EXCLUSIVE: The widow of late San Diego Padres proprietor Peter Seidler has spoken out towards her brother-in-law who claimed her lawsuit towards him prevented the crew from signing star pitcher Roki Sasaki.
Seidler’s brother, Matthew Seidler, supplied an announcement to Fox Information Digital on Tuesday suggesting that Sheel Kamal Seidler’s lawsuit towards him got here throughout a “critical time” of negotiations with Sasaki. Matthew’s assertion additionally claimed that their recruitment efforts had been impacted by the very fact her lawsuit claimed that he and his brother Robert had been making an attempt to relocate the Padres elsewhere.
Sheel Seidler’s representatives supplied an announcement to Fox Information Digital, saying her lawsuit wouldn’t have prevented the crew from signing Sasaki if she was concerned within the recruitment course of.
“Matt and Robert Seidler must be relieved to have an easy scapegoat for their failure to sign Roki Sasaki. The outcome could have been different if they hadn’t blocked Sheel from participating in the recruitment process, despite her many pleas to put aside any differences and help do what’s best for the Padres,” the assertion learn.
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Sheel Seidler throws out the ceremonial first pitch earlier than the sport between the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Thursday, March 28, 2024 in San Diego. (Rob Leiter/MLB Images through Getty Photographs)
Sasaki himself mentioned that one of many causes he selected to signal with the Dodgers was due to the group’s stability, at his introductory press convention final week.
“The No. 1 thing that stood out [about the Dodgers] was the stability of the front office,” the pitcher mentioned through a translator.
Seidler’s lawsuit towards her late husband’s brothers, Matthew and Robert, was filed in early January, as she tried to grab management of the crew from them for her kids.
She claimed that Peter, earlier than his demise, revealed his dying want was for her to take management of the Padres, adopted by their kids, and that her kids maintain the most important stake in possession. She added that Peter’s two brothers, Matt and Bob, “are trying to erase Peter’s vision and legacy, as well as falsely cast themselves as Peter’s true heirs.”
“I made this decision as a very last resort, but I am confident it is the right one, and the best way to protect the Padres franchise and ensure the vision that Peter and I shared for the team will continue,” she mentioned in an announcement after submitting her preliminary criticism on Jan. 6.
The go well with additionally alleges that Robert’s spouse made a number of “racist, profane and hateful communications directed at Sheel—a woman of Indian descent—in communications,” and that the 2 brothers try to “wrest control” of the ball membership to forestall “an Indian-American woman” from taking what they “saw as their family business and ancestral right.”
Peter Seidler speaks through the pregame ceremonies honoring Joe Musgrove, #44 of the San Diego Padres, and his current no-hitter earlier than going through the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 16, 2021 at Petco Park in San Diego. (Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Photographs)
Peter died in November 2023 on the age of 63. He had been sick for months, although it has not been disclosed what precisely he was coping with. Seidler is a most cancers survivor who had well being points for fairly a while.
The Padres are at the moment owned by Peter’s property, whereas John Seidler, Peter’s oldest brother, has been named because the interim management particular person for the crew. Nevertheless, John can’t be formally designated till three-quarters of Main League Baseball’s house owners approve.
Along with claiming the widow’s lawsuit prevented the crew from signing Sasaki, Matthew’s response claimed that Peter by no means indicated he wished Sheel to have management of the crew after his passing.
“Peter could have chosen to (a) give Sheel the right to be, designate, or approve the individual that controls the Padres, (b) give Sheel direct ownership or control over the Trust’s interest in the Padres, (c) give Sheel the right to approve or veto any transactions by the Trustees, or (d) require the Trustee to make any principal distribution that Sheel demands,” the response learn.
The response claims Peter amended his belief at the very least seven instances after their marriage and by no means named Sheel a successor trustee in any model and that she was precluded from “ever serving as a successor trustee under any circumstance.”
The response additionally claims that Peter mentioned throughout his life that he wished his siblings and niece to take management of the crew after his demise.
“Peter had numerous conversations with his siblings and others about successor Control Persons and consistently identified five Seidler family members as candidates: Bob, Matt, John, his brother Tom (who has a 30+ year career in baseball, including 12 years with the Padres), and his niece, Monica,” it learn.
“In none of these conversations did Peter ever suggest or even imply that he wanted Sheel to run the Padres. As Peter told people close to him, he moved his family to Texas in 2021 in significant part because he wanted to ‘take pressure off Sheel and the kids’ and to ‘get Sheel out of the limelight.’ Peter knew all too well the potential effects of media attention, as well as the other pressures, stresses, and demands that come with owning a sports franchise.”
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Roki Sasaki and Sheel Seidler. (Getty Photographs)
In a separate response supplied to Fox Information Digital, Sheel’s representatives expressed confidence that she’s going to win in court docket.
“The response, for all of its bravado, is especially thin in responding to the very specific and serious allegations of Matt and Robert Seidler’s breaches of fiduciary duty. It’s ironic that they accuse Sheel — Peter’s wife of two decades and the mother of his three children — of misusing his assets, while at the same time they have reaped the benefits of Peter’s generosity for decades. The fact is, we will win in court because the defendants have shown they have no case. In short, their response is a total strike out.”
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