The Official Donald Sterling/Clippers Thread

[Yoshun]

That having been said, the NBA is going to have to prove in court that getting rid of Sterling was best for the league, because he's probably going to challenge that, among many other things. Financially, the Clippers are worth a ton, I'm sure Sterling's lawyers will argue that occurred under his watch.

The NBA is currently in negotiation with ESPN and TNT for a new TV Deal. I would say it would be fairly easy to prove the NBA's potential TV deal is less attractive with Sterling as an owner. See: Well, everything that has transpired, sponsors pulling out, etc.

I'm not sure the tape or any of the evidence linked to it is admissible in court, since it was obtained illegally. It's kind of interesting to think about what this court case will be like when you consider that. I'm not a lawyer though, so I don't know if that's true or if it even matters.

[QRich3]

No one is supporting racism

But the way they ousted Sterling is "dirty".
I'm a professional and I say things off record to friends about certain things, now if some douche bag records me illegally and use my private conversations to his/her advantage to further his/her career or hurt me professionally... It really makes me angry thinking about that.

As much as a professional you might be, your boss can fire you if he thinks it's best for his business, no questions asked, no moral reason needed. That's how the world works. If you own a franchise of a big brand, they can get rid of you if they think it's best for their business. Sh*t like that happens every day. It's amusing to see how people get outraged when an old racist gets stripped of 'rights' they don't even have.

That having been said, the NBA is going to have to prove in court that getting rid of Sterling was best for the league, because he's probably going to challenge that, among many other things. Financially, the Clippers are worth a ton, I'm sure Sterling's lawyers will argue that occurred under his watch.

The NBA is currently in negotiation with ESPN and TNT for a new TV Deal. I would say it would be fairly easy to prove the NBA's potential TV deal is less attractive with Sterling as an owner. See: Well, everything that has transpired, sponsors pulling out, etc.

I'm not sure the tape or any of the evidence linked to it is admissible in court, since it was obtained illegally. It's kind of interesting to think about what this court case will be like when you consider that. I'm not a lawyer though, so I don't know if that's true or if it even matters.

Before any of that, Sterling has to prove the Sterling fund was illegally operating in his name. He'll have to prove he's mentally capable of running it and his wife has illegally sold the team in his name. Or the half he owns anyway. As it stands right now, the league didn't force him to sell or anything, Sterling's wife willingly sold the team to Balmer. He'll have to challenge that first, and if he wins (big if), we'll see if the league forces him out and he challenges all that.

[Q00]

Sterling's confidant claims the firms already have uncovered allegations of racial discrimination by NBA officials that are as bad as comments Sterling made suggesting he did not want to see blacks at Clippers games. The Sterling ally, who declined to be named when discussing Donald's legal strategy, said he was not ready to reveal the early findings.

"They are trying to apply a standard, but they are not applying it equally to everyone, including themselves," the Sterling ally said. "That is going to create a real legal problem for them. Even if they are a private organization, they can't say that a policy applies to only one member and everyone else is free to do what they want."

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-ste ... story.html

Sterlings PIs may already have something on the NBA.

By "NBA officials" is he referring to the refs or league office guys?

(would love it to be the former )

Either way, its going to be interesting to see what the public reaction is to this, if they reveal evidence of Silver and/or others behaving the same way as Sterling. Would there be the same outrage from fans, this time directed at the NBA instead? Would players threaten to boycott the NBA and refuse to play for a racist commisioner/league office?

It sounds like this is going to get ugly.

[chitownsports4ever]

Sterling's confidant claims the firms already have uncovered allegations of racial discrimination by NBA officials that are as bad as comments Sterling made suggesting he did not want to see blacks at Clippers games. The Sterling ally, who declined to be named when discussing Donald's legal strategy, said he was not ready to reveal the early findings.

"They are trying to apply a standard, but they are not applying it equally to everyone, including themselves," the Sterling ally said. "That is going to create a real legal problem for them. Even if they are a private organization, they can't say that a policy applies to only one member and everyone else is free to do what they want."

