What are we gonna do about Donald Sterling- (Clipps reborn!)

[East Bay Sports]

I would be shocked if we don't get backed by votes from 100% of the owners. Anyone who votes in favor of DTS, if it ever came out who that was, would get blasted.

mark cuban already said he won't be voting for the sale. **** mark. i used to respect him.

Cuban is a businessman, his stance doesn't surprise me at all. I don't think it means he tolerates Sterling's ignorant beliefs, he just doesn't think it is grounds for taking his team away. I really don't think Cuban being against forcing him to sell has much to do with Sterling at all, he is more concerned about forcing a man to sell based on a private recorded convo being leaked is a bad precedent to set and can lead to a slippery slope. And in that regard he may be right.

Not that I am against the owners forcing him to sell, I hope he has to.

For what it is worth, prevailing feeling is this vote is going to go off without a hitch

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10858 ... ing-banned

[Akklaim1]

Has anyone heard from Ralph? I really wanna know his thoughts? I wonder if he has mixed feelings about this because DTS has been a friend to him all these years and he's just afraid to express his true feelings.

[Quake Griffin]

I would be shocked if we don't get backed by votes from 100% of the owners. Anyone who votes in favor of DTS, if it ever came out who that was, would get blasted.

mark cuban already said he won't be voting for the sale. **** mark. i used to respect him.

Cuban is a businessman, his stance doesn't surprise me at all. I don't think it means he tolerates Sterling's ignorant beliefs, he just doesn't think it is grounds for taking his team away. I really don't think Cuban being against forcing him to sell has much to do with Sterling at all, he is more concerned about forcing a man to sell based on a private recorded convo being leaked is a bad precedent to set and can lead to a slippery slope. And in that regard he may be right.

Not that I am against the owners forcing him to sell, I hope he has to.

For what it is worth, prevailing feeling is this vote is going to go off without a hitch

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10858 ... ing-banned

I think he knows theres a lot of "isms" that can be used to describe some of the other 29 owners...he alluded to the other forms of discrimination but I think he knows theres a few guys who could easily be tripped up like Sterling.

if an owner says he doesnt believe in gay marriage because he's Christian...do you come down with the same punishment?
then you have a huge clusterfkuc with all kinds of interest groups upset with the commissioner/ other owners no matter the outcome of the question.

[mttwlsn16]

Has anyone heard from Ralph? I really wanna know his thoughts? I wonder if he has mixed feelings about this because DTS has been a friend to him all these years and he's just afraid to express his true feelings.

Have not heard a peep

[Angel strike1]

To be honest I am still worried till team is sold.
That if up never does stuff without courts

[Ranma]

...which mentions Sterling's wife, who previously played a part in his racist schemes of trying to get undesirable minorities out of his properties, as being "mortified" by his comments. She's reportedly been separated from him and is still involved in running the team. I'm curious what the true motive of the leak is. Is it a pure money grab or is there another McCourt situation in the works?

The LA Times reporting on the incident with Rochelle Sterling I referenced previously:

Nathan Fenno, Los Angeles Times (4/29/14)

An apartment tenant and managers claimed the wife of embattled Clippers owner Donald Sterling denigrated African Americans, Latinos and once posed as a health inspector, according to court records.

Rochelle Sterling denied she is a racist in a statement released to ESPN earlier this week and distanced herself from remarks captured on an audio recording said to be of her husband. The court documents offer a different perspective.

In a 2009 deposition, a tenant at one of the Sterling’s apartment buildings in Los Angeles County said that Rochelle Sterling called him a “black m—f—” during a discussion at the building.

Court documents show controversy involving Donald Sterling's wife

[Neddy]

To be honest I am still worried till team is sold.
That if up never does stuff without courts

that makes two of us.

Adam Silver needs to make a swift action before the clips season comes to an end with every player and every coach soul searching to stay or go if DTS drags this out indefinitely through the judicial system.

get DTS out of the way, let the NBA own the clips and even if lawsuits happen, put that under the rug and let the people who matters in clipper franchise know that the ownership change is already half way done with DTS out of the picture. i don't mind being the next Hornets.

besides, David Geffen already said he has 100% interest in buying the clips. he is worth around 7 billion and is a LA local. we can only hope......

