Full coverage of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling's alleged racist remarks.

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LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Clippers interim CEO Richard Parsons testified Tuesday that coach Doc Rivers told him he'll quit if Donald Sterling remains the owner of the team. 
Parsons made the statement in a trial to determine whether Sterling's wife Shelly Sterling can sell the team for $2 billion to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. 
"Doc is troubled by this maybe moreso than anybody else," Parsons said. "If Mr. Sterling continues as owner, he does not want to continue as coach." 
The NBA has sought to force out Sterling since soon after racist statements emerged on recordings in April. 
Rivers, who is black, has said he had heard from other Clippers business employees that they didn't think they would be able to work for Sterling under the circumstances. 
Sterling has denied he is a racist from the witness stand and vowed he'll never sell the team, claiming he is the victim of illegally recorded conversations that invaded his privacy. 
Parsons took over leadership of the Clippers in May during the media blitz surrounding the banishment of Sterling, who seemed to accept the idea of a sale until he rescinded his agreement for his wife to make a deal. By then, she had the offer from Ballmer.

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Doc Rivers would quit if Donald Sterling remains L.A. Clippers owner, interim CEO says

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A day after being berated in court by her husband, Shelly Sterling returned to the witness stand Thursday in a trial to determine whether she has the right to sell Donald Sterling's Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion. 
Mrs. Sterling said her husband encouraged her to sell the team for the best price after the NBA banned him from the league for life for making racist remarks. 
She moved quickly to get bids and kept her husband informed daily, she said in Los Angeles County Superior Court. 
When she reported that former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had offered $2 billion, Donald Sterling became excited and said she had done a good job but within days his mood changed, she said. 
He became enraged in a conversation, cursed her, said he would never sell the team and would sue the league, she testified. 
Shelly Sterling also defended the deal she unilaterally made with Ballmer -- which would be a record price for an NBA team -- and said she believed the sale would prevent disaster for the Clippers. 
Mrs. Sterling said she feared players and sponsors would boycott if her husband held on to the team. 
Donald Sterling contends that his wife had no right under a family trust that owns the Clippers to singlehandedly make the deal. 
In earlier testimony, two doctors hired by Mrs. Sterling to examine him declared that the 80-year-old had Alzheimer's disease and was mentally incapable to act as administrator of the trust. 
In his own testimony this week, Donald Sterling shouted from the witness stand that he would never sell the team. 
On Tuesday, he alternately declared his love for his wife of 58 years with tears and then demeaned her as a woman intimidated by the "bad NBA" and incapable of handling such a large financial transaction. Before taking the witness stand, he kissed her. 
But on Wednesday, he yelled "get away from me, you pig!" when she tried to approach him after her first day of testimony. 
NBA owners are scheduled to vote on the Ballmer deal next Tuesday. It's also the day that Ballmer's offer is set to expire -- and there is no deal without the judge's approval of the sale. 
If the sale isn't completed by Sept. 15, the league said it could seize the team and put it up for auction.

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Shelly Sterling returns to witness stand in L.A. Clippers sale trial

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Donald Sterling, who's challenging the sale of his Los Angeles Clippers, gave testy, bombastic testimony Tuesday, contending he's mentally sound, sparring with his wife's lawyer and repeatedly drawing laughter from spectators. 
"Tell me what you want to accuse me of...stand up and be a man," he told attorney Bert Fields during a 90-minute afternoon appearance. 
The 80-year-old billionaire also called doctors who've declared he has Alzheimer's disease "hired guns," pleaded a faulty memory about some of his most controversial remarks and declared he could top the $2 billion offer for the Clippers by $10 billion by selling TV rights to Fox and winning an antitrust suit he's filed against the NBA. 
"What do you think, I'm doing this for ego?" he asked Fields. 
"Yes," the attorney replied. 
"Well, you're wrong, like you're wrong with all your questions," Sterling said. 
He also repeatedly told the soft-voiced Fields that he couldn't hear him, but at one point also said he was a good lawyer. 
As Sterling made continued outbursts, Superior Court Judge Michael Levanas tried futilely to take control of the situation, at one point telling him: "Go back to answering questions rather than making somewhat entertaining comments." 
Sterling was ordered to appear to testify after failing to show up Monday to take the stand at the beginning of the non-jury lawsuit trial. He was scheduled to return to the stand Wednesday afternoon. 
The NBA has moved to oust Sterling from team ownership because of racist remarks he made to a girlfriend. 
His lawyers are challenging the authority of Shelly Sterling under a family trust to unilaterally cut a deal for the team with former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. 
In order to be able to make the deal herself, Shelly Sterling had two doctors examine her husband and they declared him mentally incapacitated and unable to act as an administrator of The Sterling Family Trust, which owns the Clippers. 
Sterling angrily denied that on the witness stand. 
"When I went to the Cleveland Clinic, they told me I was razor-sharp. I have five corporations and I run them every day," he said. 
Sterling acknowledged that he had offered to allow his wife to negotiate the sale at one point, but that was when he believed she would retain an interest in the team. 
"I wanted to keep the team. I didn't want to sell it," he said. 
Despite his challenge, Sterling repeatedly defended his wife and during a break before giving testimony, he pulled her down to his chair for a kiss. She wiped away a tear. 
"I trust her today," Sterling said on the stand. "The reason we're here is because she's afraid of this big NBA that's trying to take everything away." 
At times, he sniffled and appeared to wipe away a tear. 
A neurologist hired by his wife testified Monday that she believed he has Alzheimer's disease and a psychiatrist also hired by Shelly Sterling testified Tuesday that he drew the same conclusion after examining Sterling in May. 
Dr. James Sparr said Sterling was friendly, relaxed and cooperative until a final question challenged his abilities. 
A frustrated Sterling then said, "'I have to go,' and walked out of the room," Sparr said. 
Sparr's report concluded that Sterling showed early signs of the debilitating mental condition and concluded that "he is substantially unable to manage his finances and resist fraud and malfeasance and is no longer competent to act as a trustee of his trust." 
NBA owners are scheduled to vote on the Ballmer deal on July 15. It's also the day that Ballmer's offer is set to expire -- and there is no deal without the judge's approval of the sale. 
If the sale isn't completed by Sept. 15, the league said it could seize the team and put it up for auction.

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Donald Sterling takes stand in Los Angeles Clippers sale trial

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Shelly Sterling will go to probate court Wednesday to seek an emergency order for a hearing so a judge can confirm her authority to sell the Los Angeles Clippers, according to an individual familiar with the matter. 
The individual was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. 
Shelly Sterling brokered what would be a record-breaking $2 billion deal with former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to sell the team after her husband and co-owner Donald Sterling made racist comments to a girlfriend that were recorded and publicized. The NBA moved swiftly to oust him as an owner. 
But Donald Sterling has vowed not to sell and is suing the NBA for $1 billion. 
Shelly Sterling contends she is the sole trustee of The Sterling Family Trust, which owns the team. Donald Sterling was stripped as co-trustee after two neurologists last month determined he was suffering from dementia and "mentally incapacitated" under the trust's conditions, according to a person who is familiar with the trust and the medical evaluations but could not speak publicly. 
The aim of Sterling's court bid is to have a judge confirm provisions of the family trust to ensure the Ballmer sale moves forward without a hitch. Donald Sterling has the right to present his side at any hearing and appeal any decision. 
His attorney Maxwell Blecher said a representative for Donald Sterling will likely be at any hearing but declined to comment further Tuesday. Sterling's attorneys have called the idea that he is mentally incapacitated "absurd." 
On Monday, Donald Sterling pulled his support from the Ballmer deal and issued a one-page statement titled "The Team is not for Sale." 
He instructed his attorneys to prosecute the lawsuit against the NBA that alleges the league violated his constitutional rights by relying on information from an "illegal" recording that publicized racist remarks he made to a girlfriend. It also said the league committed a breach of contract by fining Sterling $2.5 million and that it violated antitrust laws by trying to force a sale. 
"I have decided that I must fight to protect my rights," Donald Sterling said. "While my position may not be popular, I believe that my rights to privacy and the preservation of my rights to due process should not be trampled." 
NBA general counsel Rick Buchanan has called Donald Sterling's lawsuit "entirely baseless." 
"Since it was his wife Shelly Sterling, and not the NBA, that has entered into an agreement to sell the Clippers, Mr. Sterling is complaining about a set of facts that doesn't even exist." 
Donald Sterling had agreed to ink the deal and drop the suit last week assuming "all their differences had been resolved," his attorneys said. But individuals close to the negotiations who weren't authorized to speak publicly said he decided to not sign the papers after learning the NBA won't revoke its lifetime ban and $2.5 million fine. 
"There was never a discussion involving the NBA in which we would modify Mr. Sterling's penalty in any way whatsoever. Any suggestion otherwise is complete fabrication," NBA spokesman Mike Bass said. 
Donald Sterling's comments to V. Stiviano included telling her to not bring black people to Clippers games, specifically mentioning Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. They resulted in outrage from the public and players and even prompted President Barack Obama to comment on what he called Sterling's "incredibly offensive racist statements." 
Donald Sterling said in his statement that he was "extremely sorry for the hurtful statements" he made privately but said them out of anger and jealousy and didn't intend for them to be public.

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Donald Sterling's wife, Shelly Sterling, heads to court

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LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has pulled his support from a deal to sell the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and will pursue his $1 billion federal lawsuit against the NBA, his attorney said Monday. 
"We have been instructed to prosecute the lawsuit," said attorney Maxwell Blecher. He said co-owner Donald Sterling would not be signing off on the deal to sell. 
The $2 billion sale was negotiated by his wife Shelly Sterling after Donald Sterling's racist remarks to a girlfriend were publicized and the NBA moved to oust him as owner. 
The lawsuit alleges the league violated his constitutional rights by relying on information from an "illegal" recording that publicized racist remarks he made to a girlfriend. It also said the league committed a breach of contract by fining Sterling $2.5 million and that it violated antitrust laws by trying to force a sale. 
Donald Sterling agreed to ink the deal and drop the suit last week assuming "all their differences had been resolved," his attorneys said. But he decided to not sign the papers after learning the NBA won't revoke its lifetime ban and fine. 
Shelly Sterling utilized her authority as sole trustee of The Sterling Family Trust, which owns the Clippers, to take bids for the team and ultimately negotiate a deal with Ballmer. The deal would have record-breaking if approved by the NBA's owners. 
An individual familiar with the negotiations who wasn't authorized to speak publicly said Monday that there were two options for Donald Sterling -- to either sign or go to court. But even if he wins in court, he's ultimately going to be paying himself the damages the individual said because his wife Shelly Sterling has agreed to indemnify the NBA against all lawsuits, including by her husband. 
Donald Sterling's comments to V. Stiviano included telling her to not bring black people to Clippers games, specifically mentioning Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. They resulted in a storm of outrage from the public and players and even prompted President Barack Obama to comment on what he called Sterling's "incredibly offensive racist statements." 
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver ultimately decided to ban Donald Sterling for life, fine him millions, and began efforts to force Sterling to sell the team. Those efforts ended with Shelly Sterling's deal with Ballmer. 
If this deal ultimately goes through, its terms allow Shelly Sterling to remain close to the organization by allowing for up to 10 percent of the team -- or $200 million -- to be spun off into a charitable foundation that she would essentially run. 
Shelly Sterling and Ballmer would be co-chairs of the foundation, which would target underprivileged families, battered women, minorities and inner city youths. 
Under the deal Shelly Sterling would also get the title of "owner emeritus" and be entitled to continuing perks such as floor seats, additional seats at games and parking. 
One of the individuals said the deal also includes conditions that allow Ballmer to buy back the 10 percent portion of the team for a pre-designated price upon Shelly Sterling's death.

