Why #NoToRicketts?
A contributor post...
*Disclaimer - All words here are by Aranyak Nanda (@aranyaknanda) contributing on our website. All links to information has been provided, and we must insist these are not our views/information/claims, these are all based on speculation that has been written elsewhere and not by us.
The hashtag #NoToRicketts has been trending over the past few days, and for good reason. Since the names of bidders started surfacing, Chelsea fans have gone to all sorts of lengths to find out as much as they can about the club’s next potential owner, with the Ricketts family being touted as one of the frontrunners.
It’s important for every Chelsea fan to be informed about these prospective stewards, as the fanbase can come together to create a movement and make their voices heard on various platforms if they feel they do not resonate with a particular group or individual, as confirmed by credible journalists like Matt Law, Liam Twomey, and Nizaar Kinsella.
This is an in-depth piece divided into multiple sections on why the Ricketts and Ken Griffin would not be suitable owners for the club and why Chelsea fans should keep the hashtag #NoToRicketts trending until a sale is completed and the club is handed over to an owner who shares the same values, ambition and passion as Chelsea fans all over the world.
Racist Emails and Islamophobia
The first allegations surfaced against the father of the Ricketts family, Joe Ricketts, in a string of emails sent over a period of four years from 2009 to 2013, saying “We cannot ever let Islam become a large part of our society. Muslims are naturally my enemy.”
Joe Ricketts forwarded racist jokes and conspiracy theories to his son, Pete, where he referred to Islam as a “cult.” The subject title of the email thread was “Americans believe in religious freedom - Muslims don’t.”
The issues of racism extend beyond these emails. The Ricketts have advocated for voting restrictions that disproportionately disenfranchise voters of colour. The Ricketts hold a lot of power in politics and not only influence the politics of Nebraska - where Pete Ricketts is the state governor - but also the politics of the United States.
As said by Liam Twomey, “It’s not hard to imagine how Kante, Rudiger, Ziyech & Sarr - let alone the club’s legions of Muslim fans worldwide - might react to the news.”
A recent video has also surfaced where Pastor Jarrod Parker of the St. Mark Baptist Church in Omaha, Nebraska, is seen speaking to the camera.
He says that he was involved in a group discussion in the Chief of Police’s Office, where Pete Ricketts was involved, to talk about the death of a black man at the hands of a white man and systemic racism. Pete Ricketts replied, “The problem I have with you people …”
Upon hearing this, Pastor Parker walked out of the office and proceeded to film the video in his car, which you can watch below.
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Funding Trump and Terrorising Immigrants
When Donald Trump adopted hostile anti-immigrant practices, the Ricketts family praised him and rushed in to become his chief fundraiser. Pete Ricketts sent troops to the border, and people felt terrorized and unwanted because of the colour of their skin.
Yolanda Nuncio, a resident of Nebraskan city Grand Island, said people with brown skin or darker complexion and people who didn’t speak English as their first language were singled out, irrespective of their legal status or whether their ancestry was American.
“That contributes to people being fearful, to people being terrorised, and people not sure where they’re standing and feeling unwanted in Nebraska,” said Yolando.
Pete Ricketts defended his decision to send troops to the border.
Racist Campaign Against Obama
When right-wing racists wanted to launch an explicitly racist campaign against Barack Obama, they saw the Ricketts family as a natural ally. Joe Ricketts was described "as bankroller of a $10 million super PAC campaign to attack President Obama."
Another article about this racist campaign, dubbed ‘The Ricketts Plan’ from Forbes says, “The so-called Ricketts Plan includes an aim to paint the President as a "metrosexual, black Abe Lincoln" by hiring an “extremely literate conservative African-American” as a mouthpiece.”
Joe Ricketts, of course, has since denied this plan.
Pete Ricketts: Anti-Abortion, Death Penalties, Execution Drugs, and Being Anti-LGBTQ
Pete Ricketts’ actions do not end with sending troops to the border. The Nebraskan governor recently tweeted his views on bringing anti-abortion laws into effect, claiming ‘pro-life legislation’ and bringing an end to ‘a culture of death’.
