Possible Marlins sale may be in jeopardy if Loria becomes ambassador to France

The Kushner family has released a statement on the matter

The past few weeks have been busy when it comes to news on Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria. We first learned that there was at least a “handshake deal” to sell the Marlins at some point this year -- presumably after Loria got to bask in the joy of having the All-Star Game in Marlins Park. Then word came that the prospective buyer was Joshua Kushner, brother-in-law to Ivanka Trump. Next up, there was a report that Loria would likely be appointed the United States ambassador to France by Ivanka’s father, President Donald Trump. 

The connection there felt a bit suspicious to some people, but the Kushner family got out in front of it, releasing a statement late Wednesday night on Twitter: 

“Although the Kushners have made substantial progress in discussions for us to purchase the Marlins, recent reports suggest that Mr. Loria will soon be nominated by the president to be ambassador to France. If that is true, we do not want this unrelated transaction to complicate that process and will not pursue it. The Kushners remain interested in purchasing a team and would love to buy the Marlins at another time.”

We expect several more twists and turns on this one. 

First off, it’s possible this is all just semantics to make it looks like the deal wasn’t contingent on Loria getting the ambassadorship. So Loria holds the team for another few years and then sells to the Kushner group. 

Or maybe they are totally backing off because they didn’t like how this all felt like a dual transaction? 

Regardless, the most important thing from where I sit is that the Marlins get a new owner at some point. If recently-passed Mike Ilitch was the ideal sports owner (hint: He was), Loria is on the opposite side of that spectrum.