‘Haters will hate’: NBL unfazed as court date looms
Jasper Bruce |
Larry Kestelman has no concerns the NSW Supreme Court will take issue with the NBL’s financial operations, labelling the Illawarra Hawks boss who lodged the matter a “hater”.
The long-running dispute between Jared Novelly and NBL owner Kestelman will be heard for the first time in the Supreme Court this Friday as the Hawks owner seeks documents relating to the NBL’s finances.
Novelly’s concerns relate to a perceived lack of transparency from the NBL, and whether Kestelman’s business portfolio has presented conflicts of interest in his ownership of the league.
In addition to the Supreme Court proceedings, Basketball Australia is looking into the matter after Novelly’s request for a FIBA investigation was deferred by the sport’s global body.
Kestelman was unperturbed with the saga, addressing it in the press for the first time.
“I have no concerns. We’ve always done the right thing to grow the league,” said Dodo co-founder Kestelman, who bought the NBL in 2015.
“You’ll have people that will want to ask questions and that’s OK, that’s fine by me. I’d prefer maybe they were asked in a different way, but we have no worries about where NBL is at.
“You’ll have haters that will hate, and you’ve got us that will want to grow the product.”
Amid the stoush with Novelly, Kestelman has in recent weeks sold out of the Brisbane Bullets – the last of three NBL clubs in which he held equity.
He has also reneged on a controversial business arrangement that would have required the NBL’s 10 clubs to book travel through a company he co-owns and that was founded by one of the league’s referees.
But Novelly and his company Crest Sports and Entertainment are understood to be concerned with other business arrangements as well.
Under Kestelman’s ownership, the NBL has engaged in partnerships with Reebok, in which Kestelman owns equity, and First Ever, a clothing company founded by Kestelman’s son that used to hold NBL merchandising rights.
Novelly also wants clarity about how gambling revenue is being redistributed among the league’s clubs, and sent a letter to the teams last week urging owners to stand behind him.
The son of an American oil tycoon who will soon become US ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa, Novelly is understood to be confident that request is being seriously considered.
Kestelman said on Monday he felt he had the support of the clubs as he visited Sydney to announce European giants KK Partizan and Panathinaikos would play matches in Australia this September.
The Serbian and Greek teams will face the NBL’s Sydney Kings and Adelaide 36ers as part of the Pavlos Giannakopoulos Tournament, which will be held ahead of the 2025/26 NBL season
Kestelman said good news was his focus, not the legal stoush.
“We’ll deal with the off-court shenanigans separately,” he said.
“This week is about positivity. You look at where the NBL has come from over the last 10 years. By far the majority of people are on the positive side. Clubs are behind us.
“As much as I want to stand here and tell the truth and defend myself, truth will prevail. Today is a celebration of NBL and the games we’re celebrating here with these two massive clubs.
“Quite frankly, I won’t give the air to Jared or anyone else to suck out of this.”
AAP
