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Urban Echo Energy, owned by former Duke basketball player Brian Davis, has filed a civil lawsuit against Bank of America related to the sale of the Washington Commanders.
Per Jason Morrin of Conduct Detrimental, the company’s lawsuit alleges it made a $7.1 billion offer for the Commanders that would have been accepted by Daniel Snyder, but Bank of America failed to properly notify him of the bid.
A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports reported the company is seeking $500 billion in damages and alleged in the lawsuit $5.1 billion had been deposited with Bank of America in two different transfers for the transaction.
“Upon information and belief, BOA never made the Snyders aware of the existence of the bank drafts,” Jeffery T. Martin, Davis’ attorney, wrote in the complaint.
Perez reported in April there were questions about where Davis got the funds to present a bid for the Commanders, with “indications” they originated from the Middle East.
One source outside of Davis’ inner circle told Perez people involved in the process believe the “true source” of funds was Saudi Arabia, “which has used sports—including LIV Golf—to attempt to alter the image of the oil-rich nation that has faced international condemnation over human rights abuses.”
Around the same time of Perez’s report last month, Davis appeared on The Sports Junkies on 106.7 The Fan in D.C. (h/t Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio) to say he had “100 percent” of the prerequisite $2.1 billion to support the $7 billion bid.
In the same interview (h/t Florio), Davis also said he wouldn’t file a lawsuit against the team or league if his bid wasn’t accepted.
Snyder officially entered into a purchase agreement with a group led by Josh Harris to sell the Commanders on May 12.
The fully-financed bid from Harris’ group, which includes Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, met Snyder’s asking price of $6 billion, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Davis played college basketball at Duke for four years from 1988 to ’92. He won back-to-back national titles with the Blue Devils in 1990-91 and 1991-92. The New Jersey native had a brief stint in the NBA with the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 1993-94 season.
Source: bleacherreport.com
