So the four Rooney brothers not named Dan need to sell their interest in the team because of their gambling interests, and Pittsburgh native Stanley Druckenmiller is ready to cough up $800 million for 64 percent of the team.
And the four Rooney brothers not named Dan have declined the offer.
Druckenmiller told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he is “disappointed.”
It’s unclear whether this means that Dan Rooney has come up with a way to buy out his brothers, whether the league has given them even more time to work it all out, or whether the four Rooney not named Dan have decided to drop their gambling interests that violate NFL rules and keep their stake in the team.
Here’s Druckenmiller’s statement:
“Seven months ago, I was approached by members of the Rooney family about purchasing their interest in the Pittsburgh Steelers. I engaged in discussions about a possible transaction because a number of family members told me that, after years of effort, they were unlikely to be able to resolve the estate planning and NFL ownership matters of great concern to them.
“If an external solution was necessary, I believed that I could provide the family with an appropriate transaction that also would be in the best long-term interests of the Steelers, the NFL and the city of Pittsburgh. The solution I proposed included a request that Dan Rooney continue to manage the Steelers organization.
“Throughout our discussions, I made clear that if the family could resolve these matters internally it should do so and I would gladly remain only a devoted Steelers fan. Based on recent developments, it has become clear that the Rooneys need substantial additional time to assess their options. I do not wish to complicate these efforts, and I also do not want the lingering uncertainty about my possible involvement to become a distraction to my business and my family.
“For these reasons, I have removed myself from the process. On a personal note, having spent time with all five Rooney brothers, I have come to hold them all in high regard, and it is easy to see why the organization has been so successful. Given my love for Pittsburgh and what I know the team means to the city, I wish them all the same success they have had in the past. Go Steelers!”
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September 18th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
This is a whole helluva lot better than the way Gary Hart did it years ago, when he pointed out to us that he would’ve been a fine President, “but I guess now we’ll never know”.
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Rating: 4.8 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
September 18th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Sounds like Druckenmiller is a class act kind of guy.
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Rating: 4.85 / 5 with 8 rating(s)
September 18th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
even if that response from Druckenmiller is “canned”, it was classy.
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Rating: 4.85 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
September 18th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
I agree…Druckenmiller sounds like an extremely classy gentleman. I hope for the sake of all involved that this situation gets resolved quickly.
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Rating: 4.6 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
September 18th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Sounds like Mr. Druckenmiller didn’t pony up enough and the brothers are looking for another buyer. I doubt they would give up the gambling to keep the team as that may be the one thing more lucrative than the NFL.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
September 18th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
I don’t in any way see how they “declined” his offer in the story. It reads like he took it off the table. Am i missing something?
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
September 18th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Sounds to me like the title of the article is wrong. Should be Drunkenmiller says no to Rooneys. He does sound like a class guy.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
September 18th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
Druckenmiller certainly handled the situation with dignity, hopefully the Rooneys can resolve this issue once and for all.
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Rating: 4.35 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
September 18th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
What’s so “classy” about that? You sheeple are idiots.
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Rating: 1.55 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
September 18th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Wow! A hell of a lot of guys with his money would have chosen to blast the family because their egos couldn’t handle someone saying “no” to them. I don’t know about Drunkenmiller as a person, but given his statement, he knows how to handle himself with a little class.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
September 18th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Add me to the list. Very classy way to handle what was essentially rejection. He could have easily taken shots at all of them.
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Rating: 4.35 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
September 18th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
After watching Jim Ballsille hold two different NHL franchises hostage in negotiations like this in the past few years (Penguins first, then Predators), its nice to see this situation resolve itself amicably- almost friendly in fact. I like to think we can look back on Mr. Druckenmiller’s attempt to buy the Steelers as a model of how a situation like this SHOULD be handled- and Ballsille’s as a good example of how NOT to (for example, claiming you’re keeping a team in Nashville, then selling season tickets for the team in a Canadian city…)
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Rating: 4.35 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
September 18th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Commish needs to set a deadline. The Rooneys have had their cake and eaten it, too, for far too long as it is. Every dime they make in the meantime is dirty. It isn’t as if they didn’t know the rules against being involved in gambling; they just ignored them.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
September 18th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
I wonder if the deadline that Art Jr said he was going to ignore and push to next week might have been more firm than he thought.
