I am sorry but maybe I am getting too soft in recent comments.
This just does not jive. If you have an obligation to look into options for a period of 12 month(by the way this obligation does not limit you to publicly financed ones) and you on record, in writing say "the decision to leave Seattle WAS NOT MADE IN HASTE" to one of the cheif executives of your league then you are screwed.
There is a time period that is well defined. Your decision to leave was either made before the conclusion of that time period or it wasn't. This is cut and dried, its not ambigious. We have an e-mail, dated 5 months in advance of thise deadline, in which he openly acknowledges and tries to justify his decision. WOW.
The more that is released the more I think there are some real problems for Clay. Individually these things hurt but cumulatively they seem like an amazing amount of evidence. Backing up Aubreys quote they seem even more damning. That quote can be explained away in some arguments, but not with the backup of all these mails.
Stern will get deposed. He's putting up a real fight but the fact is that he has been a central figure in this process and if nothing else has stunning insight into the league. This is not going the way he and Clay envisioned.