Georgia Kousouris Angelos, the mother to both Orioles chairman John Angelos and her younger son Louis, shared a statement Wednesday regarding allegations from a lawsuit that Louis filed in the Baltimore County Circuit Court last week.
The lawsuit claimed that John took control of the team against his father’s wishes, which was for both of his sons to share.
Peter Angelos, the longtime Orioles’ owner, became ill in 2017. Since then, according to The Baltimore Banner, the Angelos brothers have been in conflict with each other. However, The Banner also reported that Peter appointed Georgia, his wife, and both sons as co-trustees of his trust overseeing the family’s fortune, including the team.
In Georgia’s statement on Wednesday, she wrote that “her husband of 56 years” appointed her as the “sole Attorney in Fact” and the “sole controlling trustee of [Peter’s] trust.” As a result, Georgia has the power to manage the family’s assets and make decisions, one of which was when she chose to make John the team’s CEO in ’20.
“John has my full faith as well as the trust and confidence of Major League Baseball, commissioner Rob Manfred, MLB’s executive leadership group and the control persons of the 29 other MLB clubs who voted to approve John as the Orioles control person,” the statement read.
In the lawsuit, Louis wrote that John could sell the team or move the franchise to Nashville. However, on Monday, John silenced any speculation that the Orioles would be relocating in the near future, doubling down that the Orioles “will remain in Baltimore.”
Georgia reiterated John’s stance on the alleged relocation, saying that her son has worked with Maryland governor Larry Hogan, Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott and other leaders to “pass the law to modernize Camden Yards and ensure that the Orioles remain in Baltimore in perpetuity.”
She also wrote that as one who witnessed the Orioles’ “first opening day” in 1954, their family partnership group restored the Orioles to “local ownership” and “avoided the constant threat of relocation” that removed the Colts away from Baltimore in the past.
“Any suggestion that Peter, John or I would explore moving the club is false and intentionally divisive,” the statement read.
Georgia has worked directly with the Moore & Van Allen law firm to ensure that the family’s estate planning and the “Orioles near and long-term strategic plan are well put together.”
As a result of Louis’s allegations in the suit, Georgia wrote that Chris Jones, a partner with the law firm, his family as well as “John and his family are owed an apology” regarding the “baseless, unfounded and defamatory complaint.”
“I have always believed that family disputes … should remain among family members,” Georgia wrote. “I deeply regret any distraction this may have caused … I look forward to putting his matter behind us all.”