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-ste ... story.html

Sterlings PIs may already have something on the NBA.

By "NBA officials" is he referring to the refs or league office guys?

(would love it to be the former )

Either way, its going to be interesting to see what the public reaction is to this, if they reveal evidence of Silver and/or others behaving the same way as Sterling. Would there be the same outrage from fans, this time directed at the NBA instead? Would players threaten to boycott the NBA and refuse to play for a racist commisioner/league office?

It sounds like this is going to get ugly.

Nope wont work

"They are trying to apply a standard, but they are not applying it equally to everyone, including themselves," the Sterling ally said.

Donald Sterling dropped this entire thing into the NBA's lap the NBA was reacting to protect its own best interests . If he tries to apply his own situation to anyone elses it will fall short . You follow the league please list the other situations that you know of that had multiple sponsors walking,players and fans threatening to boycott ?

[Q00]

Sterling's confidant claims the firms already have uncovered allegations of racial discrimination by NBA officials that are as bad as comments Sterling made suggesting he did not want to see blacks at Clippers games. The Sterling ally, who declined to be named when discussing Donald's legal strategy, said he was not ready to reveal the early findings.

"They are trying to apply a standard, but they are not applying it equally to everyone, including themselves," the Sterling ally said. "That is going to create a real legal problem for them. Even if they are a private organization, they can't say that a policy applies to only one member and everyone else is free to do what they want."

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-ste ... story.html

Sterlings PIs may already have something on the NBA.

By "NBA officials" is he referring to the refs or league office guys?

(would love it to be the former )

Either way, its going to be interesting to see what the public reaction is to this, if they reveal evidence of Silver and/or others behaving the same way as Sterling. Would there be the same outrage from fans, this time directed at the NBA instead? Would players threaten to boycott the NBA and refuse to play for a racist commisioner/league office?

It sounds like this is going to get ugly.

Nope wont work

"They are trying to apply a standard, but they are not applying it equally to everyone, including themselves," the Sterling ally said.

Donald Sterling dropped this entire thing into the NBA's lap the NBA was reacting to protect its own best interests . If he tries to apply his own situation to anyone elses it will fall short . You follow the league please list the other situations that you know of that had multiple sponsors walking,players and fans threatening to boycott ?

I think you are misunderstanding the situation or underestimating the effect this case could have on the NBA if it goes to court. The whole point of what Sterling is doing here is to expose the NBA in the same way he was exposed. If evidence is revealed in court of the NBA behaving the same way as Sterling, why wouldn't sponsers and players react the same way to them that they did to Sterling?

That is this guys whole point.

[og15]

It doesnt matter what he digs up the NBA is a private club in which he's been kicked out of . Who will he give this information to ?

Everyone? We've all said horrible things in private, some of which is in joke and some that shows our real thinking that we wouldn't want to tell others. You can be sure that the owners, like all of us, have skeletons in their closet that they don't want the world to know. I have no doubt they are freaking out right now because they know things can come out about them. Sterling's "I don't give an F" attitude right now is the worst case scenario for the league.

You guys always make me wonder what you must be saying in private that is so condemning of you, sheesh

[WOX_69]

Some of you people are missing the point here. You can try to "defend" the idea of "Oh well he said all this in private, the NBA shouldn't be able to force him to sell his team because of his thoughts." or "They're impeding on his First Amendment rights (false)" or "Just because someone has these thoughts doesn't mean the NBA can show he's bad for business." but you're missing one evident thing. In the recording he mentions aspects of business in stating he doesn't want certain types of people at games. That right there ends it.

Also, some of you need to get off this "It was illegally recorded." train. While California is indeed a multi-party state when it comes to recordings (Along with several others), there is no proof as to WHERE the recording took place.