[Neddy]

...which mentions Sterling's wife, who previously played a part in his racist schemes of trying to get undesirable minorities out of his properties, as being "mortified" by his comments. She's reportedly been separated from him and is still involved in running the team. I'm curious what the true motive of the leak is. Is it a pure money grab or is there another McCourt situation in the works?

The LA Times reporting on the incident with Rochelle Sterling I referenced previously:

Nathan Fenno, Los Angeles Times (4/29/14)

An apartment tenant and managers claimed the wife of embattled Clippers owner Donald Sterling denigrated African Americans, Latinos and once posed as a health inspector, according to court records.

Rochelle Sterling denied she is a racist in a statement released to ESPN earlier this week and distanced herself from remarks captured on an audio recording said to be of her husband. The court documents offer a different perspective.

In a 2009 deposition, a tenant at one of the Sterling’s apartment buildings in Los Angeles County said that Rochelle Sterling called him a “black m—f—” during a discussion at the building.

Court documents show controversy involving Donald Sterling's wife

even if they are separated, people that are fundamentally different usually don't last even a few years of marriage. the fact that they've been together for decades and only lately, they have been separated (mostly due to donald's infidelity) tells me they are probably very like minded people. I have never heard of anything positive about the mrs. even when i lived in LA. and oh by the way, their son died from drug overdose and had trouble with the law. neither even look remotely a decent parent either.

[verbal8]

To be honest I am still worried till team is sold.
That if up never does stuff without courts

that makes two of us.

Adam Silver needs to make a swift action before the clips season comes to an end with every player and every coach soul searching to stay or go if DTS drags this out indefinitely through the judicial system.

get DTS out of the way, let the NBA own the clips and even if lawsuits happen, put that under the rug and let the people who matters in clipper franchise know that the ownership change is already half way done with DTS out of the picture. i don't mind being the next Hornets.

besides, David Geffen already said he has 100% interest in buying the clips. he is worth around 7 billion and is a LA local. we can only hope......

I think it is promising that the NBA released the NBA constitution with regard to Termination of ownership.

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/23 ... -Ownership

I am not 100% on what article they will use, but the 4th one looks likely.

(d) Fail or refuse to fulfill its contractual obligations to the Association, its Members, Players, or any other third party in such a way as to affect the Association or its Members adversely.

It looks like the process is a little over 2 weeks. I am not sure if the process has officially been started yet.

(a) Any Member of the Association or the Commissioner may charge that a Member or Owner has violated one (1) or more of the provisions of Article 13. Said charge shall be made in Writing and shall be filed with the Commissioner, who shall, no later than three (3) business days after the charges are filed, cause a copy thereof to be served by a Writing upon the Member or Owner against whom such charges have been made. (b) The Member or Owner so charged shall, within five (5) days after receipt of the charges, file with the Commissioner its written answer thereto. The Commissioner shall thereupon transmit said charges and answer to each of the Governors of the Association and shall call a special meeting of the Governors to hear the charges, to be held on a date not more than ten (10) days after the filing of a Member’s or Owner’s answer, due notice to be given.

[Neddy]

It looks like the process is a little over 2 weeks. I am not sure if the process has officially been started yet.

Adam Silver said at the conference that the process has already begun.

[AddiFB]

I want to wish you guys, Clippers fans, all the best.

Because I've never been through anything similar with my team (Orlando, yeah, some centers have left for LA but that's just part of the basketball world - nothing too upsetting) I can't put myself in your position as a part of a fanbase, but as a human being I feel the disgust and anger toward Donald Sterling and his "thought process" and feel Adam Silver did the correct thing.

I can however imagine that the shock and all the unknowns about the near and distant future of this team must hang over you as a dark, thunder-chargerd cloud, something that no fanbase should have to deal with. Hope this gets sorted quickly and you get a new, GOOD owner who keeps this current roster, keeps the team in LA and keeps the name. The Clippers were there before Sterling and should stay LA Clippers after Sterling. His thoughts, actions and words do not portray the feelings of the Clippers or the fans of the Clippers or fans of the NBA. I do not wish this team getting dismantled and every player leaving for FA. Just replace the owner and wish for better days.

