Mark Walter is swearing up and down he’s keeping the Los Angeles Dodgers, no matter what, even with a federal investigation swirling around him and a bunch of other teams already off his books. The dude told the California Post’s Jack Harris this week that the Dodgers are absolutely not for sale. Seriously, he says they are “going to keep the team no matter what.”
Federal Probes and ‘Winning for 10 Years’
So, what’s got Walter under the microscope? There’s this ongoing federal investigation into his insurance companies. The allegations are heavy: his companies supposedly invested money from policyholders into other companies he owned without telling anyone. And get this: some folks are even accusing Walter of using those very companies, and that cash, to help fund his $2 billion purchase of the Dodgers back in 2012. You’d think he’d want to clear the air, right? But Walter straight-up declined to address the federal investigation with the Post, saying it was “not appropriate” for him to do so. Yet, amidst all that heat, he’s still promising big things for the Dodgers. He’s claiming they’ll be “winning for 10 years or more” and that their commitment “will be just like it has been in the past.” He did admit they “don’t win every year, but we’re going to try to.”
Billion-Dollar Exits: Lakers Gone, Sparks Next?
While he’s digging in his heels on the Dodgers, Walter has been selling off franchises like hotcakes this fall. First up, he sold the Los Angeles Lakers. And when I say sold, I mean *sold* for a record-smashing $12.5 billion to a group led by Josh Kushner and Bob Iger. Walter had only owned the Lakers for about a year, and the deal apparently came together in just days. Weeks later, he offloaded his shares in Chelsea of the Premier League to the team’s majority owner. And if that wasn’t enough, earlier this month, word got out that Walter was reportedly looking into selling the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks. He didn’t comment on that one either, but the asking price is supposedly at least $700 million, including their new team facility, which would absolutely shatter the record for a WNBA franchise sale. The man is 66 years old and clearly busy with a lot of stuff going on.
Swept Out, But Walter Says He’s ‘Fighting Again’
It’s not like the Dodgers are without their recent triumphs. They’ve clinched back-to-back World Series titles in the past. But this year? Not so much. They got swept by the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS earlier this month. A rough way to end it, for sure. Despite everything, Walter insists he’s in it for the long run with the Dodgers and hopes the fans get that. He said, “I really hope that the fans feel how much we appreciate them, because we’re all fans too.” And about that tough exit, he added, “this [year] was a kind of bad end to the season for us. But you’ve got to look at how we’ve done every year and really realize they’re gonna come back and support us again next year, because we’re going to be out there fighting again for a World Series.”
So, with all that heat on Walter and a pile of record-breaking sales in his rearview, he’s telling Dodgers fans he’s all in for the long haul. He hopes they’ll keep showing up, especially after that tough NLCS exit, because he says they’re gonna be “fighting again for a World Series.”
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply