Staten Island Yankees Cease Operations, Seek Legal Remedy
December 3, 2020 - New York-Penn League (NYPL)
Staten Island Yankees News Release
STATEN ISLAND - The Staten Island Yankees are ceasing operations and have filed a lawsuit seeking legal remedies.
The New York Yankees announced on November 7, 2020 that the Staten Island Yankees were no longer part of the Yankees minor league affiliation structure, even though the Yankees had made repeated assurances we would always be a minor league partner.
Although we still have not heard this from the Yankees directly, it would appear from their press release that they would like us to go from the past arrangement in which the Staten Island Yankees were an affiliated minor league team of the New York Yankees - where we facilitated player development and brand exposure, among other benefits to the New York Yankees - to one in which we play unaffiliated baseball with no relationship to the Yankees whatsoever.
This would force Staten Island to field a subpar team with players that have no connection to the Yankees farm system. Additionally, this would require additional expenses including payroll for players, coaches and staff. Unfortunately, that additional expense and the loss of the connection to the Yankees in our shared city makes it impossible for the Staten Island Yankees to pursue this business model.
The best thing we can do for the community is to step aside and let others try to save baseball in Staten Island. While we have invested considerable resources into the development of the North Shore, and hoped to remain a piece of that renewal, we have not been offered support to create a sustainable business entity.
Accordingly, with great regret, we must cease operations. Earlier today we filed a lawsuit against the New York Yankees and Major League Baseball to hold those entities accountable for false promises. A portion of any settlement or jury verdict will go to the Staten Island Yankees Foundation to be distributed to local Staten Island charities like the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation and Person Centered Care Services. All outstanding ticket purchases will be fully refunded upon request.
To the fans and community of Staten Island we offer our sincere thanks for supporting our team and all of its employees over the years.
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- Staten Island Yankees Cease Operations, Seek Legal Remedy - Staten Island Yankees
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