LA Clippers Owner Donald Sterling Banned for Life, NBA Pushes Sale

Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has been banned for life from basketball and ownership duties following a recording of him making racist remarks.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) issued the punishment and a $2.5 million fine while Commissioner Adam Silver also demanded Sterling to sell the team.

Celebrity website TMZ published the audio of Sterling telling a woman not to bring black people to games or to associate with them in public. 

Sterling said the recording did not reflect his views and the woman in the audio is believed to be his girlfriend Vanessa Stiviano. 

Stiviano posted a picture of herself with basketball legend Magic Johnson on her Instagram account, which led to the remarks in the recording.

Almost unanimously, owners supported the commissioner Tuesday, as he handed down one of the harshest penalties in the history of U.S. sports. 

At a press conference on Tuesday, commissioner Silver said Sterling’s hateful opinions had no place in the NBA.

“We stand together in condemning Mr. Sterling’s views. They simply have no place in the NBA,” Silver said at a news conference.

Sterling, 80, is banned for life from any association with the league or the Clippers, and was fined $2.5 million – the maximum allowable under the NBA constitution.The fine will be donated to organisations fighting racism. If three-fourths of the other 29 owners agree to Silver’s recommendation, Sterling will be forced to sell the team he has owned since 1981.

He also confirmed Sterling would be banned from participating in all team business, as well as attending NBA practises or games. 

Chris Paul, the Clippers’ All-Star point guard and the president of the players’ union, issued a brief statement before leading Los Angeles against the Warriors in Game 5 of their tied playoff series.

“In response to today’s ruling by the NBA and Commissioner Adam Silver, my teammates and I are in agreement with his decision,” Paul said. “We appreciate the strong leadership from Commissioner Silver and he has our full support.”

A statement from the Clippers said they supported and embraced the decision and it was now time for the healing process. 

Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive said he expects NBA owners to be united in voting to force Donald Sterling to sell the Clippers.

“The owners I know are all color blind and they found that this behavior was outrageous,”Ranadive said Wednesday on Good Morning America. “So I would be surprised if it isn’t a unanimous vote.”

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