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Donald Sterling says no deal; lawsuit is on, according to attorney

Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling agreed Wednesday to sign off on selling the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for what would be a record $2 billion, according to his attorney. 
Sterling "has made an agreement with the NBA to resolve all their differences" and as co-owner has given his consent to a deal that was negotiated by his wife, Shelly Sterling, to sell the team, said attorney Maxwell Blecher. 
Representatives for Shelly Sterling declined to comment. The NBA declined to comment on Wednesday afternoon. 
Donald Sterling filed a $1 billion suit against the NBA in federal court last week alleging the league violated his constitutional rights by relying on information from an "illegal" recording that publicized racist remarks he made to a girlfriend. It also says the league committed a breach of contract by fining Sterling $2.5 million and that it violated antitrust laws by trying to force a sale. 
Blecher said the suit will be dismissed. If the NBA owners approve the sale, it will be a record-high sum for a team that cost Donald Sterling about $12 million in 1981. Blecher's co-counsel, Bobby Samini, said the vote by league owners is expected to take place in mid-July. 
Ballmer beat out bids by Guggenheim Partners and a group including former NBA All-Star Grant Hill. Ballmer made more than an hour-long personal visit to Shelly Sterling's Malibu home last week and laid out his plan. 
This is not Ballmer's first foray into potential NBA ownership. Ballmer and investor Chris Hansen headed a group that agreed to a deal to buy the Kings from the Maloof family in January 2013 with the intention of moving the team to Seattle, where the SuperSonics played until 2008. 
But Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson lobbied the NBA for time to put together a bid to keep the team in California, and though the Ballmer-Hansen group later increased its offer, owners voted to deny the bid for relocation and the Kings were sold to Vivek Ranadive.

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Donald Sterling agrees to Los Angeles Clippers sale, will drop lawsuit vs. NBA

Sterling agrees to Clippers sale, will drop lawsuit vs. NBA

Hours after a lawyer for Donald Sterling announced that Sterling was suing the NBA for $1 billion, the league issued a news release Friday saying it had approved the sale of Sterling's Los Angeles Clippers to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
The NBA has canceled Tuesday's hearing to terminate the Sterling family's ownership of the team and said its Board of Governors will proceed with a vote to formally approve Ballmer's $2 billion bid for the team.
Sterling's estranged wife, Shelly, had been pushing to get the sale done before the meeting, which would have terminated both her and her husband's ownership in the team. The NBA released a statement Friday evening saying it has "resolved its dispute with Shelly and the Sterling family trust." As part of the agreement, the release said Shelly Sterling and the trust had agreed not to sue the NBA and agreed "to indemnify the NBA against lawsuits from others, including from Donald Sterling."
It was not clear last night whether that meant that Donald Sterling would be dropping his lawsuit.
"We're analyzing this," Donald Sterling's lawyer Max Blecher wrote in an email to Newsday yesterday.
Earlier in the day, Blecher said that Sterling would seek damages from the league for punishments and fines levied against him by NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
A suit was filed by Sterling's attorneys Friday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, alleging that the league violated Sterling's constitutional rights by relying on information from an "illegal" recording that publicized racist remarks he made to a girlfriend. It also says the league committed a breach of contract by fining Sterling $2.5 million and violated antitrust laws by forcing a sale.
Friday's developments were just the latest twist in the bizarre saga of the Clippers owner, who was thrust into the headlines after the website TMZ.com published an audio recording of him making racist comments to his female companion. 
With the league's players threatening to strike and sponsors fleeing, Silver banned Sterling from the league for life last month and fined him $2.5 million. Silver also said he would ask the rest of the league owners to vote to force Sterling to sell the team. With the acceptance of Ballmer's bid, the vote is no longer deemed necessary.
Sterling has repeatedly vowed to fight the NBA's attempts to make him sell the team.
Sterling was stripped of his ability to act as a trustee of the family's fortunes, including the Clippers, after two neurologists determined he was suffering from dementia earlier this month, a person close to the Sterling family told The Associated Press. 
The individual, who is familiar with the trust and the medical evaluations but wasn't authorized to speak publicly, said Sterling was deemed "mentally incapacitated" according to the trust's conditions because he showed "an inability to conduct business affairs in a reasonable and normal manner."
Blecher took issue with the reports that Sterling is suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
"We don't believe he does," Blecher wrote.
Shelly Sterling selected Ballmer's bid over reported bids of $1.6 billion by David Geffen and members of the Guggenheim Group, which own the Los Angeles Dodgers; and $1.2 billion by a group that included former NBA player Grant Hill and Los Angeles investors Tony Ressler and Bruce Karsh.
With AP

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NBA OKs ex-Microsoft CEO's $2B bid to buy Sterling's Clippers

Shelly Sterling, the wife of embattled Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, is trying to identify a buyer for the team before June 3 in order to avoid a board of governors vote that could force the family to sell the team. 
The Associated Press reported that Shelly Sterling is reviewing bids from five groups interested in buying the team. NBA commissioner Adam Silver indicated last night that the board of governors would not meet if the Sterlings could arrange a sale first. 
"There's a hearing June 3. What we've told the Sterlings is that it's their team to sell before the June 3 hearing," Silver said at a fundraiser in New York. "And I don't know where things stand." 
The Los Angeles Times reported last night that Shelly Sterling had received at least four preliminary offers for the team that could reach up to a record $2 billion. 
A number of complications still stand between the bidders and a final deal, the biggest being whether her husband will sign off on the transfer of the team. Six days ago, it appeared as though Sterling had authorized his wife to negotiate the sale of the team with the NBA. On Tuesday night, however, Sterling sent a 32-page response to the NBA, calling the NBA's effort to force him to sell the Clippers "illegal." He also vowed to fight the NBA charges against him. 
Silver has been trying to force the sale of the team ever since Sterling was heard in an audio recording making racist remarks to a female companion. The recording was leaked to the gossip site TMZ.com, prompting Silver to ban Sterling for life and fine him $2.5 million. A forced sale would require approval by three-fourths of the league's 29 other owners. Silver has said he is confident he would get the necessary votes if they meet on June 3.

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Report: Shelly Sterling reviews bids from five potential Clippers buyers

In a 32-page response sent to the NBA yesterday, Donald Sterling called the NBA's effort to force him to sell the Los Angeles Clippers "illegal" and said he will fight the NBA's charges against him. 
In the response, which was obtained and put online by USA Today Tuesday night, Sterling's lawyers said that his racist remarks that were recorded and released, leading NBA commissioner Adam Silver to ban him for life, were made during a private conversation and can't be used against him because they were taped illegally under California law. 
"A jealous rant to a lover never intended to be published cannot offend the NBA rules," Sterling's attorneys wrote. 
In a statement issued Tuesday night by NBA spokesman Mike Bass, the NBA acknowledged receiving responses from both Donald Sterling and his wife Shelly. The statement also said that the league will go ahead with its plan to have its owners meet and vote in New York next week on whether Sterling should be forced to sell the team. 
"Should the Board vote to sustain the charge, the Sterling's interests in the Clippers will be terminated and the team will be sold," the league said. 
While Sterling may be fighting the charges against him, his wife is saying that she has the authority to sell the team. 
Pierce O'Donnell, the attorney for Shelly Sterling, issued a statement confirming "Donald Sterling has authorized Shelly Sterling in writing to negotiate the sale of the Los Angeles Clippers, including his 50 percent ownership of the team" and that his client "and the NBA are working cooperatively on the transaction." 
Meanwhile, according to Bloomberg News, Bank of America Corp. has been retained to sell the team, two people with direct knowledge of the situation said. The people requested anonymity because the sale process isn't public. 
Jim Nash, a managing director at Bank of America, declined to comment.

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Donald Sterling calls NBA's efforts against him 'illegal'

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LOS ANGELES -- Donald Sterling is turning his ownership stake in the Los Angeles Clippers over to his estranged wife, and she is in talks with the NBA to sell the team, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press Friday. 
The individual, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly about the deal, said the couple reached the agreement after weeks of discussion. 
"Donald Sterling is out, and there will be new owners," the individual told the AP. 
Neither Shelly Sterling nor her attorney had any comment . They have been in talks with NBA lawyers for the last couple of weeks. 
"She wants to be able to say, 'I'm selling the team, not the NBA is selling the team,' and have meaningful control over that transaction," the individual told the AP. 
Donald Sterling was banned for life and fined $2.5 million by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after the release of a recording last month in which Sterling made racist remarks involving blacks, which comprise the majority of players in the league. 
Earlier this week, the NBA charged Sterling with damaging the league and its teams with his comments, and said he has engaged in other conduct that has impaired its relationship with fans and merchandising partners. 
Sterling has until next Tuesday to respond to the charge. He has the right to appear at a New York hearing on June 3 in front of the other owners and make a presentation before the league's board of governors votes on terminating his ownership. 
It will take three-quarters of the owners to terminate Sterling's ownership, and the league says also that of Shelly Sterling. 
"She has no plans to sue the NBA," the individual told the AP. "She's trying to make nice." 
If three-fourths of the other 29 owners vote to sustain the charge, Sterling will be forced to sell the team he has owned since 1981. Silver has said he is confident he has the 23 votes that are necessary. 
If Sterling does not respond to the charge within five business days, or does not appear at the hearing, it would be deemed an admission of the "total validity of the charges as presented," according to the NBA constitution. 
Donald Sterling's attorney had asked for a three-month delay, which the league rejected. His attorney had no comment . 
Shelly Sterling initially had said she would fight to keep her 50 percent share of the team even if her husband is forced to sell, but the league has made it clear that all ownership interests in the Clippers will be terminated if the other owners vote to sever his control at the June hearing. 
NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement that the league is continuing to follow the process for terminating the Clippers' ownership. 
One owner, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the sale, said the league would have to be certain the buyer had no connection to the Sterling family. 
"We don't want this to linger around our sport," Miami Heat star LeBron James said after practice. "The quicker it gets done, the sooner we can move on."

