(AP) – A member of the Women’s Pro Baseball League’s board of directors is asking a Delaware court to force the fledgling organization to release records she says could reveal misuse of company funds and undisclosed conflicts of interest.
The WPBL launched Aug. 1 hoping to become the most successful pro league for women’s baseball since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League folded in 1954. The demand for books and records, filed Monday in the Delaware Court of Chancery, could impact the league’s ability to bring in more partners, sponsors and investors.
The legal filing says the league has refused to provide Mina Kim, a WPBL investor, with “books and records reasonably related” to her responsibilities as one of six members of the league’s board. The missing records could include details about money paid to an entity owned by CEO Keith Stein and a possible family connection between Stein and another board member.
Kim wants the Delaware court to order the WPBL to produce the outstanding material identified in the filing and award her attorneys’ fees and expenses.
“WPBL has produced some responsive material, but … the production remains materially incomplete in ways that bear directly on Ms. Kim’s ability to discharge her fiduciary duties as a director,” the filing reads, “including with respect to apparent conflicts of interest, potential misappropriation of Company assets, and an undisclosed familial relationship among Company insiders.”
The WPBL said Monday that it had provided complete information while participating fully in Kim’s request for books and records.
“Ms. Kim’s continued attempt to escalate the litigation appears to be motivated by a personal grievance rather than a bona fide request for information,” the league said in a statement. “All of the other board members of the WPBL are opposed to Ms. Kim’s proceedings, and stand unified in their repudiation of any allegations or assertations made by Ms. Kim.”
Kim is seeking access to a variety of bank and financial records, along with contracts and advisory agreements. The material produced by the league so far, according to the filing, reinforces the necessity of complete transparency.
That includes clarity about a roughly $60,000 payment to an entity the WPBL says is owned by Stein and possibly his wife, Shauna Stein. The transfer, according to the filing, was first described as a reimbursement for startup expenses for the league, but it was later characterized as a loan owed by the entity, Ankeiste Limited, to the WPBL.
Shauna Stein also might be related to board member Mark Prosterman. Stein’s maiden name is Prosterman, according to the formal demand.
“If accurate, that apparent familial relationship between Mr. Stein and another director has not been disclosed to the Board or WPBL’s investors,” the filing reads.
The filing also highlights what it describes as “an admitted conflict of interest” with Dentons law firm serving as the WPBL’s outside counsel. Keith Stein and Andreas Kloppenborg — two Dentons attorneys — fill two spots on the league’s board of directors.
The WPBL has four teams — New York, Los Angeles, Boston and San Francisco — for its first season, but it is playing all of its games at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois. It has media rights deals with ESPN and the Scripps Sports Network to air regular-season and postseason games.
The league’s regular season ends Sept. 6, with a best-of-five championship round scheduled to begin Sept. 16.
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