Chris Cohan

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Christopher J. Cohan is the current owner of the Golden State Warriors of the NBA. He acquired a 25-percent interest in the team in 1991; in 1995, he became sole owner; he sold 20 percent of the team to four Silicon Valley investors in 2005.

Cohan's tenure as owner of the Warriors has been anything but successful. The 1991-1992 and 1993-94 Warriors made the playoffs (with Cohan as part-owner). With All Stars Tim Hardaway, Latrell Sprewell, and rookie of the year Chris Webber on the roster, the team seemed bound for greater glory. However, Cohan acquired the team under cloudy circumstances when the new season was only a few days old, filing suit against majority owners Dan Finnane and Jim Fitzgerald.[1] Cohan claimed that the three had a handshake agreement whereby Cohan could purchase the entire team in three years.[citation needed] Cohan finally purchased the team for the unheard sum of $146 million.[1] Within a month, Webber was traded, and in February of the following year, popular coach Don Nelson resigned.

From 1994 to 2007, the Warriors did not make the playoffs under Cohan, a twelve year drought that marks the longest of any team in NBA history. Under Cohan, the team has had nine head coaches and did not have a winning season until 2007, when Cohan rehired Don Nelson as head coach. When the Warriors hosted the 2000 NBA All Star Game in Oakland, fans booed Cohan.[2]

"For anyone known to have an association with the current Warriors owner, Chris Cohan, it's a good day if he hasn't sued you. The man is disturbingly reclusive and he runs one of the most consistently awful franchises in NBA history." wrote San Francisco Chronicle sports columnist Bruce Jenkins.[3]

Cohan graduated from Arizona State University in 1973. He is the founder of Sonic Communications.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Fainaru-Wada, Mark. "The man who owns the Warriors / Cohan's rocky reign / An era marked by lost games, lost fans and endless litigation", San Francisco Chronicle, February 10, 2002. 
  2. ^ Murphy, Brian. "PAC BELL RINGS TRUE / Breathtaking ballpark remains brightest light in glittering 12 months", San Francisco Chronicle, December 27, 2000. 
  3. ^ Jenkins, Bruce. "Area teams need owner like Mieuli", San Francisco Chronicle, November 13, 2004. 

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