[J0rdan4life42o]

Some of you people are missing the point here. You can try to "defend" the idea of "Oh well he said all this in private, the NBA shouldn't be able to force him to sell his team because of his thoughts." or "They're impeding on his First Amendment rights (false)" or "Just because someone has these thoughts doesn't mean the NBA can show he's bad for business." but you're missing one evident thing. In the recording he mentions aspects of business in stating he doesn't want certain types of people at games. That right there ends it.

I think very few people are missing the point, but not the point you're making. If you're going to reference the recording, then at least try to be accurate. Sterling told his girlfriend he didn't want HER bringing black people to his games; throughout the recording, he was very adamant about not wanting his girlfriend in particular to associate with black people. Don't be mistaken, no one's trying to rally behind a racist billionaire, but there are enough aspects surrounding this issue that will trigger plenty of debate.

Also, some of you need to get off this "It was illegally recorded." train. While California is indeed a multi-party state when it comes to recordings (Along with several others), there is no proof as to WHERE the recording took place.

Why should anyone "get off it""? A portion of Sterling's lawsuit against the NBA is highly dependent on the fact that the NBA violated his California constitutional rights. I would think that if his lawyers are going that route, they have the appropriate evidence to present that the conversation was in fact recorded within California state boundaries.

[King4Day]

Can this thread be unstuck? It seems to be a quiet matter now.

[NBAfan3024]

When is the hearing then? When does it all end?

[UDRIH14]

i just had to post this here also

[G R E Y]

Most recent ruling, as per Yahoo! Sports:

Clippers sale hinges on legalities of family trust

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The $2 billion sale of the Los Angeles Clippers will hinge on the technicalities of family trust law and whether Donald Sterling's estranged wife had the right to unilaterally negotiate a deal with former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

The July 7 trial will look at the trust's terms alone and not focus on whether the 80-year-old Sterling is mentally incapacitated, Superior Court Judge Michael Levanas said Monday.

Attorneys will argue about whether Shelly Sterling properly followed the terms of the trust in declaring Donald Sterling to be mentally incapacitated and what happens to a deal that hasn't been closed once a trust is revoked.

The judge said another issue likely to be ''front and center'' during the trial is what happens to a deal that hasn't been closed when a trust is revoked. Donald Sterling revoked the trust on June 9 - weeks after Shelly Sterling negotiated the deal with Ballmer.

Shelly Sterling's attorneys contend that finishing the deal is part of winding down the trust's affairs and that she has an obligation to close the deal or Ballmer will sue.

If the sale isn't completed by Sept. 15, the league said it could seize the team and put it up for auction.

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/judge-determine-scope-trial-clippers-121158526--nba.html

[turk3d]

Sterlings lawyers (set to go to trial July 7) claim that the doctor who diagnosed his "mental incompetency) may have gone out drinking with Sterling the day of the examination.

Not totally clear, but it sounds like they're going to argue for Stern's competency in the trail so that they can block the sale:

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/stor ... ompromised

[G R E Y]

Sterlings lawyers (set to go to trial July 7) claim that the doctor who diagnosed his "mental incompetency) may have gone out drinking with Sterling the day of the examination.

Not totally clear, but it sounds like they're going to argue for Stern's competency in the trail so that they can block the sale:

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/stor ... ompromised

I think you mean Sterling's?

Anyway, it IS confusing because on the one hand:

The attorneys in the case agreed Monday that Donald Sterling's mental competency will no longer be an issue in next week's trial to determine whether his estranged wife Shelly Sterling had the authority to sell the Los Angeles Clippers to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

yet presently they are arguing

In court documents filed last week, Donald Sterling's attorney's claimed that "it was unclear at what point a medical examination ceased and a social interaction began, with the consumption of alcoholic beverages taking place."

Kind of a dumb thing to do on the doctor's part, but it they can prove that this is standard interaction amongst them, then surely not all tests done before in the same manner were deemed illegitimate because they socialized afterwards, and it's then a way in for precedence for this test being legitimate. Unless the doctor had a pina colada in hand while examining him, I don't see how it can be unclear when the exam finished and the socializing started.