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Donald Sterling to allow wife, Shelly Sterling, to sell Clippers, AP source says

The NBA formally charged Donald Sterling yesterday with violating its constitution and bylaws, and has set up a June 3 hearing, after which owners are expected to vote to remove him as owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. 
In a statement, the league said that Sterling "engaged in conduct that has damaged and continues to damage the NBA and its teams. Among other things, Mr. Sterling disparaged African-Americans and 'minorities', directed a female acquaintance not to associate publicly with African-Americans or to bring African-Americans to Clippers games, and criticized African-Americans for not supporting their communities." 
On April 29, Sterling was banned for life and fined $2.5 million by commissioner Adam Silver after the release of a recording in which he made racist remarks to a female companion. At the news conference announcing Sterling's banishment, Silver said he would ask owners to vote to remove Sterling from the league, adding that he believed he had the votes to get it done. 
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor will preside over the hearing, which is planned for two days before the start of the NBA Finals. 
The NBA constitution provides Sterling with the opportunity to respond to the charge by May 27, as well as the right to appear and make a presentation at the hearing. Afterward, if three-fourths of the owners vote to sustain the charge, Sterling will be told to sell the team. 
Sterling's lawyer, Maxwell Blecher, had a message on his office voice mail Monday afternoon saying he would have no comment at this time. 
Indications are, however, that Sterling will not sell the team he has owned since 1982 without a fight. In a letter to the league last week, Blecher, a prominent antitrust lawyer, informed the league that Sterling would not pay the $2.5 million fine and would sue if he is not afforded due process. 
The NBA's constitution, which Sterling signed as controlling owner of the Clippers, gives its board of governors broad latitude in league decisions, including who owns the teams. Article 13 of the constitution says that an owner cannot "fail or refuse to fulfill" contractual obligations to the NBA "in such a way to affect the Association or its members adversely." 
In the wake of Sterling's remarks, players have threatened to boycott and a number of sponsors have suspended or ended deals with the Clippers. 
The NBA statement charged yesterday: "Mr. Sterling's actions and positions significantly undermine the NBA's efforts to promote diversity and inclusion; damage the NBA's relationship with its fans; harm NBA owners, players and Clippers team personnel; and impair the NBA's relationship with marketing and merchandising partners, as well as with government and community leaders."

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Donald Sterling charged by NBA; hearing set for June 3

Donald Sterling's lawyer has written the NBA stating the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers does not intend to pay the $2.5 million fine imposed by the league for racist comments, a person with knowledge of the letter's contents said.
Sports Illustrated first reported the letter from Maxwell Blecher. The contents were confirmed by the person who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
Blecher, a prominent antitrust attorney, acknowledged sending a letter but would not discuss its contents Friday.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling for life and imposed the fine following the release late last month of a recording in which Sterling makes racist remarks. Silver also called on owners to oust Sterling from the league, which would require a three-fourths vote among the league's 29 other controlling owners.
"We regard the dispute between Sterling and the NBA to be a private matter," Blecher said. "We do not intend to have a trial in the press."
Blecher said he has known Sterling since the early '80s, when he helped resolve a dispute that allowed the Clippers to move from San Diego to Los Angeles. Sterling has owned the Clippers since 1981.
Sports Illustrated reported that the letter to NBA executive vice president and general counsel Rick Buchanan said Sterling would not pay the fine because it violated his right to due process. It also says the controversy "will be adjudicated," according to the report.
The person who spoke to the AP said that if Sterling doesn't pay the fine, the league could withhold $2.5 million from the Clippers when disbursing money to teams.
The league's Advisory/Finance Committee met via conference call as recently as Tuesday, according to league spokesman Mike Bass.
"The committee discussed the recent media appearances by Donald Sterling and Shelly Sterling, received updates on the hiring of Dick Parsons as the Los Angeles Clippers interim CEO and on his meeting yesterday with Clippers employees, and reviewed the status of the charge for termination of the Clippers' ownership," he said in a brief statement.
Bass added that the committee will reconvene next week.
The NBA's constitution, which Donald Sterling signed as controlling owner of the Clippers, gives its board of governors broad latitude in league decisions, including who owns the teams. Article 13 (d) of the constitution says that an owner cannot "fail or refuse to fulfill" contractual obligations to the NBA "in such a way to affect the Association or its members adversely."
Sterling has said he does not want to sell the Clippers. His estranged wife, Shelly, has said she'd like to keep her stake in the team even if her husband is ousted.
In a recent interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Sterling cast doubt on going to court if the NBA governors ultimately do vote to force him out.
"People want me to hire a wall of lawyers and them to have to hire a wall of lawyers and go to war," Sterling said on CNN. "I don't think that's the answer."
Sterling also said he was not a racist and apologized for the comments, which he made to a female companion. The recording of their conversation was posted to TMZ.com on April 25 and drew immediate condemnation.
Players threatened to boycott league games and several sponsors suspended their relationship with the Clippers. After Silver's quick rebuke in the days following the recording's release, many of the sponsors returned.
But the issue remains contentious. Star forward LeBron James said Monday that he understands it may take time, but he wants Sterling out of the NBA.
The Clippers were eliminated from the NBA playoffs Thursday night after a 104-98 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals.

SPSTERLING17.WEB

AP source: Donald Sterling says he won't pay $2.5M fine to NBA

LeBron James said before Wednesday night's game against the Nets that there currently are no plans for NBA players to boycott next season if Donald Sterling remains the owner of the Clippers.
But James made it clear players are monitoring the situation closely. "At the end of the day, as players we see what [commissioner] Adam Silver is doing and he's moving forward and if he continues, which we believe Adam Silver will do, to move aggressively on the situation, as players we have nothing to worry about," James said.
The Heat star was asked several questions about Sterling about an hour before Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in the wake of comments from Roger Mason Jr., the vice president of the players' union, on "Jim Rome on Showtime."
Mason said he had spoken to James and that James had told him he would not play next season if Sterling remains the owner. Mason later tweeted Wednesday, "My bad if I was not clear. LBJ never said anything about boycotting."
James said he was dismayed by the fact that during an exciting postseason for the NBA the Sterling story keeps coming up, twice using a mild expletive.
He said he did not watch Sterling's interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper. "I heard about it, but I didn't see it," he said. "I didn't care to watch it."
Why continue to speak publicly about the matter? "It's my personal responsibility," he said. "No one told me to speak on it. It's who I am. It's what I believe in. It's my morals. I believe this issue is too big not to say something, not to stand up for us. Like I said before and I will continue to say: His words and what he believes in, there's never going to be a place for it in our sport, or any sport."

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LeBron James says boycott not necessary, NBA will do right thing on Donald Sterling

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Magic Johnson said he turned down Donald Sterling's plea for help when the disgraced owner of the Los Angeles Clippers asked the Lakers icon to appear with him in an interview with ABC's Barbara Walters after Sterling's bigoted remarks about African-Americans and Johnson became public.
Johnson made that revelation in an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper that aired Tuesday night. He also responded to several personal criticisms aimed at him by Sterling in an interview with Cooper on Monday night.
Describing the 80-year-old Sterling as "delusional" and as someone "living in the Stone Age," Johnson praised NBA commissioner Adam Silver for banning the Clippers owner for life, and he called on the league's Board of Governors to vote in favor of forcing him to sell.
"Donald Sterling is not welcome in the NBA," Johnson told Cooper. "I hope the owners vote it right. The players don't want him." 
Asked if Sterling's estranged wife Shelly or any member of his family should be allowed to take over the Clippers, Johnson said, "The players, the fans, the sponsors wouldn't go for it."
That sentiment was echoed by NBA Players Association vice president Roger Mason Jr. in an interview with commentator Jim Rome on Showtime. Mason said Miami Heat star LeBron James is prepared to lead a player boycott of the 2014-15 season if the Sterlings still control the Clippers.
"LeBron and I talked about it," Mason told Rome. "He ain't playing if Sterling is still an owner."
Sterling lashed out at Johnson in a personal way, questioning his status as a role model and his financial support of the African-American community in Los Angeles.
Johnson called Sterling's remarks "sad" and noted that he has devoted his business life to investing in underserved urban minority areas. 
He said the Magic Johnson Foundation has raised more than $15 million for charity, and according to its website, it has donated an additional $4 million in scholarships.
Johnson said Sterling called him when news of his bigoted remarks broke and asked the former Laker to sit with him in an interview with Walters. 
"I told him I wouldn't do it," Johnson said. "I told him the No. 1 thing he should do is apologize, including to me."
Asked if he received an apology, Johnson said, "No."

SPMAGIC14

Magic Johnson responds to Donald Sterling criticism, says Clippers owner not welcome in NBA

Magic Johnson responds to Donald Sterling's criticism

magic cooper cropped

Donald Sterling apologized profusely for the bigoted remarks that led to the league's efforts to force him to sell the Clippers in an exclusive interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper that aired Monday night. But Sterling poured fuel on the fire he started by attacking Magic Johnson on several levels.
Emotional to the point of crying during the interview, Sterling apologized to his fellow NBA owners, to his estranged wife, Shelly, and even to Johnson, if only grudgingly. In one breath, the 80-year-old billionaire real estate developer described V. Stiviano, 31, the girlfriend who taped him expressing bigoted views, as a "special person," and in the next, he suggested she "baited" him into making racially charged remarks and called her a "street person."
"I'm not a racist," Sterling said. "I made a terrible mistake, and I'm here to apologize to all the people I've hurt. I never dreamt this would happen. It's a terrible nightmare."
Sterling was taped by Stiviano expressing his concern that she posted pictures of herself and a girlfriend posing with Johnson on her Facebook page. During the course of the tape, he asked her not to bring African-Americans to his games.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver reacted by banning Sterling from the NBA for life and imposing the maximum $2.5-million fine. Silver also initiated a process to gain approval of three-fourths of the other 29 owners to force Sterling to sell the team.
The league installed former Citibank and Time Warner head Dick Parsons as interim CEO of the Clippers. He met with the media yesterday Monday in Los Angeles and expressed confidence that Sterlingwill have to sell, saying, "My personal belief is the league will prevail, which means there will be an ownership change."
Sterling insisted the Clippers' players "love me" and contended he has received support from fans and sponsors. But he added, "The media hates me."
Sterling said it was jealousy of Stiviano's friendships that drove him to make "stupid, uneducated remarks." Sterling then claimed Johnson called and spoke to him twice after the firestorm erupted, said he knew Stiviano and urged Sterling to wait before saying anything. "He lulled me into waiting a week," Sterling said. "I think he wanted me to do nothing so he could buy the team."
Sterling criticized Johnson as a poor role model because he contracted HIV and suggested he had not helped the African-American community in Los Angeles. "He acts so holy," Sterling said of Johnson. "He does nothing. It's all talk."
Sterling's comments about Johnson earned him a quick rebuke from Silver.
"I just read a transcript of Donald Sterling's interview with Anderson Cooper, and while Magic Johnson doesn't need me to, I feel compelled on behalf of the NBA family to apologize to him that he continues to be dragged into this situation and be degraded by such a malicious and personal attack," Silver said.
Stay tuned. Cooper announced Johnson has agreed to respond on air Tuesday night.

