Dean Spanos’ sister attempting to force sale of Chargers

On this day, April Fool’s Day, the sports world got a litany of breaking news that had everyone and their mother double-checking for the Twitter checkmark and whether or not accompanying links were real or not. The stories ranged from college basketball to MLB to the NFL, and no other “Breaking News” stopped Chargers fans in their tracks like this one from the L.A. Times:

“Fate of Chargers ownership at stake as Dean Spanos’ sister asks court to force sale”

Wait a minute. What?

As it turns out, Dea Spanos Berberian, one of Dean’s younger sisters, is reportedly attempting to force her three siblings to sell their remaining stake in the Los Angeles Chargers to put an end on the mounting debt that “has imperiled the family’s finances.”

Berberian alleges that the family trust’s debt and expenses currently exceed $353 million.

“Every day that passes increases the risks that the charitable beneficiaries and the Spanos family legacy will suffer irreparable financial and reputational damage” the petition read. “Dean refuses to consider a sale of the Trust’s Interest of the Chargers, insisting that the Co-Trustees continue to borrow more and more, and to force the charities and beneficiaries to wait for years and to ‘hope’ while Dean speculates further on a football team.”

Not soon after the news broke, Dean and his other two siblings, Alexis Spanos Ruhl and Michael Spanos, released a statement regarding their sister’s recent filing:

Supposedly there has been a bit of a sibling feud going on in the background for some time and it’s now all bubbling to the surface on a day when everyone’s gut reaction is to be as skeptical as possible.

It’s hard to be believe there has not been any love lost, especially after the trio of siblings accused Berberian of having a “different and misguided personal agenda.” For the moment, the three co-owners of the Chargers have assured fans that operations for the Chargers will be entirely unaffected by today’s news.

Berberian is currently being represented by Adam Streisand, the same attorney who represented Clippers owner Steve Ballmer during his purchase of the team and Lakers owner Jeanie Buss during her fight for controlling ownership of the Lakers.

One of the more interesting notes from the L.A. Times article is this bit:

The petition noted reports that Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, worth an estimated $180 billion, is interested in becoming an NFL owner and said “the Chargers could be a perfect opportunity.”

The richest man in the world owning the Chargers? What a world that would be.

Now it’s far too early to try and predict how this could all play out, but one thing I can say for certain is that none of you should be getting your hopes up about a potential relocation back to San Diego. The Chargers still need to pay off their $650 million in relocation fees and the NFL has made it clear that they plan on having two teams in Los Angeles for the foreseeable future.

But, with that all being said, what do you all think of this news? How do you think this will end? Will Dean be forced to sell? Will he achieve his financial goals in the end, or will he ultimately run his family’s legacy in the wrong direction?