Nevertheless

Pierce O'Donnell, the lawyer for Shelly Sterling, said after the hearing that he was confident his client had followed the provisions of the trust and there were no grounds to argue she'd unduly influenced the doctor's diagnoses, as Donald Sterling had consented to allow her to negotiate the sale after both examinations had been performed.

What's good is that the judge did not fall for the 'delayed expert doc' tactic by Sterling's lawyers and the trial will go ahead and presumably finish in time before the next BOG meetings.

I hope the judge doesn't fall for the 'when he gave consent to negotiate the sale, he meant negotiate, not actually sell' qualification. If Sterling was so adamant about what he meant, perhaps he ought to have been more careful in how he worded his letter of permission, the very wording of which he is now using to try to block the sale?

May the gong show be over soon. This is really about Sterling wanting to squeeze every litigious option dry because he is so proud and feels humiliated by getting pushed out of an exclusive club he was a part of for so long until his abhorrent behaviour and words caught up with him. He's getting called out and paying the consequences, and he doesn't like it.

[turk3d]

Kind of a dumb thing to do on the doctor's part, but it they can prove that this is standard interaction amongst them, then surely not all tests done before in the same manner were deemed illegitimate because they socialized afterwards, and it's then a way in for precedence for this test being legitimate. Unless the doctor had a pina colada in hand while examining him, I don't see how it can be unclear when the exam finished and the socializing started.

Very good pint.

The guy's gonna wind up with half a billion dollars and he wants to bitch about it when what did he originally purchase the team for something like 12Million? He is crazy. Take you money, get your divorce and buy himself 10 Stiviano's. Looks like he may have already done so.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... viano.html

Unfortunately, it's not illegal to be a bigot.

[TheNewEra]

Disgusting these women are nasty.

[G R E Y]

Kind of a dumb thing to do on the doctor's part, but it they can prove that this is standard interaction amongst them, then surely not all tests done before in the same manner were deemed illegitimate because they socialized afterwards, and it's then a way in for precedence for this test being legitimate. Unless the doctor had a pina colada in hand while examining him, I don't see how it can be unclear when the exam finished and the socializing started.

Very good pint.

The guy's gonna wind up with half a billion dollars and he wants to bitch about it when what did he originally purchase the team for something like 12Million? He is crazy. Take you money, get your divorce and buy himself 10 Stiviano's. Looks like he may have already done so.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... viano.html

Unfortunately, it's not illegal to be a bigot.

Nauseating. No sense of self-respect whatsoever. Pathetic.

[G R E Y]

And the gong show drags on. You wonder why the NBA didn't take Sterling to task in the past? If he's like this now, imagine him with more coherent brain cells rubbing together and more energy. Here's the latest stalling tactic:

Donald Sterling's lawyers want to push lawsuit federal

"This (Thursday) afternoon, we filed a Notice of Removal to Federal Court on behalf of Donald T. Sterling in the Probate Matter," said Sterling's lawyer, Bobby Samini, in a statement. "As we have stated repeatedly and from the onset of this matter, it is our contention that Donald's privacy rights have been trampled by the release of his medical records.

The request drew an immediate condemnation from Ballmer's lawyer, Adam Streisand.

"We will be filing emergency relief in federal court to undo this last desperate and frivolous attempt to block our trial from going forward Monday," Streisand said in statement.

And then from Shelly's lawyer, Pierce O'Donnell:

"Moreover, Donald's claim of a HIPPA violation is preposterous. As a lawyer, Donald knows that he expressly authorized public release of his medical records under the terms of the trust. For a man who vows to fight to preserve his dignity, Donald is showing very little of it with such a blatant underhanded tactic. We are confident that the federal court will promptly remand the case back to Judge Michael Levanas and that Donald will be forced to face the music."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/clippers/2014/07/03/donald-sterling-lawsuit-federal-court-local-steve-ballmer-shelly-los-angeles-sale/12196579/

[BarnabyJones]

72 pages on Donald Sterling. Jesus

[SunsRback4Good]

Disgusting these women are nasty.

These ho** along loyal