Connecticut Attorney General William Tong sent a letter to the WNBA requesting documentation relating to the potential sale of the Connecticut Sun franchise, his office announced Thursday.
In the letter, Tong says he is "troubled" by reports that the WNBA "may be wrongfully blocking a sale of the Connecticut Sun ... in a manner that may be anticompetitive and may violate state and federal law" and that the league "is demanding that the Team be sold to the League itself at a price tens of millions of dollars below market value."
Tong requested from the league a copy of the WNBA, LLC Operating Agreement; the WNBA Membership Agreement between the Sun and WNBA; the WNBA Operating Manual; all other WNBA League Rules and Regulations; and copies of all valuations of the Sun.
Tong, who said the state will fight hard to keep the team in Connecticut, also asked for an opportunity to meet with the league to discuss the Sun's future.
The Sun have been considering investment options for the past year and received two offers for a full franchise sale at $325 million, one which would relocate the team to Boston and the other which would move it from Uncasville, Connecticut, to Hartford.
But the league has indicated it would not accept either proposal, saying that cities who have already gone through the expansion process have priority in acquiring a new team, and instead offered to directly buy the franchise for $250 million.
In recent weeks, the state of Connecticut has also put together a bid to buy a minority stake in the team using state-affiliated funds, which would keep the team in Connecticut.
