George Shinn

Former owner of the Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets and minor league baseball teams.

George Shinn (born May 11, 1941) is an American businessman. He is the former owner of the Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets, as well as the Charlotte Knights and Gastonia Rangers minor league baseball teams, along with the Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks, of the World League of American Football. He purchased the Hornets for $32.5 million in 1987. In 1997, he lost his bid for a potential National Hockey League (NHL) expansion franchise to be called the Hampton Roads Rhinos.

Quick Facts

Franchise era: Charlotte & New Orleans Hornets
Arrival in new orleans: 2002
Sale year: 2012
Status: Former Owner

Lore & Background

Shinn was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina and attended A. L. Brown High School. He worked in a textile mill, a car wash, and as a school janitor. He later attended Evans Business College in Concord, North Carolina while working with real estate and car dealerships. Upon graduating, he raised enough money to buy Evans and other small colleges that offered 18-24 month programs, consolidating them all under the umbrella company Rutledge Education Systems.

He sold the schools and bought the basketball team with the proceeds. Shinn was accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a Charlotte woman. A jury rejected the claims at trial in December 1999, but Shinn admitted in court to having two sexual relationships outside of his marriage, which damaged his reputation. The trial was broadcast nationwide on Court TV and drew some of the cable network's highest ratings at the time.

The trial and his subsequent tarnished reputation was one of the key reasons for the move from Charlotte to New Orleans. In April 2010, Shinn started considering selling his majority share of the Hornets to Gary Chouest, who had bought 25% of the team. The negotiations stalled due to the team's financial issues. Because Shinn was not in a financial position to continue to run the team, the NBA was expected to purchase and run the team while looking for a local owner.

The NBA completed its purchase of the Hornets from George Shinn and Gary Chouest in December 2010 for an estimated $300 million. Shinn is married to Megan Shinn and has three children from his first marriage. One of his children is Chris Shinn. He was the lead singer of the rock band Live from March 2012 until December 2016, and is more known for his work with Unified Theory and his own solo albums.

In November 2009 Shinn announced he had prostate cancer. By March 2010, after several months of treatment, he announced he was cancer-free. Shinn also survived a stroke suffered early in the Hornets' inaugural season. Although Shinn later relinquished control of the Hornets and retired, he is still hated in Charlotte for moving the team to New Orleans.

Shinn has not returned to Charlotte since the Hornets left for New Orleans in 2002. In a 2008 interview with The Charlotte Observer, Shinn admitted that the drama over his personal life was a factor in the Hornets leaving town.