Hey, that was my idea! The ex-president of Madison Square Garden filed a lawsuit against George Steinbrenner yesterday, accusing the Yankees' owner of stealing his idea to create the YES television network, according to a published report.
Robert Gutkowski argues Steinbrenner cheated him and his partners during a meeting in the late 1990s in which they hashed out the basics for what would become the Yankees Entertainment and Sports (YES) Network – and now he wants $43 million for the trouble.
"You are my guys," Steinbrenner assured Gutkowski and his associates at the time, reports the Daily News, citing the breach of contract lawsuit filed in Manhattan Federal Court. "If it goes forward, I will do it with you."
Not so much – Gutkowski said all he got was $25,000 for a month's work on a network that's now worth upwards of $3 billion.
An angry Gutkowski said he's tried vigorously to get face time with Steinbrenner to no avail. When Yankees officials said "no" to a pow-wow between the two, he opted to sue.
"In the end this is about fair compensation for my idea that has ultimately become a highly-valued asset for George Steinbrenner and his family," Gutkowski said.
The Yankees say the lawsuit is bogus and refute Gutkowski's claims that he had a role in creating the YES network, reports the News.
"He was never promised that he would be the CEO of the network nor was he promised any high-level position at the network," the team said in a statement obtained by the paper.