SPCLIP13

Donald Sterling takes shots at Magic Johnson

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling apologized Sunday for racist comments captured on tape, saying they were a "terrible mistake." 
"I'm not a racist," Sterling told CNN's Anderson Cooper in excerpts posted from an interview taped Sunday and set to air Monday. "I made a terrible mistake. I'm here to apologize." 
In his first public comments since being banned for life from the NBA, Sterling said years of good behavior as an owner should count toward his future. 
"I'm a good member who made a mistake," Sterling said. "Am I entitled to one mistake, am I after 35 years? I mean, I love my league, I love my partners. Am I entitled to one mistake? It's a terrible mistake, and I'll never do it again." 
The interview came nearly two weeks after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling, fined him $2.5 million and urged the other league owners to force him to sell the team. 
Sterling said he waited to make a public apology because he was "emotionally distraught." 
"The reason it's hard for me, very hard for me, is that I'm wrong," Sterling said. "I caused the problem. I don't know how to correct it." 
He later added, "If the owners feel I have another chance, then they'll give it to me." 
Sterling's comments came on the same day ABC News posted excerpts of an interview his estranged wife gave to Barbara Walters. 
Shelly Sterling said she would fight to keep her 50 percent ownership stake of the team. 
"I will fight that decision," Shelly Sterling said. "To be honest with you, I'm wondering if a wife of one of the owners, and there's 30 owners, did something like that, said those racial slurs, would they oust the husband? Or would they leave the husband in? 
"I don't know why I should be punished for what his actions were." 
The commissioner has said no decisions have been made about Sterling's family and team ownership. 
ABC posted initial excerpts of the interview and planned to air the rest of it Monday. 
Shelly Sterling also said she "eventually" will divorce her husband, and that she hadn't yet done so due to financial considerations. 
"For the last 20 years, I've been seeing attorneys for a divorce," she said. "In fact, I have here -- I just filed -- I was going to file the petition. I signed the petition for a divorce. And it came to almost being filed. And then, my financial adviser and my attorney said to me, 'Not now.'" 
LeBron James said Sunday after the Miami Heat practiced for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Brooklyn Nets that NBA players believe nobody in the Sterling family should be able to own the Clippers if he's gone. 
"As players, we want what's right and we don't feel like no one in his family should be able to own the team," James said.

SPSTER12.WEB

Clippers' Donald Sterling apologizes, says 'not a racist'

Ten NBA owners met Thursday afternoon by telephone and unanimously voted to begin the process of removing Donald Sterling as owner of the Los Angeles Clippers.
The owners, who comprised the league's advisory and finance committee, met two days after NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced that he had banned Sterling from the NBA for life. Silver also fined him $2.5 million and announced that he would ask owners to vote to force him to sell the team.
Silver's action came four days after it was revealed on the website TMZ that Sterling had made racist comments in a taped conversation with his girlfriend.
"The committee unanimously agreed to move forward as expeditiously as possible and will reconvene next week," Mike Bass, the NBA's executive vice president, communications, said in a statement.
Under NBA bylaws, the league needs a consensus of at least three-fourths of the 29 remaining owners to vote Sterling out. Silver said Tuesday that he is confident that he will get the votes, and that seems to be backed up by the numerous statements of support that have been issued by teams since the ban was announced.
The committee that met Thursday was chaired by Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor, and included the Heat's Micky Arison, the Lakers' Jeanie Buss, the Thunder's Clay Bennett, the Celtics' Wyc Grousbeck, the Spurs' Peter Holt, the Suns' Robert Sarver, the Pacers' Herb Simon, the Raptors' Larry Tanenbaum and the Knicks' James Dolan, who is also the CEO of Cablevision, owner of Newsday.
The league has been under intense pressure from players, fans and sponsors since Sterling's comments to his girlfriend, V. Stiviano, were reported by TMZ on its website Friday night. Sterling objected to the fact that Stiviano had posted a photograph of herself with Magic Johnson on Instagram. He then asked her not to bring Johnson or other black people to his games.
Since then, almost every Clippers sponsor has ended or announced they were taking a break from their association with the team. The players' union also considered boycotting Tuesday night's playoff games before Silver made his announcement.
Tale of the tape. An attorney representing the woman Sterling was talking to when he made racist remarks said the hourlong conversation was taped by mutual agreement last September and provided for the sake of safekeeping to a friend, who then leaked it to TMZ.
Lawyer Siamak Nehoray said Stiviano sent two snippets of the conversation, recorded in her Los Angeles duplex, to a friend who released them without her permission. Nehoray says Stiviano, 31, learned they would become public only after TMZ contacted her. 
In March, Sterling's wife, Rochelle, sued Stiviano, seeking the return of more than $2.5 million in gifts Stiviano allegedly received from her husband. -- AP

SPCLIP02

NBA owners get the ball rolling to oust Donald Sterling

With celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. expressing an interest in buying the Los Angeles Clippers, a committee of 10 NBA owners is set to meet Thursday by telephone to talk about the next steps in forcing Donald Sterling to sell the team.
Sterling was banned for life from the league and fined $2.5 million for making racist comments in a taped conversation with his girlfriend. NBA commissioner Adam Silver also said he would ask the league's owners to vote to force Sterling to sell the team.
There are a number of parties interested in buying the team, including media superstar Winfrey. A Winfrey spokesperson issued a statement Wednesday saying that she is in discussions with David Geffen and Larry Ellison to make a bid for the team.
Geffen, the media mogul who has a net worth of $6.2 billion, tried to buy a controlling stake in the Clippers in 2010 but ultimately was rebuffed by Sterling. Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle and third-wealthiest man in America according to Forbes, has been trying to buy an NBA team for years, expressing interest in the past in the Grizzlies, Warriors and Hornets.
Music mogul Sean "P. Diddy" Combs tweeted his interest in going after the Clippers, and Mayweather wants to form a group to buy the team. Celebrities ranging from Matt Damon to Oscar De La Hoya expressed interest in joining an ownership group.
Under league bylaws, the league needs three-fourths of its Board of Governors -- or 22 of 29 owners -- to vote Sterling out. Silver said he was confident he would get the votes, and that seems to be backed up by the numerous statements of support that have been issued by teams since the ban.
Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive said on ABC's "Good Morning America" Wednesday that he believes the vote will be unanimous. "The owners I know are all color blind and they found that this behavior was outrageous," he said.
There has been no timetable scheduled for the vote, but Thursday's telephone meeting of the NBA Owner's Finance and Advisory committee could lay the groundwork for taking it. 
Minnesota owner Glen Taylor chairs the committee, which also includes Miami's Micky Arison, the Lakers' Jeanie Buss, Oklahoma City's Clay Bennett, Boston's Wyc Grousbeck, San Antonio's Peter Holt, Phoenix's Robert Sarver, Indiana's Herb Simon, Toronto's Larry Tanenbaum and the Knicks' James Dolan, who is also the CEO of Cablevision, owner of Newsday.
The league has been under intense pressure from players, fans and sponsors since Sterling's comments to his girlfriend, V. Stiviano, were aired by TMZ. In the recorded conversation, Sterling objected to Stiviano posting a photograph of herself with Magic Johnson on Instagram. He then asked her not to bring Johnson or black people to his games.
Since then, almost every Clippers sponsor has ended or announced they were taking a break from their association with the team. The players' union also considered boycotting Tuesday night's playoff games, until Silver announced Sterling's ban and potential ouster. With AP

SPCLIP01

NBA owners to meet Thursday on Donald Sterling

NBA commissioner Adam Silver banned Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life Tuesday, fined him $2.5 million and asked the league's owners to vote to force Sterling to sell the team after Sterling made racist remarks in a recorded conversation.
The comments, posted on the celebrity website TMZ late Friday, drew outrage and condemnation from across the country. Silver said the league conducted an investigation in which Sterling admitted he was the voice on the recording.
"The views expressed by Mr. Sterling are deeply offensive and harmful," Silver said in a packed news conference at a midtown Manhattan hotel. " . . . We stand together in condemning Mr. Sterling's views. They simply have no place in the NBA."
Sterling, 80, who bought the Clippers in 1981 and is the longest-tenured owner in the league, will not be allowed to attend games, have any role in the team operations or be able to serve as one of the league's governors, Silver said.
Silver said the process of forcing a sale of the Clippers "will begin immediately." He needs three-quarters of the NBA's Board of Governors -- which is composed of the league's 30 owners -- to vote Sterling out and said he will do "everything in his power" to make sure he gets it. Silver would need 22 of the 29 owners to vote to force Sterling to sell.
"I fully expect to get the support I need from the other NBA owners to remove him," said Silver, who added that the lifetime ban is independent of forcing a sale of the team.
In the recording, Sterling is heard telling his ex-girlfriend -- identified as "V. Stiviano" -- not to bring black people to his games after she posted a photograph of herself and Hall of Famer Magic Johnson on Instagram.
Silver said Sterling's representatives were informed shortly before Tuesday's news conference of the actions he would be taking, but he was not aware of their reaction. Before Silver's announcement, Sterling told Fox News reporter Jim Gray that the Clippers were "not for sale." Sterling has not commented since the NBA's punishment was announced.
According to Silver, the $2.5 million -- the maximum fine under NBA bylaws -- would be donated to organizations dedicated to fighting discrimination and promoting tolerance efforts that will be jointly selected by the NBA and the Players Association.
Silver, who succeeded David Stern as NBA commissioner less than three months ago, attended Game 4 of the Clippers-Warriors series in Oakland on Sunday and said he spoke with Clippers coach Doc Rivers, point guard Chris Paul, who is the president of the National Basketball Players Association, and other members of the team. Silver's actions on Tuesday appear to have quelled, for now, a complete mutiny by NBA players.
Speaking during a news conference in Los Angeles, Roger Mason Jr., first vice president of the NBPA, said all players -- not just the Clippers -- had been prepared to boycott Tuesday night's playoff games if Silver did not act as he did. Mason also urged owners to give a timetable for taking the vote to remove Sterling as owner.
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, a former NBA player and current union representative, praised Silver's action, saying "it delivered a statement about where we are as a country.
"I hope that every bigot in this country sees what happened to Mr. Sterling and recognizes that if he can fall, so can you," Johnson said at the Los Angeles news conference. " . . . It doesn't matter if you're a professional basketball player, or a man or a woman who works hard for your family, there will be zero tolerance for institutional racism, no matter how rich or powerful."
Magic Johnson also praised Silver.
"Current and former NBA players now know that in Commissioner Adam Silver we have a great leader leading our league," he said in a post on his verified Twitter account.
Silver admitted he was "personally distraught" by the views Sterling expressed in the tape.
"When I first heard the comments, I was hoping it was doctored and hoping it wasn't Donald," Silver said. "I've known Donald for over 20 years. I haven't been that close to him, but never seen anything that would indicate that he held the views that were expressed in these audiotapes."
The NAACP said Tuesday morning that it wants to meet with Silver to discuss Sterling and his comments. Roslyn M. Brock, the chair of the NAACP national board of directors, said the organization wants to talk to Silver about what it calls "the influence and impact of racism in the National Basketball Association."
Silver said that Sterling's ban did not extend to the members of his family. After Silver's announcement, the home page of the Clippers' website was entirely black with the words "We Are One" and the team logo centered at the top. The Clippers, who played the Warriors in Game 5 of their playoff series Tuesday night in Los Angeles, also released a statement.
"We wholeheartedly support and embrace the decision by the NBA and commissioner Adam Silver today," the Clippers statement read. "Now the healing process begins."
On Monday, the first business day since the Sterling story broke, nearly every sponsor of the Clippers, including CarMax, State Farm Insurance, Mercedes-Benz, Kia Motors America, Virgin America airline and Red Bull, said they were ending their association with the team.
With wire reports

