NBL war goes global as Hawks owner Jared Novelly lodges FIBA complaint against Larry Kestelman

The bitter battle for control of Australian basketball has escalated after Illawarra owner Jared Novelly sent FIBA a letter asking for the league’s billionaire boss Larry Kestelman to be investigated.

The bitter battle for `control of Australian basketball has escalated after Illawarra owner Jared Novelly sent FIBA a letter asking for the league’s billionaire boss Larry Kestelman to be investigated.

However, the NBL has responded, labelling the allegations as “baseless”.

In a major development, Code Sports has seen a letter in which Novelly writes to the sport’s international governing body accusing Kestelman of conflicts of interest. The letter calls for Kestelman to be be suspended from involvement with the WNBL - which he, this week, took control of with Tesla chief executive Robyn Denholm - while an investigation takes place.

The letter, sent on April 2, intensifies the ugly dispute between Novelly and Kestelman over money that flows into its 10 clubs.

READ MORE: ‘All options’: Hawks owner committed to shock NBL civil war

Larry Kestelman is under fire from Hawks owner Jared Novelly, who has asked FIBA to suspend the NBL boss. Picture: Getty Images

The letter was sent on behalf of the Hawks by Swiss-based partner Thomas Werlen from the legal firm Quinn Emanuel to International Basketball Federation secretary general Andreas Zagklis.

It argues Kestelman has uncommon power over the NBL as a minority owner of multiple teams as well as being a sponsor and developer of properties related to the league.

Kestelman saved the NBL from extinction when he purchase the licence for $7m from Basketball Austral in 2015. He has invested over $70m of his own money and each NBL club is now valued around $40m.

Kestelman owns part of Melbourne United and the Tasmania JackJumpers but has announced plans to eventually sell both stakes.

“At the same time as operating the league, Kestelman has held ownership stakes and business interests in at least three of the ten teams in the NBL in suppliers, sponsors and partner organisations connected to the NBL as well as in property development adjacent to NBL arenas,” the letter says.

Illawarra owner and billionaire oil tycoon Jared Novelly will soon join the Trump administration.

“This is a remarkable accumulation of power by one individual within a league and its teams.

Kestelman’s already decade-long multiple roles as an individual league owner/operator, a multi-club owner in the same league, a supplier, a sponsor, a business partner and property developer are certainly unprecedented in basketball.

“Indeed, NBL’s (lack of) governance also stands in stark contrast to that of comparable leagues in basketball or sports generally, and it does not fit well at all with NBL’s perception as one of the most important leagues in basketball worldwide.”

Screenshot of an official FIBA code of conduct complaint against NBL owner Larry Kestelman.

Novelly also called in FIBA to investigate potential conflicts in relation to Kestelman’s roles and to provisionally suspend him from his involvement with the Women’s National Basketball League.

Kestelman and Sydney Kings owner Robyn Denholm are on the verge of completing a deal that will see them jointly own and run the WNBL.

“There are concerns as to what Mr Kestelman’s involvement in the WNBL will mean for the NBL and its teams, and vice versa,” the letter said.

Trey Kell III and the Hawks won the NBL championship. Picture: Getty Images

A spokesman for the NBL said: “The NBL considers that its time and resources are better invested in helping to grow the game of basketball in Australia and New Zealand, from grassroots to elite levels, rather than responding to further iterations of baseless allegations, which the NBL has previously addressed.”

The dispute between Kestelman and fellow billionaire Novelly went public last month after the Hawks owner sent a letter to club owners proposing a $9 million takeover of the league.

The proposal, which suggested removing Kestelman as NBL owner, was sent after the league’s seven clubs with no financial links to him unanimously voted in January to advocate for change.

Originally published as NBL war goes global as Hawks owner Jared Novelly lodges FIBA complaint against Larry Kestelman