Coyotes Owner arrested on felony charges; Coyotes could lose their temporary arena deal with ASU
The Coyotes just can't help being a black eye on the NHL. The Arizona based team of Bettman's dreams was kicked out of Gila River Arena in Glendale for failing to pay their bills and so, starting this season and for at least the next few years, they'll be guests at ASU's Mullett Arena. If playing in front of just 5,000 fans wasn't embarrassing enough, the team's frequent abuse of the LTIR system to reach the cap floor without actually paying anyone to play certainly is.
Once again, the Coyotes are in the news, and not in a good way. Yotes minority owner Andrew Barroway was arrested in Aspen, Colorado Thursday morning on felony strangulation charges following a domestic dispute. Based on the conditions of his bail being that he is not allowed to have contact with his wife, one would assume that she is the victim in this case. As of right now, the charges against him are include both 2nd and 3rd degree assault.
The 2nd degree assault is a felony charge, while the third degree is a misdemeanor. It's an indictment of the US legal system that an alleged violent spousal abuser will likely get off with a simple misdemeanor for allegedly strangling his wife.
Beyond the legal consequences for this, and the NHL's indefinite suspension for Barroway, the Coyotes themselves may face a severe punishment of their own, the loss of their temporary home at ASU.
According to an article in The Athletic by Katie Strang, there is a "good behaviour" clause in the deal with ASU.
This includes media coverage of Meruelo and the Coyotes business practices, according to the document, and ASU can cancel the Coyotes tenancy if coverage is proven true and has damaged or could damage ASU's reputation."
At this point, I have no sympathy for the Coyotes as an organization. They've been caught cheating the system with draft prospects, they knowingly drafted a truly horrible person in Mitchell Miller, didn't pay their bills on time and now this. The franchise needs to be relocated and the ownership group absolutely needs to be forced to sell the franchise.
Oh, and Barroway needs to go to jail. Period.
The arrest was reported by the Aspen Daily news, you can read their report Here
| POLL | ||
MARS 25 | 419 ANSWERS Coyotes Owner arrested on felony charges; Coyotes could lose their temporary arena deal with ASU Should the Coyotes be relocated? | ||
| Yes | 308 | 73.5 % |
| Yes | 34 | 8.1 % |
| Yes | 25 | 6 % |
| Other (also yes) | 52 | 12.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