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However, Twitter users have retaliated in reply, saying that the governor would not care about the lives of newborns if they were “black or gay or female”.
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In 2015, Pete Ricketts funded a drive to reinstate the death penalty and vowed to use the death penalty to execute ten inmates still on death row. The state legislature had initially banned the death penalty.
To add to this, Ricketts ordered over $50,000 worth of execution drugs from India for death penalty purposes, despite the FDA warning that importing execution drugs is an illegal practice, and threatened to seize the shipments once they arrived in the US.
Pete Ricketts did it anyway.
It doesn’t end there. When the US Supreme Court announced that it would be legalising same-sex marriage in all 50 American states, the Nebraskan governor issued the following statement:
“The U.S. Supreme Court has spoken and ruled state same-sex marriage bans to be unconstitutional. While 70 percent of Nebraskans approved our amendment to our state constitution that defined marriage as only between a man and a woman, the highest court in the land has ruled states cannot place limits on marriage between same-sex couples. We will follow the law and respect the ruling outlined by the court.”
Chelsea FC does not share these same values as a club, and this mentality completely undermines the fantastic work done by the Chelsea Pride Committee over the years, who recently issued this statement:
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One of the reasons the Saudi Media Group’s bid was viewed as complicated was because of human rights controversies with regard to criminalising homosexuality and same-sex marriage in Saudi Arabia.
This begs the question: how would this affect players like Magdalena Eriksson, who is the captain of the women’s team, and Pernille Harder? These are two world-class players in women’s football who are role models and symbols of a diverse, inclusive football club and the sport itself.
If the Saudi Media Group’s bid was rejected because of these reasons, should the same logic not apply to the Ricketts?
Here is a thread by @mishacienfuegos on Twitter summarizing the issues involving Pete Ricketts:
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Todd Ricketts’, the “Kung-Flu” and Concentration Camps
Joe and Pete are not the only controversial members of the Ricketts family. As highlighted by @dandormer of the London Is Blue Podcast, Todd Ricketts was found referring to COVID-19 as “the kung flu” along with “off-handed remarks about concentration camps”.
Here is the link to the original article along with the full tweet:
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In accordance with his brother and father, Todd has been found to donate generously to the Republican Party as well - and to Donald Trump. You can find all of his donations here.
Despite all this evidence and backlash against the Ricketts, they have only issued one statement so far:
Brian Wulff, Head of Chelsea Chicago, Chelsea FC Fans’ Forum Overseas Representative, and Chicago Cubs season ticket holder, said that the above words issued by the Ricketts are simply ‘the same statement released years ago’ when Joe Ricketts’ emails were leaked. He has also spoken out against Todd Ricketts.
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The Crimes of Ken Griffin
For all the chaos surrounding the Ricketts family, there is an individual who has gone under the radar. His name is Ken Griffin.
Ken Griffin is the man who is backing the Ricketts bid. Ken Griffin has an estimated net worth of $28.4 billion. For context, this is three times the net worth of Roman Abramovich. He is estimated by Forbes to have a net worth of $28.4 billion, 3 times the estimated net worth of Roman Abramovich.
On the surface, the Ricketts family's bid fulfills all criteria: they are wealthy, they are backed by someone even wealthier in Ken Griffin, and they have expertise running a major sports franchise from a large city.
However, there is much more to Ken Griffin than meets the eye. In a recent article by Matt Slater and Liam Twomey for The Athletic, we see that Griffin has been caught up in controversies related to hypocrisy regarding gun violence, managing immigrant detention centres, paying multiple heavy fines and donating huge amounts to Donald Trump’s campaign.
Here are some important points taken from the article:
In an email sent to Griffin in 2005, rival hedge fund manager Dan Loeb compared Citadel to a "gulag" (a Soviet system of forced labour camps) and said: “You are surrounded by sycophants, but even you must know that the people who work for you despise and resent you. I assume you know this because I have read the employment agreements that you make people sign.”
