The Wall Street Journal - 24.02.2020

(Barry) #1

A14| Monday, February 24, 2020 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.**


the settlement.
Crane said the incident was iso-
lated to two employees in the Mid-
dle East and that he was “not in-
volved in any way.”
“When we became aware of it,
the company cooperated fully with
the government to ensure that these
employees were brought to justice,”
Crane said.
Five years later, the company
agreed to plead guilty and pay mil-
lions more in a case that alleged em-
ployees, “including high-level per-
sonnel,” conspired with other freight
forwarders to collude on prices. Al-
though he was in charge of the com-
pany, Crane wasn’t named as having
been involved with these acts.
When Crane purchased the Astros
in 2011, the people familiar with the
matter said the deal was put
through an unusually extensive vet-
ting process because of the weighty
allegations against Crane and his
businesses. Selig was particularly
sensitive to the accusations of rac-
ism and discrimination because of
the sport’s historical trouble with in-
tegration, two of the people said. Se-
lig, who retired as commissioner in
2015, declined to comment through a
spokesman.
During the course of the process,

later, he hired Jeff Luhnow to be the
Astros’ general manager. MLB offi-
cials have considered him a model
owner for his efforts in philanthropy
and promoting youth baseball.
“They conducted their diligence,
looked into my companies and de-
termined that there was no reason
for concern,” Crane said. “Since that
time, I have operated one of the
most diverse clubs in baseball.”
Under Crane, the Astros em-
barked on an unprecedented rebuild
and organizational overhaul. The As-
tros won the 2017 World Series and
became the sport’s standard-bearer.
Then came the reckoning of their
sign-stealing scandal, which resulted
in MLB suspending Luhnow and
manager A.J. Hinch for the entire
2020 season, after which Crane fired
them. Crane replaced Hinch by hir-
ing Dusty Baker, the second black
field manager he hired during his
tenure. The Astros ranked third
among all teams in MLB’s annual
survey of diversity in the workforce.
Crane was not disciplined by MLB
for the Astros’ sign-stealing. The
league fined the Astros $5 million
and took away top draft picks—“a
reflection of the fact that we felt
there was organizational responsibil-
ity,” Manfred said.

MLB investigators did extensive out-
reach to people with details of his
dealings, including the EEOC case,
one of the people said. The approval
process, which typically takes just a
matter of weeks, lasted six months.
The people say Crane had a cou-
ple important factors on his side
that helped usher the deal through.
For one, he was willing to move the
Astros to the American League, a
move others were unwilling to make.
MLB was so keen on making this
happen that Crane wound up receiv-
ing a roughly 10% discount on his
purchase price.
“The negotiation of the Astros
move to the American League was
the driving factor in the length of
the vetting process,” said Giles
Kibbe, the Astros’ senior vice presi-
dent and general counsel. “Switching
from the National to American
League required renegotiation of
terms, which took months.”
Moreover, there was that price:
Even with the discount, it was
among the highest ever for a base-
ball franchise, and a rich sale has the
effect of boosting club values for all
owners across the league.
Crane was approved by a unani-
mous vote of team owners in No-
vember 2011. Less than a month

KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/GETTY IMAGES

When Jim Crane
bought the Astros in
2011, MLB had
concerns about his
business history. The
team has become the
epicenter of baseball’s
biggest scandal.

Nine years ago, Major League
Baseball owners and executives pri-
vately wrestled with a difficult ques-
tion: Should they allow Jim Crane to
buy the Houston Astros?
The Texas businessman had of-
fered $680 million to purchase the
team, a sum that would mark the
second-highest price ever for a base-
ball franchise at the time. But behind
closed doors, owners and executives,
including then-commissioner Bud
Selig, were concerned about Crane’s
business history, people familiar
with the matter said.
Crane’s logistics business faced
allegations of bigotry, sexism and
systemic discrimination. His com-
pany was later accused of price fix-
ing and defrauding the U.S. govern-
ment to profiteer off the Iraq war.
The sale was ultimately approved.
Now, nine years later, another of
Crane’s businesses has been accused
of breaking the rules: his baseball
team.
The Astros, MLB determined, ille-
gally stole signs with the use of

technology on their way to winning
a World Series championship in


  1. Their players relayed pitch in-
    formation to hitters in real time by
    banging on a trash can positioned
    near their home dugout.
    Crane said he had no knowledge
    of the scheme, and MLB has backed
    his denial. On Tuesday, MLB com-
    missioner Rob Manfred said there
    was “literally not a shred of evi-
    dence to the contrary.”
    Last week Crane said, “I don’t
    think I should be held accountable”
    for the misdeeds of the franchise he
    oversees. In a statement to The Wall
    Street Journal issued on Thursday,
    he apologized for the Astros’ ac-
    tions.
    “I know that this has caused dam-
    age to the game of baseball,” Crane
    said. “For that, I am deeply sorry. I
    understand that I am ultimately re-
    sponsible for this team, and I am en-
    tirely focused on implementing
    changes in our organization that will
    ensure that this never happens
    again.”
    Concerns over Crane’s business
    history, including allegations that he
    discriminated against minorities and
    women, had surfaced long before he
    entered the rollicking world of pro-
    fessional sports—so much so that


2011
The year MLB approved Jim Crane’s
purchase of the Houston Astros

Weather
Shown are today’s noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.

City Hi LoW Hi LoW City Hi Lo W Hi Lo W

Today Tomorrow Today Tomorrow

City Hi LoW Hi LoW

Anchorage 15 6 pc 23 14 sn
Atlanta 55 51 r 68 45 r
Austin 75 43 pc 65 36 pc
Baltimore 57 41 pc 53 44 r
Boise 45 25 pc 46 28 pc
Boston 58 42 s 49 41 r
Burlington 47 32 pc 41 31 c
Charlotte 51 47 r 67 50 r
Chicago 42 35 r 39 28 sn
Cleveland 48 39 r 46 39 r
Dallas 66 44 s 58 33 pc
Denver 38 18 c 26 13 sf
Detroit 45 35 r 41 33 r
Honolulu 82 70 pc 82 70 s
Houston 75 50 sh 70 42 pc
Indianapolis 45 41 r 47 30 c
Kansas City 45 32 r 41 26 c
Las Vegas 70 47 s 64 42 s
Little Rock 68 41 t 59 34 pc
Los Angeles 72 55 pc 81 56 s
Miami 79 69 pc 84 71 pc
Milwaukee 39 34 c 37 27 sn
Minneapolis 37 27 pc 34 20 sn
Nashville 55 48 r 57 38 pc
New Orleans 75 60 t 66 48 r
New York City 56 42 pc 50 43 r
Oklahoma City 55 37 pc 50 27 c

Omaha 44 28 c 37 20 sn
Orlando 81 61 pc 86 65 c
Philadelphia 59 42 pc 51 45 r
Phoenix 71 48 s 72 46 s
Pittsburgh 48 38 r 51 41 r
Portland, Maine 49 34 pc 44 32 r
Portland, Ore. 49 33 c 53 41 c
Sacramento 73 43 s 75 43 pc
St. Louis 52 38 r 44 30 c
Salt Lake City 42 26 c 41 25 s
San Francisco 64 47 s 69 50 s
Santa Fe 52 21 s 40 16 pc
Seattle 48 37 pc 51 43 c
Sioux Falls 38 26 pc 31 15 sn
Wash., D.C. 57 46 pc 57 47 r

Amsterdam 51 41 r 46 37 c
Athens 63 50 s 64 49 s
Baghdad 78 59 pc 71 51 r
Bangkok 95 75 pc 96 76 c
Beijing 54 37 c 51 34 c
Berlin 45 38 pc 47 34 sh
Brussels 53 39 c 48 34 sh
Buenos Aires 82 65 s 76 62 pc
Dubai 86 69 pc 90 72 pc
Dublin 52 33 r 43 33 sh
Edinburgh 40 34 r 42 30 c

