Former Arizona AG Grant Woods Says D-Backs Owner Ken Kendrick Sent Him Hostile Email
July 23, 2021
Arizona Diamondbacks principal owner Ken Kendrick sent former Arizona attorney general Grant Woods a threatening and aggressive email June 19 before Woods was fired from the Phoenix law firm Gallagher & Kennedy, according to a report from Zach Buchanan of The Athletic.
In the email Woods provided to Buchanan, Kendrick called him "an arrogant assh--e" and said the former AG "should expect a very unfortunate outcome" if the two men met in the future.
The email read in full:
“Dean Short emailed your comments in the AZ Republic regarding the Dbacks and me. Of course, I don't subscribe to that publication or have any respect for you and your self serving public statements. However, my reaction to your comments is that you are an arrogant assh--e! A truly toxic combination. It is sad that G&K, a quality law firm, has employed you. I suggest that if our paths ever cross, which I hope they won't, you should expect a very unfortunate outcome.
“P.S. I suspect if my dear friend Mike Kennedy were still with us, he would kick you out of the firm.”
The email was in response to the following tweet Woods sent on June 17:
Grant Woods @GrantWoodsSo the AZ <a href="https://twitter.com/Dbacks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Dbacks</a> today set the record for most consecutive road losses in the history of baseball. In Spring Training, we said this team is non competitive and an insult to fans. KK needs to sell the team to someone who cares. Or don’t expect us to care. <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mlb</a>
The Arizona Republic then posted the tweet in its sports section.
The law firm represents the Diamondbacks, though Woods told The Athletic he never did so personally. G&K managing partner Dean Short denied that Kendrick pressured the firm to fire Woods:
"The tweet by Grant Woods disparaging one of the firm's most valued clients was the catalyst for Grant’s dismissal from the firm. Ken Kendrick's reaction to the tweet had no bearing on the decision to terminate Grant. Further, at no time did Mr. Kendrick or anyone else at the Diamondbacks request, or even suggest, to me or anyone else at Gallagher & Kennedy that Grant be terminated."
Woods said he believed the "unfortunate outcome" line represented "threatening and intimidating" language under Arizona law, which would be a Class 1 misdemeanor.
"As a former prosecutor, I can tell you that's definitely a threat under the Arizona statute and the case law," he told Buchanan. “Under the case law, it says that even if I don't take it seriously, it's still a threat. I don't know what else you can take that as."
"It could easily be that (he's) threatening a lawsuit or something else," criminal defense attorney Aaron M. Black countered, per Buchanan. “There's nothing there that specifically says that it's an injury."
Kendrick, 78, became the team's managing general partner in 2004. In that time, the Diamondbacks have made the postseason three times, have posted six winning seasons and registered nine losing campaigns.
He became a controversial figure earlier this year when Alex Schultz of SFGate.com reported that he donated $2,800 to the campaign of QAnon sympathizer Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Republican from Colorado, in 2020.