Griffin's vocal condemnation of Chicago's current surge of gun violence contrasts with Citadel's investment in Storm Ruger & Co and Smith & Wesson Brands Inc, two of the main producers of weapons confiscated by Chicago Police, as well as every leading supplier of ammunition in the US. Citadel also invests in GEO Group and CoreCivic, two private prison operators that manage immigrant detention centres, despite the fact that other major US financial institutions have severed connections with both.
Griffin was summoned before Congress early last year, when he refuted allegations of a conflict of interest involving Citadel's hedge fund and securities trading operation in the GameStop trading scandal.
Citadel has been penalised 60 times by several US regulatory bodies, totaling more than $31 million (£23.7 million) in fines.
Citadel agreed to pay $97 million (£74 million) in February 2020 to settle "alleged trading rule violations" in the Chinese stock market that had resulted in the suspension of a company trading account for five years.
Griffin has also emerged in recent years as a Republican Party super-donor, committing $65 million (£49 million) in the 2020 elections. The surprising aspect of his partnership with the Ricketts to bid for Chelsea is that he has previously shown very little public interest in sports.
Despite his enormous fortune, Griffin's career background suggests that “he will only spend on Chelsea what he believes he will get back in the long run.”
There are multiple resources online that speak out against Griffin and his crimes.
In an article by Fred Klonsky, titled ‘Ken Griffin, Chicago’s biggest criminal complains about the city’s crime. “Like Afghanistan,” he says.’, Klonsky shares some interesting perspectives on how Griffin uses his power to cheat innocent citizens and taxpayers.
In 2017 Citadel Securities and its owner, Ken Griffin, signed an agreement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The total cost of the arrangement was $22.6 million.
Citadel and Griffin were accused of cheating their consumers by the SEC.
The SEC discovered that Griffin employed two algorithms to make stock trades on behalf of customers, which resulted in a lower price for their trades even while Citadel was aware of better pricing elsewhere. Citadel was fined by the SEC for failing to disclose to customers the usage of those algorithms.
Griffin became wealthy through investing and taking risks. They are not putting their own money at risk. They are putting other people's money at risk, with billions of dollars coming from teacher pension funds.
Griffin informed reporters that he was considering transferring Citadel out of Chicago. He complained about the crime and likened Chicago to Afghanistan.
Griffin spent millions of his ill-gotten wealth last year to oppose a constitutional amendment that would have allowed the general public to tax people like Griffin at a higher income tax rate than a janitor or a teacher. The state of Illinois has a flat income tax system. Griffin's millions helped reject any form of change.
Griffin's money also aided Trump's election.
Using the Media to Cover His Tracks
Griffin, according to another website called kengriffinlies.com, utilises the media to cover his tracks. Citadel and Ken Griffin have stakes in media firms and have close connections with them. They are very adept at using the media for their own benefit.
It is believed that Ken Griffin lied during a hearing convened by the US House Financial Committee in February 2021 after official transcripts of internal correspondence were filed into a subsequent court case that clearly contradicted his sworn evidence and testimony under oath.
This is extreme perjury, and he was called out by hundreds of thousands of people with the hashtag #KenGriffinLied trending on Twitter.
Ken Griffin then employed a very cunning method with the help of his media Ken Griffin then employed a very cunning method with the help of his media allies.
As previously stated, he spoke on violence in the city of Chicago in an interview that was widely circulated by nearly every mainstream press outlet.
Normally, such an interview would not be reported at that scale, but it was widely cited by the online press, which meant that search engine algorithms changed, meaning that a search for terms like "Ken Griffin Crime" replaced sites like kengriffinlies.com that are attempting to expose his crimes but instead returned hundreds of links to his Chicago talk.
This is called scrubbing. Scrubbing is essentially a practice of using software to alter search results, by filtering out undesired results and producing ones that the scrubber wants you to see instead.
