After an audio recording surfaced over the weekend that contained the voice of the Los Angeles Clippers owner saying racist comments to his then-girlfriend Vanessa Stiviano, the NBA announced this afternoon in a press conference that Donald Sterling, 80, has been banned for life from any association with the Clippers or the NBA.
“Mr. Sterling violated league rules through his expressions of offensive and hurtful views, the impact of which has been widely felt throughout the league,” according to an NBA press release.
The lifetime ban also includes attendance to any NBA games or practices, any Clippers office or facility, and participation in any business or player personnel decisions involving the team. He’s also been barred from attending NBA Board of Governors meetings and participation in any other league activity.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver noted in the press conference that Mr. Sterling will be fined $2.5 million, the maximum amount allowed under the NBA Constitution. The fine money will go to anti-discrimination organizations.
Commissioner Silver is also urging the Board of Governors to exercise authority in forcing the sale of the team.
Sterling has owned the NBA team since 1981.
While Sterling does have a long history with the NBA, it was not exactly a shock to some people that Sterling made racist comments. In 2009 there was a housing discrimination case against him and in 2011 a case was brought on by former Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor for harassment and discrimination, which Sterling won.
In this latest incident, the audio recording that surfaced had Sterling telling Stiviano to not bring black men to Clippers games. One of the men mentioned was Hall of Famer Magic Johnson.
[Source: NBA]
Photo by Malingering, via Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons License 2.0.