks Govenor at the time) blocked a trade with the Phoenix Suns that the other owners' wanted to make. Belkin's decision to go against the consensus resulted in the other four partners to remove Belkin as their team representative (the team representative must give his approval for NBA bussiness dealings to become official)which Belkin tried to prevent by suing. After losing the lawsuit, Belkin sold his interest in the Spirit to the other partners.

In my opinion, a partnership is an extremely difficult way of managing an orgnaization if no partner has a controlling interest (owning more than 50% of the shares). However, if there is a majority stakeholder, I believe that a partnership group is a more formable way to manage a sportsorganization than having a single owner. My reasoning is that a partnership will give a franchise more flexibility because of the fact that having more investors should invariably mean that there is more cash to spend on players and other franchise related issues. Additionally, with a partnership there is more than one voice in the decision-making process (like a checks and balance system)which I think is vital to the success of an organization. Conversely, this checks and balance system could end in chaos like the Atlanta Spirit situation especially if the partners aren't united. The key to a successful partnership is being unified no matter of personal philoshophy).

I find it particurly interesting that Belkin insisted that a "buyout" option of his shares be put into the partnership agreement. I believe financially speaking the buyout option was smart on Belkin's part however it was a dumb idea on his part in the business sense because it became a trust issue amongst the other owners because they didn't know if Belkin was going to be in it for the long haul. I do agree with Belkin's decision to block the proposed sign and trade deal with the Phoenix Suns that would've brought Joe Johnson to the Hawks inexchange for two first round draft picks and Boris Diaw. There are a couple of reason's I don't like the trade (the deal was finalized after Belkin left the organization) first although I like Johnson's game (he's an excellent complimentary player with his calling card being a hard-nosed defender and three point shooting specialist with the capability of averaging 15 to 17 points a game) I don't believe his value is anywhere near the contract that he got which was #70 million for five years. The second reason is that the Hawks are loaded with young players that play the same position as Johnson and who are extremely similar to his ability and style (The Hawks are planning to play Johnson at the point which I believe is a major mistake). I believe it was the correct decision for Belkin to negotiate a buyout because if he didn't there could've been major ramifications for the Hawks and Thrashers concerning their ability to sign free agents. The reason being is that players are hesitnat to go to a team where ownership is in disarray