One of the key accusations is that Griffin and his colleagues are capable of preventing ordinary citizens from freely trading in markets if they feel it would severely harm them. They are not only breaching the law but also dangerously distorting the financial markets of the world's largest economy, the United States. This has a big knock-on effect, hurting not just the investors who wished to buy the stock, but it's ultimately about the health of the stock market, which is critical.
This is important because having a rigged stock market affects every single individual since it affects jobs, salaries, competition, and so on. When a select minority of the ultra rich are permitted to sidestep the laws that regulate financial markets without being held accountable, millions of everyday people who work hard and follow the law suffer.
The website says that it “is dedicated to tell the truth about Ken Griffin and his companies, and to make sure the world knows of his true colors, and how it affects YOUR life without you even knowing about it.”
Frankly, the fact that such a website even exists should tell you a lot. A similar website called kengriffincrimes.com also exists which aims to look into the details and investigations from people looking into Ken Griffin, Citadel, and the people linked to him.
Another Reddit thread asks the question, “Do a google search of Kenneth Griffin and it appears that none of his misdeeds or crimes show up on the first few pages. Is he scrubbing?”
Yes. Yes, he is.
Chicago Cubs - Alienating Fans, Hiring Domestic Abusers and Homophobes, and Changing The Spirit of Wrigley Field
Apart from the issues related to politics and socio-cultural spheres, the Ricketts are the owners of the Chicago Cubs, a sports franchise that has its own problems. This is a major cause of concern for Chelsea fans, given that these are the individuals who will potentially be running the club the same way they run the Cubs.
The Ricketts have demonstrated in recent years that they prioritise winning over basic ethical morality by signing players that are frankly impossible to root for. On May 9, 2016, Aroldis Chapman completed a 30-game ban for domestic violence (which was imposed after he reportedly strangled his fiancée and fired eight gunshots during an argument).
In August 2018, the Cubs signed known homophobe Daniel Murphy. In 2015 - after Billy Bean, the openly gay Major League Ambassador for Inclusion - visited the Mets clubhouse, Murphy stated, “I do disagree with the fact that Billy is a homosexual. That doesn’t mean I can’t still invest in him and get to know him” and “you can still accept them, but I do disagree with the lifestyle, 100 percent.”
In 2018, another player named Addison Russell was also given a 40-game sentence for domestic abuse. Instead of swiftly terminating Russell's contract and delivering a clear message that domestic abuse would not be tolerated under any circumstances, the Cubs recalled him following his suspension.
Despite their efforts to extract as much money from Cubs fans as possible, the Ricketts appear completely unwilling to invest any money on acquiring free agents.
When asked why the Cubs don’t spend any more money, Tom Ricketts, chairman of the Cubs, replied, "That's a pretty easy question to answer - we don't have anymore," Ricketts said. "We've been in the Top 5 in spending in baseball the last 5 or 6 years. We were in the top couple last year. We've put our money back on the field. Unfortunately, you just can't have a high-profile free agent every single year.”
"As much as I would love to have a great, new, exciting player every single season, it just can't happen every year."
This approach towards the Cubs has had fans boo Tom Ricketts over not only their lack of purchasing intent but for a fire sale of the team’s best players.
Michael Baumann of The Ringer says, “The Cubs are the richest, most popular baseball team not only in the NL Central, but in the entire area between the Appalachians and the Rockies. But since winning the World Series, they’ve gone from one of the most active free agent buyers in the league to a near non-participant.”
While necessary in many respects, renovations to Wrigley Field and the surrounding neighbourhood have affected the spirit and atmosphere of the renowned stadium.
However, the project has been encountering increasing difficulties.
Tom Ricketts stated in 2019 that the stadium redevelopment project had gone "around 100%" over budget, implying that the Ricketts family had spent almost a billion dollars on the upgrades.
A disabled Cubs fan sued the Cubs in 2017, arguing that the renovations not only did not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, but actually worsened the team's ADA noncompliance.
According to plaintiff David Cerda, Wrigley Field was actually more accessible to disabled fans before to the renovations.