Well, if Dad and Art II do get the deal done, they better work hard to get a new revenue sharing and labor agreement. They don’t have the family pockets nor the local revenue stream to maintain the competitive position they have enjoyed for the last 30 years.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
September 18th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Glad to hear its staying with the Rooneys (for now) and yeah, Druckenmiller is a complete class act.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
September 18th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
CLASS!!!!
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
September 18th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
The thing is the Rooneys now see that Hussein Obama probably will not win the election and so feel better about the death tax that Hussein was dead set to increase. Now they feel they can leave this team to their kids
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Rating: 1.8 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
September 18th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
i agree with all of you. it seems that the rooneys are going to try to keep the team in the family, but if they do end up selling, mr. drukenmiller seems like the kind of person that would continue to keep the franchise in good standing with fans and players. (he might have one hell of a p.r. man telling him what to say, but from what we know, he is a class act all the way) though i don’t have to fear my beloved packers ever moving, i couldn’t imagine losing a favorite team.
i disagree that the rooneys are looking for more money. they probably understand that they have a proud storied franchise and it would be a shame to let it slip from the family’s grasp.
there are many owners and prospective owners that are concerned about one thing…. $$$$$$$. red mccombs was a prime example of an owner interested in making money. there are also many owners that are complete negatives for their teams. think paul brown.
the steelers have the epitomy of great leadership from the top down. whatever happens with them, rest assured they will not let the team go to a person with other interests than the fans and the team. what is the largest stretch of years the steelers missed the playoffs? maybe 3 years tops in the last 20 some years. that comes from not only drafting great players, but great coaching. the steelers have lost so many pro bowlers over the last decade and a half that it would have sunken many other teams. remember carnell lake, rod woodson, gregg lloyd, faneca, plexico, odonnel (when he was in his prime), and they still had success. if only the other teams in the league had ownership like the steelers to direct the teams in the right direction.
go stillers
except when they play the packers
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Rating: 3.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
September 18th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Why should they give up the team because they have another business. Jeff Lurie of the Eagles is a big oil guy because most of america fills worse about the oil people then the gambling guys. Stupid rule and if the NFL owners should fight this. The commish runs around like he owns the league. He fines teams for all kinds of reasons the owners should remind him who is in charge and if you screw with us we take out. Rooney brother make the NFL take you to court and refuse to get out until the supreme court make a decision. Its time someone steps over the idiots in the league and takes them to task.
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Rating: 1.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
September 19th, 2008 at 12:12 am
iron_city….the “class”, that several are referring to here comes from the fact that: 1.) In reading the man’s response he would much rather the Rooney family settle the differences that seeminly have arisen, and make their family decision regardless of his wishes to “Buy into the Steelers”. 2.) This action is in the best intrest of the team…the city…and most importantly the fans, as it appears it could get mighty ugly otherwise.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
September 19th, 2008 at 1:06 am
Lurie is a big oil guy? What? I believe he was a wannabe movie producer. He had to borrow money from me to buy the team. He still hasn’t paid me back, something about Brian Westbrook beat me to it?
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
September 19th, 2008 at 1:13 am
eagles2955 - you don’t see the conflict in owning a pro sports team and gambling??? Are you retarded?. Not quite the same as owning an oil business… Seriously, are you for real?
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
September 19th, 2008 at 6:28 am
“NFL owners should fight this.”
The NFL owners are the ones who put the ban on having ties to gambling in place. Race tracks were not part of that ban, but then regulators began allowing slots and other games at tracks. When the tracks owned by the Rooneys put these extra’s into play, they put their ownership in the Steelers at risk.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
September 19th, 2008 at 7:38 am
florio… the Post Gazette says the offer was 550 million. Which is it?
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September 19th, 2008 at 8:26 am
yoyo says:
September 18th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
The thing is the Rooneys now see that Hussein Obama probably will not win the election and so feel better about the death tax that Hussein was dead set to increase. Now they feel they can leave this team to their kids
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Thank you for sharing your stupid with me. It would be a shame to hide it under a bushel. Let it shine!
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