SPSTER30

Donald Sterling banned for life by NBA, fined $2.5M

Clippers Sterling Basketball cropped

Let me be the last to state the obvious: Well done, Adam Silver!
But you knew that already, at least if you had a TV or radio or Internet connection Tuesday as owners, players, mayors and Magic Johnson lined up to support the new NBA commissioner after he dropped an anvil on Donald Sterling.
Sample Twitter reaction, courtesy of LeBron James (@KingJames): "Great leader!!"
Silver, on the job a mere three months and with the entire sports world watching, held a textbook news conference in which he was clear, concise, clinical, convincing and in control -- having presumably made sure before he spoke he had the backing of every important constituency.
When he said he was "personally distraught" over the racist views of the soon-to-be-former Clippers owner, there was no doubting he meant it.
Same goes for the parts in which he banned him from the NBA for life, fined him the maximum allowable amount of $2.5 million and most importantly made it clear he has the backing of Sterling's fellow owners to force him to sell the team.
Never mind that a three-quarters vote is needed to make it happen; Silver appeared to be aiming for 100 percent.
It is difficult to imagine Silver's famously feistier predecessor, David Stern, handling things any better, which made this a pivotal moment in NBA history not only because of the sanctions imposed but because of the man who imposed them.
Silver is perceived as the 21st century's answer to Stern, a bookish, mannerly, advanced analytics type who can pick up where Stern left off in evolving the NBA into a modern, global marketing juggernaut.
The question was whether he had the charisma and gravitas to lead millionaires playing for billionaires. Well, that's settled now.
Partly thanks to Stern's unique personality and progressive ideas, the vibe between the NBA commissioner and the rank and file long has had a little different vibe than that of other major American sports leagues.
It was threatened during the tense days leading up to Tuesday's news conference, then restored in the tidal wave of kudos that followed, a Twitter lovefest that would be difficult to imagine showering over Bud Selig, Roger Goodell or Gary Bettman.
With tip-off of the Clippers' next playoff home game hours away and the league distracted in the middle of its most exciting playoff round in years, Silver kept the peace -- and kept the cash registers operating.
But while the lawyers and accountants figure out the particulars of Sterling taking a few hundred million dollars for his team and going away, the strange case of the Clippers' cloddish, clownish head man leaves lingering questions.
The weakest part of Silver's performance Tuesday was on the subject of how Sterling managed in his position for 33 years, even though there wasn't much the commissioner could say.
When asked pointedly about Sterling's history as a "racist slumlord," Silver said, "I can't speak to past actions other than to say that when specific evidence was brought to the NBA, we acted."
And asked about longtime Clippers executive Elgin Baylor once suing Sterling and comparing his operation to a Southern plantation, the commissioner said this: "It concerned us greatly. We followed the litigation closely and ultimately Elgin Baylor did not prevail in that litigation."
"Did not prevail in litigation?" Blech. That was the kind of thing people feared Silver would bring to the job. He showed on Tuesday he can do much better than that when he has to.

Columnists

Neil Best

SPBEST30

Adam Silver set gold standard in handling crisis

adam silver cropped

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was right to ban L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life and fine him $2.5 million. 
As Silver put it so well, Sterling's racist comments were "deeply offensive and harmful" and "simply have no place in the NBA." Silver also appropriately apologized to Bill Russell and Magic Johnson and other NBA personalities Sterling had offended. 
Bigoted clod though he may be, Sterling will leave a winner. His $15 million investment in the Clippers in 1981 will probably fetch him in the neighborhood of $1 billion. 
That's billion with a B. So shed no tear for him. 
The deeper story, however, is the public recognition, finally, that rank racism still festers in America. 
Sterling has a long and notorious history of racist utterings, which the NBA shamefully ignored up to now. But his most recent spewings coalesce in time and space around the ramblings of Cliven Bundy. Both epitomize a basic plantation mentality - not slavery as an accepted institution, but an accepted narrative of white superiority and black inferiority - that is far more dangerous and pervasive than we Americans care to admit. 
Very few white Americans embrace blacks on an emotional level. There is still a pervasive belief that whites are smarter and work harder than blacks. 
While we may have legally ended slavery and sacked Jim Crow, the power of privilege, coupled with our still largely self-segregation, feeds into a racially stratified system that is morally bankrupt. 
The plantation mentality didn't end with Emancipation Proclamation. It didn't end with Brown v. Board of Education. It didn't end with the March on Washington. Or the Civil Rights Act. Or the Voting Rights Act. Or when Michael Jordan won the hearts of the world. 
If plantation thinking were truly dead, the NBA would have dealt with Donald Sterling years ago. 
Fred McKissack wrote this for Progressive Media Project, a source of liberal commentary on domestic and international issues; it is affiliated with The Progressive magazine.

Opinion

Commentary

OPMCKISSACK30

McKissack: Donald Sterling's plantation mentality is pervasive 

NBA commissioner Adam Silver's decision to ban Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life received the equivalent of a standing ovation from owners and players around the league. 
LeBron James praised Silver on Twitter shortly after the decision was announced Tuesday. 
"Commissioner Silver thank you for protecting our beautiful and powerful league!! Great leader!! #BiggerThanBasketball #StriveForGreatness," James tweeted. 
Silver, in his first major act as commissioner, looked and sounded visibly shaken during a standing-room-only news conference in a midtown Manhattan hotel. But he was forceful in handing down an unprecedented punishment to Sterling, who made racist comments during a recorded conversation. 
In addition to the lifetime ban, Silver fined Sterling $2.5 million and urged the Board of Governors to exercise its authority to force him to sell the Clippers. Silver would need 75 percent of league owners to force a sale. 
"I applaud Adam for acting quickly and decisively in appropriately addressing these disgusting and offensive comments," said Madison Square Garden executive chairman James Dolan, who also is CEO of Cablevision, which owns Newsday. "This kind of behavior has no place in basketball, or anywhere else, and we as a league must stand together in condemning this ignorance." 
The Nets' statement read in part: "The Nets organization welcomes and fully supports the decision and remains committed to tolerance and respect for all. We can all be proud that the reaction throughout the NBA -- from players, management, ownership and fans -- has been unequivocal and united in condemning the scourge of racism." 
Silver, 52, took over as commissioner on Feb. 1, replacing David Stern, who served as NBA commissioner for 30 years. 
Silver, who is from New York, graduated from Duke University and has a law degree from the University of Chicago. Silver has worked for the NBA for 22 years and became deputy commissioner in 2006. 
Stern was widely considered the best commissioner in pro sports because he helped transform the NBA into a multibillion-dollar entity with global appeal. 
Silver made a lasting first impression Tuesday. 
"Current and former NBA players now know that in commissioner Adam Silver we have a great leader leading our league," Magic Johnson tweeted. 
Another Lakers great, Kobe Bryant, tweeted simply, "Bravo Silver." 
Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade tweeted, "Commissioner Silver . . . STRONG . . . way to take charge and protect our great league." 
Nets center Jason Collins, the first openly gay athlete in professional sports, also applauded Silver. 
"Commissioner of the @NBA just showed us how he drops the hammer on ignorance. #lifetimeban for Donald Sterling. The ultimate #gone fishing," Collins tweeted. 
The Clippers released a statement and made an emphatic one on their official website. 
In white lettering, their website read, "We are one," and had a white Clippers logo over a completely black background. 
"We wholeheartedly support and embrace the decision by the NBA and commissioner Adam Silver today," the Clippers statement read. 
"Now the healing process begins."

SPSILV30

Adam Silver applauded by NBA stars after issuing a lifetime ban to Donald Sterling

Donald Sterling could sue. He could claim that NBA commissioner Adam Silver's lifetime ban for Sterling's racist remarks is a violation of antitrust law. Sterling is a lawyer and could argue that throwing him out of the league, and forcing him to sell the Los Angeles Clippers, is restraint of trade. 
Of course, Sterling could lose. There is, Baruch College law professor Marc Edelman said, "a narrow exception from the antitrust law . . . that leaves open the possibility that a trade association might be able to ban one of its members if the member's conduct would expose the entire industry to forward-looking liability." 
Such as litigation by the NBA Players Association. 
"Another possibility," said Edelman, an expert on legal matters in sports, "is that these statements by Sterling open up the team, and perhaps the entire league, to claims of a hostile environment and other forms of race-based discrimination." 
Still, Sterling could sue. "This is a man who has shown an unwillingness to take the easier road," Northeastern University law professor Roger Abrams said. "He has always taken the route of the flagrant foul and has had extraordinary success -- in court, in business, even in changing his name." (Born Donald Tokowitz, he legally added "Sterling" as an adult because it telegraphed prosperity.) 
It will require a three-quarters majority of NBA owners to compel Sterling's sale of the Clippers. "But another factor," Edelman said, "is that based on the reaction of several national sponsors to Donald Sterling's comments, the value of that franchise would continue to fall as long as Sterling is at the helm. One could argue that, legal rights aside, Sterling's best financial decision would be to sell the team immediately." 
Abrams, who blogs for the Huffington Post on matters of sports and law, said that "one part of me wanted to see Sterling twist slowly in the wind. Because every time his name is mentioned, people will remember that there is deeply ingrained, in this society, a racism that is disgusting. 
"The more I thought about it, the more I realized that what you do is you put out your trash. You don't leave the trash in your house." 
And if Sterling sues? "Good luck!" said Abrams, whose first lesson to his law students is the declaration: "Don't sue. Because if you sue, everyone who hasn't heard the story will hear it. We'll probably now hear of the legal options; that will make news. But the NBA wanted to make sure this was old news."

SPLEGAL30

Suing not necessarily such a simple option for Donald Sterling

donald sterling cropped

Following the reactions from around the NBA to Clippers owner <a href="http://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/donald-sterling-banned-for-life-by-nba-1.7859328">Donald Sterling being banned for life</a> by commissioner Adam Silver. 
<iframe frameborder="0" height="800" src="//embed.scribblelive.com/Embed/v7.aspx?Id=568118&amp;ThemeId=15521" width="600"></iframe> 
Silver announced the lifetime ban at a news conference for Tuesday afternoon in Manhattan to discuss the league's investigation into Sterling. 
Sterling was thrust into the national spotlight when celebrity news organization TMZ alleged him to be the person who made racist comments to his girlfriend in an audio unveiled on the TMZ website late Friday night. 
(Newsday's app users can follow the live updates using the link above.)