The Cubs filed a Motion to Dismiss, requesting that the lawsuit be dismissed without a trial. Cerda had not been injured, according to the team. The Cubs specifically asserted that Cerda was not entitled to an unobstructed view of the game and hence incurred no damage by being restricted to an obstructed view.
Furthermore, the team maintained that Cerda was not hurt by the lack of wheelchair-accessible seats in luxury boxes and suites since there was a waiting list of people before him, and so he wasn't harmed because he wouldn't be permitted entry anyway.
Chicago Cubs fans are also furious at the ticket prices in recent years. Fans’ pockets are being milked for tickets to pay for the stadium, while there are no investments in the team. This has led to many fans labeling the Ricketts as greedy, while losing their love for the team and the sport, as you can see in the screenshots below.
What Has The Fanbase Done So Far?
The fanbase has come together in a storm to create the trending hashtag #NoToRicketts. Fans have been digging up the pros and cons of each potential bidder, and are making their voices heard. The love, passion and concern for the club and its future is the reason you are reading this article right now.
This support doesn’t just stem from the fans on social media. There have been opinions voiced by plenty of influential figures and groups in the Chelsea community.
Chelsea Supporters’ Trust issued a statement expressing their concerns over the ability of the Ricketts to run an inclusive, successful football club. You can read the statement in full below:
Paul Canoville, Chelsea’s first-ever black player and the club’s official ambassador on racism, also voiced his opinion, backing the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust and the #NoToRicketts campaign, and tweeted the following:
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CFCDaily, a prominent Chelsea fan account, put together a brilliant thread, citing “10 Reasons in the Public Domain why The Ricketts Can’t take control”, which include racism, Islamophobia, controversial political views and influence, threats, pay and job cuts, and a possible conflict of interest, along with other issues discussed in this article.
You can find the thread here:
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Another user, Aranyak Nanda, has also put together a couple of threads outlining the concerns around racism, Islamophobia, politics, the Chicago Cubs, and why the fanbase must keep the hashtag #NoToRicketts trending:
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Plenty of influential Chelsea accounts such as CFCPys, Simon Phillips, ConnCFC, Matisse Armani and others are using their platforms to keep the hashtag going and spread awareness throughout the fanbase with information on all the bidders.
There are also efforts being made to organise a protest outside Stamford Bridge if needed.
The Raine Group and Bruce Buck
However, there are some from Chelsea’s end who do not seem to have the club’s best interests at heart.
There are concerns over the Raine Group’s close relationship with the Ricketts, which seems to have given the Ricketts family a slight edge in the bidding process. The Raine Group is an American merchant bank that is overseeing the entire sale.
Reports surfaced recently that Tom Ricketts took advantage of this relationship and requested a meeting with Paul Canoville through Bruce Buck, the Chairman of Chelsea FC.
Bruce Buck is not a popular figure among Chelsea fans, with many fans using the hashtag #BuckOff as an expression of their frustration at Buck’s actions, claiming that Buck is trying to ‘cleanse’ the tainted image of the Ricketts family.
Many are calling for his resignation along with their displeasure at the Ricketts being shortlisted and considered one of the favourites to buy the club.
Rival bidders are claiming that the Ricketts family is getting preferential treatment and have breached the rules of the process, while Bruce Buck is certain that he has not broken any rules by organising the meeting between the two parties.
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Paul Canoville has made his thoughts known over the news circulating around the matter.
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Final Thoughts
The entire process of selling Chelsea Football Club is clouded by uncertainty. We are still not aware of who is in charge of the decision-making process and what factors are taken into consideration to be eligible as a steward for our iconic club.
We rely on journalists to do their job and provide us with updates on the process. It is not in our culture to abuse or berate others if we read or hear things we do not like.
However, one thing is for sure. We can take matters into our own hands. This is the time to stand together and voice our opinions as one. The future of the club is at stake, and you can make yourselves heard - no matter where you are in the world.
#NoToRicketts
Excellent piece of research & writing. Thank you. From your pen to the decision makers ears! #NoToRicketts