Ratner Tells Mourning He Bought The Nets To Move Them To Brooklyn
Following a team meeting on Tuesday, Alonzo Mourning asked Bruce Ratner why he decided to purchase the New Jersey Nets.
"He said, 'To move it to Brooklyn.' I didn't hear 'To win,' or 'To win a championship,' " Mourning said. "I just shook my head . . . I want to win. He said Brooklyn deserves a franchise, they had one previously, and he wants to move the team to Brooklyn. He feels like it would be great for the city, and they'll give the support that the franchise needs."
In defense of Ratner, a sports franchise returning to Brooklyn would mean a lot to that community. They lost the Brooklyn Dodgers when they moved to Los Angeles before the 1958 season. The Nets have had a difficult time filling an outdated arena in New Jersey, even with a team that was the class of the Eastern Conference.
Mourning, speaking heavily in the third person, continuted to reiterate his desire to play elsewhere.
"I've got to do what's best for Alonzo Mourning," he said, noting also that he has been asked not to make negative comments about the organization. "The truth is confrontational. Yeah, they have [asked]. But this is Alonzo Mourning . . . and if you're going to ask me not to say some things evidently there's something you're trying to hide."