Live: Reactions to Donald Sterling ruling by NBA

Twitter reacts to Donald Sterling's NBA lifetime ban

Read the transcript of NBA commissioner Adam Silver's news conference where he announced a lifetime ban of Clippers owner Donald Sterling for making racist comments. 
ADAM SILVER: Shortly after the release of an audio recording this past Saturday morning of a conversation that allegedly included Clippers owner Donald Sterling, the NBA commenced an investigation, which among other things, included an interview of Mr. Sterling. 
That investigation is now complete. The central findings of the investigation are that the man whose voice is heard on the recording and on a second recording from the same conversation that was released on Sunday is Mr. Sterling and that the hateful opinions voiced by that man are those of Mr. Sterling. 
The views expressed by Mr. Sterling are deeply offensive and harmful; that they came from an NBA owner only heightens the damage and my personal outrage. 
Sentiments of this kind are contrary to the principles of inclusion and respect that form the foundation of our diverse, multicultural and multiethnic league. 
I am personally distraught that the views expressed by Mr. Sterling came from within an institution that has historically taken such a leadership role in matters of race relations and caused current and former players, coaches, fans and partners of the NBA to question their very association with the league. 
To them, and pioneers of the game like Earl Lloyd, Chuck Cooper, Sweetwater Clifton, the great Bill Russell, and particularly Magic Johnson, I apologize. Accordingly, effective immediately, I am banning Mr. Sterling for life from any association with the Clippers organization or the NBA. Mr. Sterling may not attend any NBA games or practices. He may not be present at any Clippers facility, and he may not participate in any business or player personnel decisions involving the team. 
He will also be barred from attending NBA Board of Governors meetings or participating in any other league activity. 
I am also fining Mr. Sterling $2.5 million, the maximum amount allowed under the NBA constitution. These funds will be donated to organizations dedicated to anti discrimination and tolerance efforts that will be jointly selected by the NBA and its Players Association. 
As for Mr. Sterling's ownership interest in the Clippers, I will urge the Board of Governors to exercise its authority to force a sale of the team and will do everything in my power to ensure that that happens. This has been a painful moment for all members of the NBA family. I appreciate the support and understanding of our players during this process, and I am particularly grateful for the leadership shown by Coach Doc Rivers, Union President Chris Paul and Mayor Kevin Johnson of Sacramento, who has been acting as the players' representative in this matter. 
We stand together in condemning Mr. Sterling's views. They simply have no place in the NBA. 
Thank you, and I'll take any questions. 
Q. Do you or any of your emissaries have any clue as to whether Mr. Sterling will acquiesce to your wishes to sell the team, or do you expect a fight? 
ADAM SILVER: I have no idea. 
Q. From polling the owners that you've spoken to, what support do you think you have to force Mr. Sterling to sell the team? 
ADAM SILVER: I didn't poll the owners. I spoke to several owners, and I have their full support. 
Q. What kind of authority do they have to force a sale? 
ADAM SILVER: The owners have the authority subject to three quarters vote of the ownership group, of the partners, to remove him as an owner. 
Q. The word you used specifically was outrage. You said that you were personally outraged, yet many people believe that they are outraged that for years people have known that this man is a racist slumlord and the NBA hasn't done anything until today. Can you please answer why. 
ADAM SILVER: I can't speak to past actions other than to say that when specific evidence was brought to the NBA, we acted. 
Q. Should someone lose their team for remarks shared in private as this is a slippery slope? 
ADAM SILVER: Whether or not these remarks were initially shared in private, they are now public, and they represent his views. 
Q. What was the process to coming to this decision over the last couple days, and when did you decide that this was the appropriate action to take? 
ADAM SILVER: I ultimately decided this morning that this was the appropriate action, and the process beginning Saturday morning when this tape was first released was to appoint an investigator. It was David Anders from the Wachtell Lipton firm. He conducted a series of interviews, some by phone, some in person. He concluded his investigation late last night. 
Q. Adam, you said you would encourage owners to force the sale of the Clippers. When will that action take place? 
ADAM SILVER: The process will begin immediately. We will most likely use a standing committee of the NBA. The equivalent of our executive committee is our advisory finance committee. I've had several discussions with Glen Taylor, who is our chairman of the board and also the leader of the advisory finance committee, and we will begin that process immediately. 
Q. In your conversations with Sterling, did he own up to this immediately? Was it only after you guys had come up with some sort of proof? And what, if anything, has he expressed approaching remorse, regret, anything? What's his sentiment at this point? 
ADAM SILVER: Mr. Sterling acknowledged it was his voice on the tape, and he has not expressed to me directly any other views. 
Q. What message do you have for the Clippers and their fans and their fan base in terms of moving forward from this point on? 
ADAM SILVER: My message to the Clippers fans is this league is far bigger than any one owner, any one coach, any one player. This institution has been around for a long time, and it will stand for a long time, and I have complete confidence in Doc Rivers, in the basketball management of that club, and the players deserve their support. They've just been through an incredibly difficult incident in their lives. 
Q. Was the punishment designed in effect to get the message across to Mr. Sterling that there's no point in him there's no advantage, nothing to be gained from him continuing his ownership? And also in determining what the punishment would be, including the suggestion to the Board of Governors, did you take into account Mr. Sterling's past behavior, or was it just based on this one particular incident? 
ADAM SILVER: In meting out this punishment we did not take into account his past behavior. When the board ultimately considers his overall fitness to be an owner in the NBA, they will take into account a lifetime of behavior. 
Q. Adam, could you just explain or lay out for us what specific power in the constitution and bylaws you exercised with your ban, and what specific was it a broad violation or a specific violation, and with respect to the forced sale, what specific section of the constitution covers that, and is that a broad violation or a specific one? 
ADAM SILVER: I'll let the lawyers lay out for you the specific provisions of our constitution. Let's just leave it that we have the authority to act as I've recommended. 
Q. Is the NBA considering more African American ownership at this point? 
ADAM SILVER: We're always open to ownership from people of all races, nationalities, ethnicities. As you know we have an African American primary owner in the league right now. Shaquille O'Neal just became a small owner of the Sacramento Kings. David Robinson is an owner of the San Antonio Spurs. Vivek Ranadive, a person of color born in Mumbai, India, just became the primary owner of the Sacramento Kings. So I believe we have a very diverse league, but I'd always like to see it become more diverse. 
Q. What about Magic Johnson? Is that an option at this point? 
ADAM SILVER: Magic Johnson knows he's always welcome as an owner in this league. He's been a part owner in the past of the Los Angeles Lakers, and he's always welcome and a close friend of the NBA family. 
Q. Did you talk to any of the players before you came to this decision? And what about Clippers' players; if they do not want to play for a team owned by Donald Sterling anymore, do they have any recourse? 
ADAM SILVER: I talked to several players before rendering my decision. Coincidentally I'd had a trip planned for this weekend. I was in Memphis for a game. I was in Oakland, and then I was in Portland Sunday night for games. I had a chance to talk directly to Chris Paul. I spoke to other members of the team. I spoke extensively to Doc Rivers, and as I said, Kevin Johnson has been representing the players' interests, and he and I have been talking multiple times a day. 
So I believe the players will be satisfied with the decision and the renderings that we've made today. If a player in the future doesn't want to play for the Los Angeles Clippers and he's under contract, we'll deal with that when it happens. But that's not my sense of where we are right now. 
Q. Will this situation cause you moving forward to put new rules in place for owners from the NBA? 
ADAM SILVER: I'm not sure. I mean, we're always willing to take a fresh look at our rules, our constitution and bylaws, but I believe we have appropriate rules in place right now to cover a situation like this. 
Q. Just to be clear, you said when specific evidence was brought to the league you did act. In past cases, has Donald Sterling ever been fined or suspended for racial or offensive remarks, and if not, why not? 
ADAM SILVER: He's never been suspended or fined by the league because while there have been well documented rumors and cases filed, he was sued and the plaintiff lost the lawsuit. That was Elgin Baylor. There was a case brought by the Department of Justice in which ultimately Donald Sterling settled and there was no finding of guilt, and those are the only cases that have been brought to our attention. When those two litigations were brought, they were followed closely by the league office. 
Q. Just a follow to that, one of the greatest players of all time, Elgin Baylor, accused Donald Sterling of running a plantation style franchise. Did that not concern you, and why was that not investigated? Despite the fact he lost the case, he has a prominent standing in the league and he said some very serious things. 
ADAM SILVER: It concerned us greatly. We followed the litigation closely, and ultimately Elgin Baylor did not prevail in that litigation. 
Q. Obviously Carmax and State Farm withdrew their sponsorship with the LA Clippers. With you as the commissioner of the NBA, what would you tell other people who are maybe on the fence or who have withdrawn who in the future might want to invest in one of your franchises? 
ADAM SILVER: I would say those marketing partners of the Clippers and partners of the entire NBA should judge us by our response to this incident, and I think we've responded appropriately, and I would be hopeful that they would return into their business relationships with the Clippers. 
Q. I'm wondering if you've spoken to Mr. Sterling about this ban or any of his representatives, and if so, what has Mr. Sterling's reaction been to the punishment? 
ADAM SILVER: I did not speak directly to his representatives about this ban. They were informed shortly before this press conference. I did not hear precisely what their reaction was. 
Q. Have there been any decisions about whether the immediate members of Mr. Sterling's family, including Rochelle, will be allowed to remain in an ownership or managerial position in the league, as well? 
ADAM SILVER: No, there have been no decisions about other members of the Sterling family, and I should say that this ruling applies specifically to Donald Sterling and Donald Sterling's conduct only. 
Q. As you mentioned, over a dozen sponsors have dropped the Clippers. What has been the financial impact on this franchise and on the league from this scandal? 
ADAM SILVER: I don't know. This has all happened in three days, and so I'm hopeful that there will be no long term damage to the league and to the Clippers' organization. But as I said earlier, I'm outraged, so I certainly understand other people's outrage, and it will take some time this will take some time, and appropriate healing will be necessary. I can understand precisely why, whether they be people affiliated with the NBA or the Clippers for a long time or those corporate partners. I can understand how upset they are, and I'll do my best to bring them back into the NBA family. 
Q. If the owners vote three fourths vote not to force the sale, can you still under your powers institute the lifetime ban? 
ADAM SILVER: The lifetime ban has been instituted. That is independent of forcing a sale of the team. 
Q. Can you share with us what your initial reaction was when you first heard the voice on the tape and what it was espousing? 
ADAM SILVER: When I first heard it, I was shocked. I was hoping somehow that it was fraudulent or that it had been doctored, that possibly it wasn't indeed Donald Sterling. I've known Donald for over 20 years, so I suspected it was his voice, and we set about immediately investigating, and that was my reaction, to sort of bear down and say let's get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible. 
Q. Mayor Johnson has indicated he would like the league to undertake a full accounting of Donald Sterling's past and the failures by the NBA to act until now. Is that an account you'd be willing to undertake? And would you make any effort to mete out the personal views of other NBA owners at this point? 
ADAM SILVER: I've had, as I said earlier, multiple conversations with Kevin Johnson, and I'm hoping that the actions we take today will satisfy our players. I believe they should. 
Q. Can you just tell us, you said you've known Donald Sterling for 20 years. What have your interactions over those 20 years been like with him? Have you ever seen anything like this? Have you ever felt anything like this? And what kind of man did you judge him to be prior to this? 
ADAM SILVER: I have not been that close to him over the years, but there's nothing I've ever seen in his behavior that would evidence these kinds of views. I've certainly, again, because there have been a lot of public filings about his activities, I've been aware of those accusations, but there's nothing I've ever seen firsthand that would indicate that he held the views that were expressed on these audio recordings. 
Q. I'm curious, you spoke about your personal response to this. In terms of Donald Sterling self identifying as Jewish and you doing the same, as well, I'm wondering whether there was a specific kind of pain associated with that for you and if you felt a certain responsibility within the Jewish community to be responding to this in this way? 
ADAM SILVER: I think my response was as a human being, and I used the word distraught before. I spoke on Saturday morning directly to Chris Paul, to Doc Rivers, and it wasn't even anger at that point. I mean, there was a certain somberness, and frankly, I felt sort of most strongly and personally for that team. While this affects every player and anyone associated with the NBA family, for those players and those coaches to go out and do what they need to do and play at the highest level in the world and have them hanging over this I think caused me to have a certain sadness I would say about the entire situation. I think this is regardless of anyone's religion, ethnicity, nationality. I think this is incredibly hurtful. 
Q. At any time during your conversation with Mr. Sterling, did he express any remorse or denial regarding these comments? 
ADAM SILVER: Mr. Sterling has not expressed those views directly to me. 
Q. It's been suggested that the Clipper players be granted free agency at the end of this year as a result of this issue. Is that something that can be considered? 
ADAM SILVER: That is not something we are considering. 
Q. If you don't get the three quarter vote that you need, is it possible that Donald Sterling could still be an absentee owner profiting from this team even though physically he's banned from doing anything with it? 
ADAM SILVER: I fully expect to get the support I need from the other NBA owners to remove him.