Good luck.

[verbal8]

I want to wish you guys, Clippers fans, all the best.

I agree.

I can however imagine that the shock and all the unknowns about the near and distant future of this team must hang over you as a dark, thunder-chargerd cloud, something that no fanbase should have to deal with. Hope this gets sorted quickly and you get a new, GOOD owner who keeps this current roster, keeps the team in LA and keeps the name.

I think Sterling being on his way out, already means that things are better. It may be messy at times, but the outcome will definitely make the Clippers and the NBA better. I don't see a relocation for the Clippers being on the table at all at this point.

[Fat Kat]

I would be shocked if we don't get backed by votes from 100% of the owners. Anyone who votes in favor of DTS, if it ever came out who that was, would get blasted.

mark cuban already said he won't be voting for the sale. **** mark. i used to respect him.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/461208183965351937[/tweet]

If he votes against the sale, he'll have to pray no one finds out.

[QRich3]

To be honest I am still worried till team is sold.
That if up never does stuff without courts

that makes two of us.

Adam Silver needs to make a swift action before the clips season comes to an end with every player and every coach soul searching to stay or go if DTS drags this out indefinitely through the judicial system.

get DTS out of the way, let the NBA own the clips and even if lawsuits happen, put that under the rug and let the people who matters in clipper franchise know that the ownership change is already half way done with DTS out of the picture. i don't mind being the next Hornets.

besides, David Geffen already said he has 100% interest in buying the clips. he is worth around 7 billion and is a LA local. we can only hope......

Oh he will drag this out as long as possible, believe that. At this point though, all he's gonna accomplish is being on the small headlines of the sports section a couple times a year. It looks like they are gonna sell the team with or without his consent. There is no way he is ever gonna come back as an owner. Not only because every legal scenario I've read says it's highly unlikely (basically impossible), but because public opinion would eat him alive (and any judge that dares give him back the franchise). He might get a big cash compensation from the NBA if he wins his case, but at this point I couldn't care less. He's out of our sight forever, I don't care if he dies buried in $1000 bills or without a pot to piss in. He's gone, it's all that matters to me

On paper David Geffen sounds nice as an owner. He's been interested in the team since forever, and the fact that he is openly gay makes for a nice redemption story for our franchise (not that I care about that, but like we saw with DTS' situation, good press is very important).

[Ranma]

We all know that Sterling is going to take this to court regardless. He's got plenty of money, and while a forced sale of the team would probably increase his personal wealth by at least 33%, the loss of the franchise and its accompanying status and privileges hurt him more than anything. Even from a pure financial aspect, there is incentive for him to fight to retain possession of the Clippers given the substantial savings of about $300 million depending on what he does.

I'm sure Sterling's cadre of lawyers are eager to take his money in trying to get this to trial, but I'm confident in the NBA's counsel that they have a strong legal standing. How ironic that a person from the "good old boys" network has now been barred from an exclusive club.

Michael McCann, Sports Illustrated (4/29/14)

Important tax law considerations: avoiding capital gain taxes

Sterling, who is 80 or 81 years old (his exact birthdate remains a mystery), has a key financial reason to fight the sale of the Clippers: to avoid capital gain taxes. This insight is from Robert Raiola senior manager in the Sports & Entertainment Group of the Accounting Firm O'Connor Davies, LLP. Sterling reportedly purchased the Clippers for $12.5 million in 1981. If he sold the team today, it would be worth at least $600 million, perhaps closer to $1 billion. Between federal and state capital gains taxes, Sterling would pay an approximately 33 percent tax rate on the difference between what he paid for the team and what he sold it for. For instance, if he sold the Clippers today for $1 billion, Sterling would pay capital gain taxes of 33 percent on a gain of $987.5 million. As a result, Sterling would owe Federal & state capital gain taxes of approximately $329 million.