Frankfurt 54 46 c 51 34 r
Geneva 62 41 s 49 37 sh
Havana 85 64 pc 87 68 pc
Hong Kong 73 66 pc 75 66 pc
Istanbul 54 41 c 53 47 s
Jakarta 86 77 sh 86 76 t
Jerusalem 55 45 sh 53 45 sh
Johannesburg 76 52 pc 81 58 pc
London 54 37 r 48 35 sh
Madrid 68 34 s 62 37 pc
Manila 89 76 c 89 73 s
Melbourne 78 67 sh 86 58 pc
Mexico City 83 53 s 80 50 pc
Milan 65 44 pc 56 39 c
Moscow 38 27 c 35 25 s
Mumbai 93 77 pc 93 76 pc
Paris 57 45 c 51 36 sh
Rio de Janeiro 82 72 pc 86 76 t
Riyadh 90 67 pc 92 52 pc
Rome 63 49 pc 63 51 pc
San Juan 82 74 sh 83 74 sh
Seoul 55 42 pc 50 37 r
Shanghai 72 58 pc 76 49 pc
Singapore 86 78 pc 87 77 pc
Sydney 80 67 c 81 71 pc
Taipei City 81 64 pc 83 65 s
Tokyo 56 47 s 58 49 pc
Toronto 44 31 c 39 31 sn
Vancouver 45 32 sh 44 35 c
Warsaw 4535pc 5133sh
Zurich 61 40 pc 50 34 sh

Today Tomorrow

U.S. Forecasts


International


City Hi Lo W Hi Lo W

s...sunny; pc... partly cloudy; c...cloudy; sh...showers;
t...t’storms; r...rain; sf...snow flurries; sn...snow; i...ice
Today Tomorrow

Warm

Cold

Stationary

Showers

Rain

T-storms

Snow

Flurries

Ice

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Anchorage Honolulu

Jacksonville

Little Rock

Charlotte

Louisville

Pittsburgh

New York
Salt Lake City

Tampa

Nashville
Memphis

Detroit

Kansas
City

El Paso Dallas

Billings

Portland

Miami

San Francisco

Sacramento

Orlando

Atlanta

Houston New Orleans

Phoenix
San Diego

Los Angeles

Las
Vegas

Seattle

Boise

Denver

Mpls./St. Paul

St. Louis

Chicago

Washington D.C.

Boston

Charleston

Milwaukee Hartford

Wichita

Indianapolis

Cleveland

Buffalo

Austin

Helena
Bismarck

Albuquerque

Omaha

Oklahoma City

San Antonio

Des Moines

Sioux Falls

Jackson
Birmingham

Philadelphia

Reno Cheyenne

Santa Fe

Colorado
Springs

Pierre

Richmond
Raleigh

Tucson

Albany

Topeka

Columbia

Augusta

Ft. Worth

Eugene

Springfield

Mobile

Toronto

Ottawa

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Winnipeg

Vancouver
Calgary

Edmonton

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HOLD IT!| By Gary Cee
Across
1 Smaller amount
5 Old Italian
currency
9 Made a choice
14 Female French
friend
15 Pronto, for short
16 Picture’s
perimeter
17 • YouTube upload
19 Sum
20 1960s English
group ___ and
the Pacemakers
21 Similar to
23 Even the score
24 Judge’s request
25 • Jamaican
sprinter with
eight Olympic
gold medals

27 Vice squad action
28 Painter Hals
29 Pinkish hue
30 Jr. naval rank
31 Liverpudlian or
Londoner, for
example
32 Place for a milk
bath
34 With 36-Across,
“This has strings
attached,” and a
hint to the ends
of the starred
answers
36 See 34-Across
39 ___ chi (martial
art)
40 FBI agent,
informally
41 Singer Orbison
43 Particularly
impressive

46 “I do” sayer
48 Pungent flavor
49 • Left jab
counterpunch
51 Bactrian camel’s
pair
52 ___ Arbor,
Michigan
53 Marginally
54 Risk
55 Disapproving
look
57 • Pea variety
60 Shudder-
inducing
61 There are 192 in
a qt.
62 Famed London
art institution
63 Riffraff
64 Unicycle part
65 Large number

TheWSJDailyCrossword |Edited by Mike Shenk


1234 5678 910111213
14 15 16
17 18 19
20 21 22 23
24 25 26
27 28 29
30 31 32 33
34 35 36 37 38
39 40 41 42
43 44 45 46 47 48
49 50 51
52 53 54
55 56 57 58 59
60 61 62
63 64 65

s
Solve this puzzle online and discuss it at WSJ.com/Puzzles.

