The Baltimore Orioles’ family feud has worsened after co-owner Louis Angelos made serious claims in a new legal filing.

Louis Angelos alleges that his mother Georgia Angelos and brother John Angelos “systematically drained” a bank account held by his ailing father Peter Angelos “to insulate them” from potential creditors, among other reasons.

While Peter is the Orioles’ owner, John is the team’s chairman and CEO.

• The filing states that the account held more than $65 million in 2017 but now holds only around $400,000. 
• The largest portion came from a transfer of $26.75 million to an account held by Georgia in October 2017, designed to shield assets from a malpractice suit against Peter, per the filing.
• The filing also claims that John had $1.7 million sent to a real estate lawyer in Saratoga Springs, New York, in 2021 so that he could buy a house there, and wired himself $2.5 million from the account later that year.

Louis also claims that assets from the fund were used to secretly purchase additional shares in the Orioles from an unnamed female investor.

Birds Grounded

While it’s unclear if any of the ownership drama is affecting team operations, the Orioles have had a surprisingly quiet offseason following a year in which they emerged from five consecutive losing seasons to contend for a playoff spot.

Though many expected the team to add to its young core with significant free-agent signings, the O’s have been among MLB’s most frugal teams thus far.

Olympic committees throughout Europe are considering whether to allow Russian athletes to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the International Olympic Committee recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes be indefinitely suspended from competing in international competitions. 

Last month, the IOC reversed its recommendation after president Thomas Bach and the organization’s executive board voiced their desire to have Russian and Belarusian athletes compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics, which will run from July 24-Aug. 11. 

• The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee believes Russian and Belarusian athletes should compete in the Games, but not under their nation’s flags or colors. 
• Other governing bodies like FIFA and UEFA have banned athletes from Russia and Belarus from competing.
• The NHL and the U.S. Open Tennis Championships have taken a different stance, allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate.

Olympic committees in Europe have been torn on whether to allow the athletes, with groups from Germany, Greece, Italy, and the U.K. not providing a firm position on the issue. 

France has declined to comment on the matter, despite an alleged commitment from president Emmanuel Macron to receive Russian and Belarusian athletes with open arms. 

Invested in Europe 

Future Olympic competitions will have a presence throughout Europe after the IOC signed a joint agreement with the European Broadcasting Union and Warner Bros. Discovery.

The deal covers all European territories from 2026 to 2032.

The Indian cricket board has unveiled the five cricket teams for the new Women’s Premier League, the sales of which generated roughly $572.7 million.

Owners of the IPL’s Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore teams were each awarded a franchise, with the Adani Group and Capri Global Holdings taking the other two spots to fill out the T20 tournament.

• The Adani Group’s Adani Sportsline, which also owns the ILT20’s Gulf Giants and the Legends League Cricket’s Gujarat Giants, forked over $158 million to purchase the Ahmedabad franchise — the highest WPL franchise bid.
• Capri Global, which owns the ILT20’s Sharjah Warriors, paid $92.84 million for the Lucknow franchise — the cheapest bid.

“Today is a historic day in cricket as the bidding for teams of the inaugural WPL broke the records of the inaugural men’s IPL in 2008,” cricket board secretary Jay Shah tweeted.

The cricket board, known as BCCI, has staged a three-team Women’s T20 Challenge since 2018.

Media Milestone

The March tournament garnered interest even before the teams were announced. The BCCI sold media rights to the competition for the next five years were sold earlier this month to Viacom 18 for $117 million.

“I believe that with a record media rights valuation earlier and now with these high bids, the league will be a commercially independent and self-sustaining property,” said Shah.

Some of the largest companies in sports have invested in a new venture capital fund. 

Sapphire Sport has raised $181 million from a group of investors that include Sinclair Broadcast Group, Adidas, Madison Square Garden Sports, Arctos Sports Partners, City Football Group, and AEG Worldwide. 

The fund has also received investments from Boston Celtics part-owner Stephen Pagliuca and Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils co-owner David Blitzer.  

• The fund will focus on investments in sports, media, tech, and entertainment. 
• It aims to make about 18-20 different investments, mainly in California and New York. 
• The fund has explored opportunities in free-to-play gaming, health, and e-commerce. 

Sapphire’s latest influx of fresh capital marks the firm’s second fund, bringing its total assets under management to $300 million. The early-stage investor has a portfolio that includes sports media company Overtime, connected fitness brand Tonal, Jackpot.com, and others. 

Part of a Trend

Earlier this month, New York-based investment firm Courtside Ventures closed its third fund after receiving $100 million in fresh capital, bringing its total amount raised to over $200 million.

Investors in the fund included NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal and former NFL wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. Ownership groups of the Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, and Los Angeles FC also invested, along with retail giant Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Courtside has a portfolio that includes The Athletic, 100 Thieves, Religion of Sports, and others.