If instead Sterling holds onto the Clippers and some time from now passes away, his family would inherit the team. The family would inherit the team with a value pegged to its fair market value. As Raiola stresses, the new value of the team would be crucial for purposes of capital gains tax. Here's why: if the family inherited the Clippers and then sold it, they would only pay a capitals gain tax on the difference between the value of the team when they inherited it and the value of it when sold. For instance, if the family inherited the team and it was worth $700 million and then they sold it for $800 million, they would only pay capital gain taxes on a gain of $100 million. In that instance, there would be a comparatively modest tax bill of $33 million.

If the Sterling family inherited the Clippers and simultaneously sold it, Raiola tells SI.com, they would pay no capital gains tax, but still have estate tax issues. However, a transaction could be structured whereby the employees of the Clippers organization could own a percentage of the team. In such case, the capital gain taxes on a sale could be partially or fully avoided.

These tax considerations make it more likely that Sterling will fight the NBA to hold onto the Clippers. Even if he ultimately loses a legal battle, the process of losing could take years to play out in court. At the risk of sounding macabre, Sterling may be motivated to wage a protracted legal battle in order to keep the team for as long as he lives.

Sterling, NBA set for epic legal fight over Clippers

[Akklaim1]

So DTS will fight back to avoid selling the team. What the **** is he trying to accomplish here? Does he know that if he continues to be the owner, the franchise will just be in the ****?

[madmaxmedia]

So DTS will fight back to avoid selling the team. What the **** is he trying to accomplish here?

The $$$$ (as referenced above).

Does he know that if he continues to be the owner, the franchise will just be in the ****?

I doubt he cares. He hasn't shown any track record of caring about anyone or anything besides himself for many, many years.

[madmaxmedia]

This thing is going to come to a vote with the owners, as long as the owners vote to terminate Sterling's ownership, the NBA, the players, the fans will be able to move on- even if this thing gets drawn out in court.

Everyone will know the NBA did/is doing everything it can to remove him as owner. Silver's lifetime ban issued yesterday had a huge impact on everyone last night, even though we all know the process has only just begun.

[madmaxmedia]

mark cuban already said he won't be voting for the sale. **** mark. i used to respect him.

Cuban is a businessman, his stance doesn't surprise me at all. I don't think it means he tolerates Sterling's ignorant beliefs, he just doesn't think it is grounds for taking his team away. I really don't think Cuban being against forcing him to sell has much to do with Sterling at all, he is more concerned about forcing a man to sell based on a private recorded convo being leaked is a bad precedent to set and can lead to a slippery slope. And in that regard he may be right.

Not that I am against the owners forcing him to sell, I hope he has to.

For what it is worth, prevailing feeling is this vote is going to go off without a hitch

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10858 ... ing-banned

I think he knows theres a lot of "isms" that can be used to describe some of the other 29 owners...he alluded to the other forms of discrimination but I think he knows theres a few guys who could easily be tripped up like Sterling.

if an owner says he doesnt believe in gay marriage because he's Christian...do you come down with the same punishment?
then you have a huge clusterfkuc with all kinds of interest groups upset with the commissioner/ other owners no matter the outcome of the question.

I agree this is a very relevant conversation to have, as is a conversation about the source of these recordings which were made in private. At the same time, I believe we are capable of evaluating each situation independently.

If there is a huge consensus (including Silver) that Sterling needs to be removed from the NBA, then that's what should be done regardless of hypothetical arguments of what might happen in the future.

[madmaxmedia]

Jason Whitlock wrote an interesting article about the danger of 'mob rule', he made many good points.

But I think the term 'mob rule' is a loaded term. When a suppressed population overthrows an evil dictator, is that 'mob rule' or a 'revolution' showing the 'power of the people'?

This is not a legal issue, Sterling is not going to prison. This is not even a lawsuit. This is about a business revoking a franchise, within the bylaws of the organization. That's why it requires a 75% vote of approval by the owners.

I can see an owner supporting the lifetime ban on Sterling due to the hatred and racism of his comments, yet oppose terminating Sterling's ownership due to some of these other concerns (self-serving or not.)