Down
1 Restroom,
informally
2 Participant in an
exodus
3 Baked potato or
green beans, say
4 Hit the ceiling
5 Frilly, as lingerie
6 Land in the sea:
Abbr.
7 Denounces
angrily
8 Ancient Italy’s
___ Way
9 Many a time
10 Seasoned vet
11 Skin picture
12 Fill for a phone
inbox
13 Take out
18 Bobby of
Boston Bruins
fame
22 Potentially
embarrassing
stadium feature
24 Metal source
25 “Trinity” writer
Leon
26 Oktoberfest
sausage

28 Hauler’s cargo
31 Lingerie item
33 Scathing review
35 Carve into glass
36 Run ___ (lose
control)
37 Burglar or
bootlegger
38 Tabletop cooker
40 What things
should be put to
42 Agreeable
answer
43 Got rid of, in a
way
44 Lobster claw
45 Disregard
47 Some Sunday
entrees
48 Blows up
50 Yarns
51 Unnamed
woman
54 Days gone by
56 Costume party
headwear
58 Academic
measure at a
univ.
59 Congregants’
bench

Previous Puzzle’s Solution

The contest answer is TETRIS. The grid contains six
areas where four of the same letter appear in the
shapes of six of the seven Tetris pieces. (The
seventh is the four-in-a-row straight LINE piece
clued at 14-Across.)The six letters in these shapes
spell the contest answer.

FILL BAGS LEFT
CAMEO L I NE I SEE
SCOTTTUROW EPEE
P I NATA MUM O L D
AL I T NOTEPADS
NET SNUBS NOI SY
EWE R S RA T T L E
HORRORS CATTOYS
QUARRY HONEY
SIMON GUISE ABE
BR I ANENO ATOM
TWO N I A MU C KU P
WI IG DRESSSHIRT
AS I A ALSO SONNY
SH I P NYPD ROSE

MLB investigators conducted an un-
usually exhaustive vetting process
on him prior to the sale, people fa-
miliar with the process said. “We ad-
dressed every issue that came up,
and our ownership bid was approved
by unanimous vote,” Crane said.
Crane, 66 years old, founded the
company then called Eagle USA Air-
freight in 1984. The company, later
called Eagle Global Logistics, went
public in 1995 and grew to a busi-
ness with thousands of employees
and hundreds of millions in annual
revenue.
But not long after, the Equal Em-
ployment Opportunity Commission
issued a 104-page report—far longer
than most—that accused Crane and
EGL of discriminating against black,
Hispanic and female employees. The
federal agency found it paid these
employees less than its white male
counterparts, imposed undue disci-
pline on them, failed to adequately
investigate incidents of sexual ha-
rassment and went out of its way to
avoid hiring these groups of people.
Crane, according to the EEOC, told
his underlings to not hire black em-
ployees.
“Once you hire blacks, you can
never fire them,” the EEOC report
alleged Crane said. He also allegedly
reasoned that hiring black employ-
ees would lead to litigation because
they would be mistreated by other
bigoted employees at EGL. Crane
and the company denied the allega-
tions.
The investigation included inter-
views with more than 125 witnesses,
produced thousands of documents
and was ultimately settled in 2001
for $9 million. Of that, $8.5 million
was used to set up a settlement
fund, with approximately $903,
paid out to claimants. Around $
million was returned to EGL, and
$1.4 million was allocated for a lead-
ership development program. In an-
other EEOC case around the same
time, the jury sided with EGL.
Crane, in his statement to The
Journal, said the plaintiffs in the
EEOC lawsuits didn’t receive any
money. “It’s really unfortunate that,
once allegations are made, they
never go away,” Crane said.
Over the next decade, Crane’s
business again faced trouble—this
time allegedly involving profiteering
during the Iraq war, kickbacks and
price fixing, though Crane wasn’t ac-
cused of being involved with the ac-
tions. In 2006, EGL entered an
agreement with the U.S. government
to settle accusations of fraud, paying
the U.S. $4 million to settle potential
civil claims that the company had in-
flated invoices of military cargo
shipments to Iraq with bogus “war
risk surcharges.” The company’s in-
ternal investigation uncovered more
than $1 million in false surcharges, it
said in a 2005 SEC filing ahead of

Baseball Had


Lengthy Study


Of Astros Owner


SPORTS


BYANDREWBEATON
ANDJAREDDIAMOND
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