SPTRANSCRIPT30

Transcript: Adam Silver bans Donald Sterling for life

What a way to knock that racist Nevada rancher out of the headlines. Only days past anarchist Cliven Bundy showing himself to be what President Barack Obama characterized as "ignorant folks advertising their ignorance," Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling appeared to be caught on tape espousing what Washington Post columnist Clinton Yates called a "plantation mindset." 
And while the NBA scrambled to investigate the Sterling case, with a major news conference on the matter planned for 2 p.m. Tuesday, Duke University cultural anthropologist Orin Starn, who has written extensively on sports in America, was struck by how the country "lurches from one racial scandal to another. 
"Before Sterling, there was Don Imus," Starn said. "And before Don Imus, there was Al Campanis. And before Al Campanis, there was Earl Butts. And the irony is that nothing ever seems to get fixed. All the professors and pundits and columnists make pronouncements, and then we go back to the same old arrangements. It has this kabuki theater to it, everybody playing their parts, with an 80-year-old owner who turns out to be a bigot this time. It seems we're on this treadmill of racial issues." 
Yates, in a Monday appearance on WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show, cited "the whole notion of plantation politics . . . a woman [of black and Mexican descent] with whom [Sterling] apparently had some sort of romantic relationship. He had no problem being involved with her in that manner, but doesn't want her to affiliate with people he doesn't deem worthy enough to come to his games -- people he employs in a manner that makes money for him." 
To Starn, "It's just another example of racism hiding in plain sight. It's a league with a white commissioner, 29 of 30 white owners, wealthy white fans in sky boxes watching young black men play the game. The plantation analogy can be stretched too far, but it is true these racial divisions are staring at us in plain sight." 
New York Magazine essayist Frank Rich has called this cultual running in place "America's unfinished racial business" -- the idea that, while political speeches, television news accounts and other official public pronouncements "seem to have us in a post-racial society," Starn said, "there is another parallel, underground American world where all these tired, creepy old stereotypes, fears and anxieties are very much alive and well. 
"This is an age of political correctness. It takes some voice mail or purloined text message to give us a glimpse into the dark racial id of America. It takes an octogenarian basketball owner to say something stupid to get our attention. 
"In anthropology, we use the concept of the 'ritual scapegoat,' in which somebody is blamed for all of society's sins. And it's all too convenient, by ranting and raving about how awful what Sterling said is, we get to feel morally righteous." 
Starn calls the Sterling story "a simple one. We stand for tolerance and don't like what he said. But the actual task of fixing inequality in America is a gigantically complicated one. And it's not a problem that will be fixed with a few sound bites and declarations of good intentions." 
It may be that, because Sterling exists in the world of sports, his attitudes toward blacks -- which appeared to go mostly unnoticed while he was settling a 2009 law suit for discriminatory practices in not renting to blacks and Latinos -- were especially magnified. As Starn said, "sports is such a big business and such a cultural touchstone in America that, when a race controversy erupts, we all do pay attention. 
"We're not exactly shocked, but we do have this expectation that sports is a world of the even playing field, the ultimate meritocracy. So when the ugly head of racism is raised in the sports world, I think it does call more attention to itself." 
Big news. But where does it go from here?

News

SPHOT30

Expert: Donald Sterling next in 'treadmill of racial issues'

Clippers Sterling Basketball - cropped

Amid mounting pressure from sponsors, fans and players, NBA commissioner Adam Silver scheduled a news conference for Tuesday afternoon in Manhattan to discuss the league's investigation of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling.
Interested parties throughout the league will be tuning in to the nationally televised news conference to see what Silver plans to do about the 80-year-old Clippers owner, who is alleged by celebrity news organization TMZ to be the person who made racist comments to his girlfriend in an audio unveiled on the TMZ website late Friday night.
A suspension of indefinite length and a hefty fine -- Silver can issue one of up to $1 million without approval of owners -- are possible options. It remains unclear how far Silver's powers can reach at this point, even though the NBA constitution gives the commissioner's office a great deal of latitude to protect the game's best interests.
In the TMZ tape, a voice said to be Sterling's is heard telling his girlfriend not to bring black people to his games after she posted a photograph of herself with Hall of Famer Magic Johnson on Instagram.
On Monday, the first business day since the comments came to light, several sponsors said they were either ending or taking a break in their relationship with the Clippers. The mass exodus included CarMax, State Farm Insurance, Mercedes-Benz, Kia Motors America, Virgin America airline and Red Bull.
The sponsorship response wasn't limited to those associated with the Clippers. Anheuser-Busch, the official beer of the NBA, also released a statement saying that it was "disappointed to hear the alleged recent comments," adding that it trusts that the NBA "will take appropriate action."
Clippers coach Doc Rivers, who is black, said Monday that Sterling had reached out to him but that he had declined to take the call. He said he slept 45 minutes the night after the comments first came out and is anxious to see how the league handles the investigation.
"I think this is a defining moment, but I think we'll have more defining moments," Rivers said. "I think this is a very important decision. I hope that it's a very strong message, and I believe that it will be. But other than that, I'm just going to let the league do what it needs to do. And then after that, I think the players and myself will have a reaction."
Silver's news conference is scheduled for 2 p.m. Eastern time, 81/2 hours before Game 5 of the Clippers' playoff series against the Warriors.
Golden State coach Mark Jackson suggested that fans boycott the game at Los Angeles' Staples Center.
"I believe if it was me, I wouldn't come to the game," Jackson said. "I believe the fans, the loudest statement that they can make as fans is to not show up to the game."
Jackson said players have families to worry about and are getting paid to be there but fans "cannot allow someone with these feelings to profit."
Beside Rivers, the Clippers are led by black stars such as Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and Jamal Crawford. The team considered boycotting Game 4 on Sunday but instead led a silent protest that involved piling their warm-ups on the floor, exposing inside-out T-shirts that hid the team's logo.
Showing solidarity with the Clippers, the Heat had a similar protest before Monday night's playoff game against the Bobcats in Charlotte. The players tossed their white T-shirts on the court and turned their red Heat warm-up jerseys inside out.
The controversy could take a toll on the Clippers, whose series is tied at 2 after they lost Game 4, 118-97. They canceled practice Monday, and in a conference call with reporters, Rivers made it clear how hard this has been for him and the team.
"Yeah, I believe he said those things," Rivers said of the tape. "I just would like to reiterate how disappointed I am in those comments that are attributed to our owner. I can't tell you how upset I am and our players are."
The Nets issued a statement Monday, saying the organization "has full confidence in commissioner Silver. And, while due process should be accorded in the investigation, one thing is not debatable: Racism must be fought wherever it is found. We stand with those who are tolerant and respectful of all people."
In the event the team eventually is put up for sale, there were reports that Magic Johnson's Guggenheim Partners group would be interested in buying it. 
Johnson, however, denied any interest Monday night on Twitter, saying: "To NBA Fans, I want to put a stop to a rumor. I am not trying to buy the Clippers, they already have an owner."
With AP

SPSTER29

With sponsors defecting, will NBA commissioner Adam Silver suspend Clippers owner Donald Sterling

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Miami Heat showed solidarity with the Los Angeles Clippers over the Donald Sterling controversy before Monday night's playoff game against the Charlotte Bobcats. 
Like the Clippers did on Sunday, the Heat ran out of the tunnel wearing their warmups, huddled at center court and tossed their white shooting T-shirts to the ground. They then went through their pregame routine with their red Heat warmup jerseys inside out, hiding the team's logo. 
It was a silent protest in response to Sterling's purported comments urging a woman to not bring black people to his team's games. 
LeBron James and Dwyane Wade had both said in the locker room before the game they weren't sure what they would do to show their support for the Clippers.

SPHEAT29

Heat show support for Clippers with silent protest

heat cropped

Let's not pretend that deadbeat rancher Cliven Bundy and basketball team owner Donald Sterling are the last two racists in America. They have company. 
I hear regularly from proud racists who send me -- anonymously -- some of the vilest and most hateful correspondence you could imagine. You'll have to trust me about the content; this stuff, mostly vulgar racial insults directed at President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, is too disgusting to repeat. 
My sensibilities are not delicate. I grew up in South Carolina as the civil rights movement reached its climax, a place and time where racism was open, unambiguous and often violent. I would be the last person to deny that we've made tremendous progress against discrimination. But it is obvious that we have miles to go. 
Attorney General Eric Holder was harshly criticized five years ago when he said we are "essentially a nation of cowards" in our reluctance to confront the racial issues that remain. In retrospect, Holder was merely telling a truth that many still will not acknowledge. 
Bundy's hideous assessment of "the Negro" -- he wondered whether African-Americans were better off as slaves, picking cotton, than today -- should have come as no shock. 
A Nevada rancher who refuses to pay for grazing his cattle on federal land, Bundy belongs to the far-right, anti-government fringe. I'm talking about the kind of people who deny the federal government has any legitimacy and expect black helicopters to land any minute. This worldview has found a home in the tea party movement, which harbors -- let's be honest -- a racist strain. 
This is not to say that all or most tea party adherents share Bundy's ugly prejudices. But it has been obvious since the movement emerged that some tea partyers do. Media-savvy leaders eventually convinced those attending rallies to leave the racist placards at home, but such discretion says nothing about what remains in those people's hearts and minds. 
Racist words from Donald Sterling, a real estate mogul who owns the Los Angeles Clippers, also should have been less than surprising. In 2009, Sterling agreed to pay $2.73 million to settle a Justice Department lawsuit alleging discrimination against African-American and Latino tenants in his apartment buildings. In an earlier discrimination suit, settled for an undisclosed sum, one of his property managers quoted Sterling as saying of black tenants in general that "they smell, they're not clean." 
Still, the recording of the alleged conversation between the 80-year-old Sterling -- there has been no denial that it's his voice -- and his young girlfriend dominated the weekend's news, perhaps because it was not only racist but truly weird. 
"It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you're associating with black people," the voice believed to be Sterling's says to the girlfriend, V. Stiviano -- who is of mixed African-American and Mexican heritage. 
Sterling apparently believes that since Stiviano is light-skinned and has straight hair, no one has to know that she is part black -- if only she would stop posting photos of herself with African-Americans, such as basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson, on Instagram. He instructs her not to bring Johnson to Clippers games. 
Throughout the recorded conversation, which was obtained by TMZ.com, Sterling is unable to grasp why a black woman might resist his demand that she not be photographed with other black people. He apparently views racial segregation, at least in public, as the way things still ought to be. 
Sterling's racism has the National Basketball Association in an uproar -- understandably, given that nearly 80 percent of the league's players are black. Even Obama, midway through a trip to Asia, felt the need to comment on what he called Sterling's "incredibly offensive racist statements." He said Sterling was advertising his "ignorance." 
But something more sinister than cluelessness was involved. Sterling made clear in the conversation with Stiviano that African-Americans were unwelcome in his "culture." This is old-fashioned "separate-but-equal" racism, pure and simple. 
The Republican Party, Fox News and a majority of the Supreme Court would like to believe such naked prejudice is history. Yet some big-city school systems are as segregated as they were in the 1960s. Leading public universities are admitting fewer black students than a decade ago. The black-white wealth gap has grown in recent years. Blacks are no more likely than whites to use illegal drugs, yet four times more likely to be arrested and jailed for it. 
No, racism isn't back. It never went away. 
Eugene Robinson's email address is eugenerobinson@washpost.com.

