Dear Mr. Selig and MLB owners,

I am writing this petition today, to state my dissatisfaction with the sale of the Atlanta Braves major league baseball team to the Liberty Media from Colorado that is apparently reaching the final stages of being turned over to MLB for approval.

I have been a fan of baseball for the better part of my adult life. I grew up watching baseball with my family at the dinner table nearly every single night. The Atlanta Braves, and the entirity of Major League Baseball are an important part of my life, and it is with a heavy heart that I write this petition.

I am petitioning you to disallow the sale of the Atlanta Braves to the Liberty Media of Colorado. While I'm sure that Mr. Malone and his company may have the financial wherewithall to own the Braves, it is my opinion that they have no real interest in owning the team, and instead are using the purchase of this team to facilitate a massive tax advantage. I can not possibly see how MLB or it's governing body would see this as beneficial to the Braves, the game, or the fans of baseall.

Should MLB allow this sale to go through to Liberty, I will have lost all faith in the commissioners office or the leagues owners to do what is best for the game.

There is a local owner candidate, Arthur Blank, who is willing to pay fair market value for the team. However, Liberty has an unfair advantage in this transaction, because they can pay more for the franchise than Mr. Blank simply because of the enormous tax break they'll get since they are already a part of Time Warner. Just look at the amazing work Mr. Blank has done with the Atlanta Falcons. Attendance is at an all-time high, and Falcons merchandise is selling at a much higher rate than it did before he took ownership of the team. Before he took over, the Falcons rarely had a sellout.

There is no doubt in my mind that entire fanbase, the team, and the city of Atlanta would embrace Mr. Blank. Braves fans have suffered through a corporate owner since Ted Turner stepped down from Time Warner a few years ago. There is no face to express our gratitude or our dissappointment as a fanbase under their ownership, and I can assure you that the fanbase does not wish for their team to continue to be owned as merely a small asset of a large, faceless corporation.

In addition, the Liberty Media is based in Colorado, and it is apparent to our fanbase that they just see this as a business transaction with tax benefits, not a desire to own or operate a major league baseball team.

The NFL doesn't even allow corporate owners for these very reasons. It is in the best interest of Major League Baseball to have an owner of the Braves who is willing to do the work to improve the product, not just maintain it at status quo.

Here are some excerpts from the Atlanta Journal Consitution made by members of the Liberty Media's management team:

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/business/stories/0427bizbraves.html


If all works out as planned, both companies will hit corporate America's version of a home run: Time Warner will trade away the Braves without having to pay taxes on the exchange, and Colorado-based Liberty Media will shed a large stake in Time Warner stock — and also avoid taxes.

In fact, it's a deal that's potentially so advantageous to both companies that other bidders for the Braves — including Falcons owner Arthur Blank — could have a tough time beating it.

Yet by using a cash-rich split off, Liberty can avoid taxes for now, giving the company a leg up over other Braves suitors such as Blank. Because Liberty stands to save tens of millions of dollars in taxes, it can offer Time Warner more money — making its offer more attract

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/sports/braves/stories/0424bravessale.html

People close to the process said that if a Liberty deal doesn't go through, talks with Blank could be completed fairly quickly.

Liberty's motivation for a Braves deal has little to do with baseball and a lot to do with taxes.

Liberty CEO Gregory Maffei told investors on a conference call last month that his company wanted to redeem much of its $3 billion worth of Time Warner stock in a tax-free transaction.

Liberty spokesman John Orr told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last month that, under tax laws, such a transaction could be accomplished by returning the stock to Time Warner in a deal that would bring Liberty a Time Warner-owned asset, such as the Braves, as well as cash.

Those comments are in stark contrast to comments from Arthur Blank:

http://www.ajc.com/braves/content/sports/braves/stories/0427sptplayers.html

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank says he has done everything in his power to buy the Braves and will be disappointed if he doesn't get the team.

"I'd be disappointed because I would not have started out on this journey if I did not think it was the best thing for Atlanta, its fans and the Braves," Blank said. "I think we have proved what our capacity is for being a good local owner of professional sports teams.

"I'd be very disappointed, but I'd certainly support whoever the eventual owner is, and I'd hope and pray they would be an excellent owner and support the Braves and do the things I would have done and increase the value of the franchise and most importantly be responsive to the fans and the community."

Blank added: "It should be clear — I think it is clear — I have done everything I know how to do in my power and the power of our organization to make this happen for all the right reasons."

Blank said he has pursued a purchase of the team because "I love baseball. I love the Braves. I have loved the Braves since I moved here. I think I would be a very good owner."


And here are some comments from the players regarding the sale:

http://www.ajc.com/braves/content/sports/braves/stories/0427sptplayers.html

To Braves players, the choice seems a no-brainer. "A lot of the guys here got excited when we saw Arthur Blank in the running," third baseman Chipper Jones said. "A bunch of us would like to see him be our owner and take the same interest that Ted [Turner] took years ago."

To Atlanta sports fans, too, the call seems clear. "An individual owner making the decisions is always better than a corporation," said avid fan Hal Moore, 40, of Atlanta, echoing Internet chat room sentiment.

...

Chipper Jones has a different view. "We saw with Time Warner our payroll going down, down, down," he said. "With Ted [Turner] as our owner ...we were able to sign some big free agents and pretty much contend for the World Series every year. When people are more concerned with the bottom line, you're going to have your troubles competing with the big boys."

Said pitcher John Smoltz: "When you see one guy, or two or three in an ownership group, who come out to the games ... you want to do well in front of the owner, and you want to see him take pride in it and be there appreciating it."

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