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A Women’s Pro Baseball League board member says the organization has failed to adequately respond to her requests for records, raising questions about potential conflicts of interest and misuse of company funds amid “mounting red flags.”
Mina Kim, a member of the WPBL board of directors, says she has “repeatedly and in good faith” attempted to obtain the information she seeks without dragging the matter into court. But she was ultimately forced to file a books and records request in Delaware’s Chancery court due to “improper stonewalling” by the WPBL and its CEO, Keith Stein. The action was first filed confidentially in Delaware’s Chancery Court on July 13 after the league’s response to Kim’s request for 19 categories of books and records on June 12 was insufficient.
In a pre-trial opening brief filed Monday, Kim says that while the WPBL has “produced some responsive material,” it has not sufficiently fulfilled the records request and has indicated it’s “done” producing information. Under Delaware law, a director’s right to inspect books and records is “essentially unfettered,” the filing notes.
Kim claims there are financial discrepancies that necessitate investigation, including a roughly $59,500 transfer to Ankeiste Ltd., an entity the filing says is owned by Stein and his wife. The WPBL initially described that transfer as “reimbursement” for startup-related expenses, but later recharacterized it —“after the fact and without board approval”—as a loan receivable. “WPBL has since admitted that no board approval was obtained and no loan documentation exists,” the filing says.
A similar pattern has allegedly played out with other payments, the filing says, raising “serious questions about potential misappropriation of Company assets that only complete bank records, wire detail, and signatory information can answer.”
The filing also questions the WPBL’s relationship with law firm Dentons. Stein is a lawyer at Dentons, and the WPBL board also features another Dentons attorney, partner Andreas Kloppenborg. The filing says there is an “admitted conflict of interest” because of that duo being on the board and the fact that the law firm’s Washington, D.C., office is listed as the WPBL’s principal place of business in Delaware filings; meanwhile, the league “has confirmed that it has no signed engagement agreement with Dentons and that no formal conflicts check was ever conducted, even as company funds were repeatedly transferred into and out of Dentons’ trust account.”
Further, the filing raises concerns about a potentially undisclosed “familial relationship.” Stein’s wife’s maiden name is Prosterman, and one of the other board members is Mark Prosterman. Stein and Prosterman are “believed to be related by marriage,” but Kim can’t be completely sure because the WPBL has “not produced a complete director agreement or DocuSign package.”
“Complete production is necessary for Ms. Kim and the Board to determine whether these relationships and transactions were properly disclosed and approved, and whether corrective action is needed,” the filing says.
Kim is demanding access to all Dentons invoices and documents, plus communications tied to the league’s work with the law firm, as well as “complete DocuSign completion packages” tied to engagement letters, board resolutions, director agreements, vendor agreements, and more. She also wants attorneys’ fees and expenses, although no specific amount was disclosed.
A representative for the WPBL tells Front Office Sports the league has “participated fully in Mina Kim’s books and records request, and has provided complete and fulsome information.”
“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 statement says. “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.”
Tamara Holmes, an independent director of the WPBL, says in a separate statement that “Our players have waited too long to have this league and now is time for solidarity and support. Too much is at stake to be distracted by something like this.”
Rain on the WPBL’s Parade
The books and records request comes as the league is nearing the end of its inaugural season, which runs for six weeks and features four teams: the Boston Hunters, New York Heights, San Francisco Firebells, and Los Angeles Queens. The playoffs are set to begin Sept. 9.
Stein told FOS last year that the league’s Series A investment round had been oversubscribed, and that it expected to ultimately close a $3 million raise after initially planning to raise $2 million.
The league’s debut hasn’t been completely smooth. Earlier this month, only three games into the season, Keith Foulke was fired as manager of the Hunters. The league said it was a baseball decision, but Foulke said he was “blindsided” and thinks the underlying issue was that he was commuting to games in Illinois from where he lives in Arizona, despite that being something the league was aware of, according to the Boston Globe.
Managers aren’t the only ones with gripes. On Aug. 19, Defector reported that about half of the players who were picked in a November draft had not yet been signed to contracts and were receiving very little communication from the league, including about when they would be paid.
Stein and Kloppenborg did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