OPROBINSON28

Robinson: Cliven Bundy, Donald Sterling aren't the only racists in America

Outrage over racist comments purportedly made by embattled Los Angeles Clippers owner&nbsp;Donald&nbsp;Sterling&nbsp;hit a crescendo Monday, with corporations pulling their sponsorship deals with the team and coach Doc Rivers saying he believes "a very strong message" is coming from the NBA in response to the scandal. 
That message will come Tuesday, when NBA Commissioner Adam Silver holds a news conference in New York where he could reveal sanctions the league will impose on&nbsp;Sterling. 
A suspension of indefinite length and hefty fine — Silver can issue one of up to $1 million without approval of owners — are possible options. However, it remains unclear how far Silver's powers can reach at this point, even though the NBA constitution gives the commissioner's office a lot of latitude to protect the game's best interest. 
Many players simply want&nbsp;Sterling&nbsp;ousted, with Lakers star Kobe Bryant tweeting he "should not continue owning the clippers." 
"It needs to be handled in the right way," Rivers said. "I don't even know what the right way is. I have a hunch. But I don't know." 
The Clippers had Monday off, with Rivers saying he wanted his team to try and regroup mentally after a whirlwind weekend where&nbsp;Sterling's&nbsp;alleged comments were revealed, first by TMZ and then in another recording posted on Deadspin. The NBA has not said if it was able to authenticate the tapes, but&nbsp;Sterling's&nbsp;wife told KABC-TV in Los Angeles that it was her husband on the recordings. 
Rivers, who has declined a chance to speak with his boss, believes&nbsp;Sterling&nbsp;is on the tape. 
"I can't tell you how upset I am," Rivers said. 
Tuesday is shaping up as a potentially seismic day for the Clippers, in both the short- and long-term. Rivers' team will host Golden State on Tuesday — about 8½ hours after Silver is scheduled to speak — in a crucial Game 5 of the teams' Western Conference first-round series, knotted now at two games apiece. 
Meanwhile, the Clippers are already taking hits in other ways over&nbsp;Sterling's&nbsp;alleged comments. 
CarMax and Virgin America announced they are ending their sponsorships of the team, and Kia Motors America plans to suspend its advertising and sponsorship activities with the franchise. Insurer State Farm said it "will be taking a pause in our relationship with the organization," though the popular ad campaign featuring Clippers guard Chris Paul will continue, as will the company's initiatives with the NBA. 
Los Angeles-based AQUAhydrate — launched by rap mogul Sean "P Diddy" Combs and actor Mark Wahlberg — also said it was suspending its sponsorship "in the wake of&nbsp;Sterling's&nbsp;alleged intolerable comments ... until the NBA completes its investigation." 
Losing sponsors would not seem to be an issue that only hurts the Clippers, either. It could potentially impact bottom lines across the league because of revenue sharing and Basketball Related Income, or BRI. 
"The opportunity before Commissioner Silver to take an uncompromising stand against any form of prejudice in the NBA is unprecedented in the league," said Marc H. Morial, the president and CEO of the National Urban League. 
The NAACP said it has decided not to honor&nbsp;Sterling&nbsp;with a previously announced lifetime achievement award from its Los Angeles chapter. The NAACP said it also plans to return an undisclosed amount of donations the Clippers owner has made to the organization. 
The&nbsp;Donald&nbsp;T.&nbsp;Sterling&nbsp;Charitable Foundation gave $5,000 to the NAACP's Los Angeles chapter in 2010, according to tax records, and&nbsp;Sterling&nbsp;was listed as his foundation's only contributor. There were no records of further NAACP contributions in 2011 or 2012, the latest years for which records were available. 
Several team owners have condemned the alleged remarks in recent days, including Charlotte's Michael Jordan, Miami's Micky Arison, Washington's Ted Leonsis and Indiana's Herb Simon. 
Regardless of what happens Tuesday, the saga surely will continue. And if&nbsp;Sterling&nbsp;is suspended, someone would likely have to be appointed to run the team, if even on an interim basis. Plus, there are numerous legal issues at play, including whether the recording was legally made and the matter of&nbsp;Sterling's&nbsp;wife suing the woman purported to be on the tape with&nbsp;Sterling. 
Those issues, however, are not expected to play an immediate role in how the league decides to proceed. 
"Clearly, there's things that have happened, but I don't know what they could have done in the past," Rivers said. "I know now that there seems to be proof that they can do something now. And so I'm not worried about the past — I'm worried about now and how we handle this. I think this is going to be handled the right way. I really have a lot of faith in Adam and the league."

SPSTERLING29.WEB

NBA: Donald Sterling announcement coming Tuesday

An audio recording in which a man, identified by celebrity news organization TMZ as Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, makes racist remarks has launched an NBA investigation and sparked outrage from around the NBA. 
In the recording, which was posted on TMZ's website late Friday, a man alleged to be Sterling can be heard telling his girlfriend, identified as model V Stiviano, that he was upset that she posted a picture of herself with Lakers legend Magic Johnson on her Instagram account. 
"It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you're associating with black people,'' the man alleged to be Sterling says. He asks Stiviano, who is identified by TMZ as of black and Mexican descent, not to bring black people "to my games.'' 
The man specifically mentioned Johnson on the recording, saying "don't bring him to my games, OK?" 
The Clippers issued a statement Saturday in which team president Andy Roeser questioned the validity of the recording and said "Mr. Sterling is emphatic that what is reflected on that recording is not consistent with, nor does it reflect, his views, beliefs or feelings." 
Roeser said Sterling is "upset and apologizes for sentiments attributed to him" about Johnson, whom he called Sterling's friend. 
Johnson, a minority owner of the Lakers, said on Twitter Saturday that he "will never go to a Clippers game again as long as Donald Sterling is the owner.'' Johnson also tweeted that he "feels sorry for my friends Coach Doc Rivers and Chris Paul that they have to work for a man that feels that way about African Americans.'' 
NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement Saturday that the "remarks heard on the recording are disturbing and offensive'' and said the league is conducting a full investigation. 
NBA commissioner Adam Silver, in Memphis Saturday night to attend the Grizzlies-Thunder playoff game, said there will be no immediate sanctions until Sterling and the woman on the tape are interviewed and the authenticity is verified. 
"All members of the NBA family should be afforded due process and a fair opportunity to present their side of any controversy, which is why I'm not yet prepared to discuss any potential sanctions against Donald Sterling," he said. "We will, however, move extraordinarily quickly in our investigation. In the meantime, Mr. Sterling has agreed he will not attend his playoff game [Sunday at Golden State].'' Silver added, "We do hope to have this wrapped up in the next few days." 
On TNT's halftime studio show, host Charles Barkley said: "This is the first test of Adam Silver. He's got to suspend him right now. First of all, they've got to prove that's his voice on that tape. But this is the first big test for Adam Silver. You can't have this guy making statements like that. You have to suspend him and fine him immediately." 
The Clippers are coached by Rivers, who is black, and are led by black stars such as Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and Jamal Crawford. 
Rivers said players discussed boycotting Sunday's game during a 45-minute team meeting but quickly decided against it. "I think the biggest statement we can make as men, not as black men, as men, is to stick together and show how strong we are as a group,'' Rivers said. "Not splinter. Not walk. It's easy to protest. The protest will be in our play." 
Rivers added, "A lot of guys voiced their opinions. None of them were happy about it. This was a situation where we're trying to go after something very important for us, something that we've all dreamed about all our childhoods. Donald or anyone else had nothing to do with that dream, and we're not going to let anything get in the way of those dreams." 
LeBron James, the NBA's reigning Most Valuable player, said "there's no room for Donald Sterling in the NBA.'' 
"Obviously, if the reports are true, it's unacceptable in our league," James said. "It doesn't matter, white, black or Hispanic -- all across the races, it's unacceptable. As the commissioner of our league, they have to make a stand. They have to be very aggressive with it . . . I can only imagine if a player came out and said something of that stature what would happen." 
Former Knicks coach Mike Woodson, who was fired last week, said he wouldn't work for Sterling if allegations are proven accurate. "No, if this comes out to be true, absolutely not," he said Saturday night on NBA TV. "But again, we've got to let this unfold and see where we are with it." 
Raptors guard DeMar DeRozen -- who grew up in Compton, 10 miles south of the Staples Center, the arena shared by the Clippers and Lakers -- said it will be interesting to see what the NBA does with the situation. He also said he doesn't think he could play for the Clippers. "I don't blame Magic Johnson for saying he wouldn't go. I wouldn't either,'' he said. "Could I play for a guy like that? I don't know. I don't stand for stuff like that. It would be tough.'' 
The Nets' Shaun Livingston, a Clipper for three seasons, said the news wasn't a big surprise to him. "That was crazy,'' he said. "You look at it, it probably was disappointing to a lot of people. But you look at what's kind of gone on in the past, it's unfortunate, but I think it kind of tells the same story.'' 
Former Clippers guard Baron Davis wrote on Twitter that Sterling's discrimination has been "going on for a long time." 
The Rev. Al Sharpton promised to hold a rally outside NBA headquarters in Manhattan and outside Tuesday night's Warriors-Clippers playoff game in Los Angeles. The National Basketball Players Association urged the league to take "strong and swift action'' if the report is true. 
Paul, who is president of the Players Association, issued a statement Saturday along with Kevin Johnson, the former NBA player who now is the mayor of Sacramento and serves as a union adviser. 
"On behalf of the National Basketball Players Association, this is a very serious issue which we will address aggressively,'' Paul said. "We have asked Mayor Kevin Johnson to expand his responsibilities with the NBPA to determine our response and our next steps. As players, we owe it to our teams and our fans to keep our focus on our game, the playoffs and the drive to the Finals.'' 
Said Kevin Johnson: "The reported comments made by Clippers owner Donald Sterling are reprehensible and unacceptable . . . There needs to be an immediate investigation, and if the reports are true, there needs to be strong and swift action taken. I have spoken with NBPA president Chris Paul and will be leading the NBPA in addressing the implications of this serious matter.'' 
Sterling, who has owned the Clippers since 1981, has been involved in two discrimination-related lawsuits. In 2009, he paid $2.725 million to settle a housing discrimination suit brought by the Justice Department that accused Sterling of systematically driving African-Americans, Latinos and families with children out of the apartment buildings he owned. Former Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor unsuccessfully sued Sterling for age and racial discrimination in 2009. 
With Roderick Boone, 
Al Iannazzone 
and The Associated Press

SPCLIPS27

NBA investigating racist audio allegedly attributed to Clippers owner Donald Sterling

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