Stop me if you’ve heard this before: proceedings involving a National Football League franchise may have been corrupt.
The Los Angeles Rams themselves aren’t involved in this lawsuit, but the city that contains the stadium they will play their home games in upon completion is the defendant and a former Inglewood employee the plaintiff.
Former budget and accounting manager of the city of Inglewood, Calif., Barbara Ohno, has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the municipality, stating that she was fired because she voiced concerns over creative bookkeeping that the city was using to enhance its bid to be the home of the Rams.
The suit alleges that Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts ordered employees to use federal funds earmarked for other purposes, received money for which there was no documentation of payment due, and essentially borrowed against future tax revenues expected to come from the presence of the Rams in the city.
Ohno further states that when she reported her findings to her immediate supervisors, she was ignored and directed to keep silent about the book cooking. When she didn’t fall in line, Ohno says, she was fired.
Butts’ statements expectedly refute the allegations, according to Angel Jennings of the Los Angeles Times. Butts states that during the bidding process, the NFL never received financial statements from Inglewood and referred to a Moody’s Investor Service report that gave Inglewood an A1 credit rating. Ohno was still in her probationary period with the city, and Butts states that her dismissal had nothing to do with her voicing her concerns to her supervisors.
The truth of the matter over whether Inglewood was cooking the books should easily be discovered. It’s likely that if this lawsuit proceeds, the financial reports and daily logs of the city of Inglewood will be subpoenaed. From there, it’s simply a matter of the court appointing a CPA to review them and report her/his findings.
What will be more difficult to ascertain is if Butts ordered such financial shenanigans, if being in a better position to land the Rams was the motivation behind the scandal, and if Ohno’s whistleblowing was the sole reason for her separation. The fact that the NFL never received financial statements from Inglewood doesn’t mean that book cooking wasn’t ongoing regardless, and it could have been for other reasons. Additionally, Ohno’s history as an employee would have to be virtually spotless in order for the city to have no other reason to terminate her.
Ohno may not win this suit, but through it the general public may learn more about how even the prospect of being the home of a NFL franchise can become a Pandora’s box.
