Donald Sterling calls proceedings a sham

[Sportsguy9695]

Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling responded forcefully Tuesday to the NBA's charges to terminate his ownership while his estranged wife, Shelly Sterling, continued to move quickly to sell the team by the end of the week.

Donald Sterling's lawyer, Max Blecher, told ESPN on Tuesday that his client "is going to fight to the bloody end" and has effectively "disavowed" the agreement he reached with his wife last week that would allow her to negotiate a sale of the team.

"I don't know what agreement she has with him, but I'm saying to you today, he disavows anything she's doing to sell the team," Blecher said. "He says, 'It's my team, and I'll sell it when and if I get around to it.'"

Asked why Sterling seems to have had a change of heart, Blecher said, "He was in a state of shock at first. Now he's recovering and he's much more feisty."

Source: ESPN LA

 

[jonvi]

I'm stocking up on popcorn. This show is just getting started.

 

[Heatles84]

Ironic, because his tenure while owner of the Clippers can be described as a sham as well. The thing for him, is that the NBA doesn't operate under the US Constitution. The NBA has every right to simply out him; especially if they require him to sell his team where he gets full profit from the sale on top of that.

 

[gordontrue]

Sterling isn't being put in jail, arrested, or charged with a crime. He's being kicked out of a private organization.

He's being dealt with according to stipulations outlined in a contract he signed when he joined the private organization.

 

[RoboticDreams]

Good job. I support this decision.

 

[lakersrule]

Private organizations still have to abide by US laws. This situation is not as simple as people think.

 

[gordontrue]

Private organizations still have to abide by US laws. This situation is not as simple as people think.

What law would you suggest that the NBA is breaking? Any business group can kick out one of their partners for whatever reason they chose, so long as there is no provision against it in their partnership agreement. In this case, there is actually a provision explicitly allowing it. They can't take that partners rightfully owed money, of course, but they can give them their due portion from the partnership and send them on their way. That's all the NBA is doing.

 

[lakersrule]

There's the issue of a possible illegal recording. There's the issue of the ambiguity of the bylaw. This won't simply be an easy case of forcing him to sell if he wants to fight it.

 

[Heatles84]

There's the issue of a possible illegal recording. There's the issue of the ambiguity of the bylaw. This won't simply be an easy case of forcing him to sell if he wants to fight it.

Sterling has agreed to sell. Also, once again, this wasn't a criminal investigation. What his side-chick did was illegal, and he could take her to court over it. But the recording was released and him still being involved with the NBA hurts their brand. If racism was illegal in this country and he was facing prison time for it, then any lawyer would be able to get the recording dismissed. However, as it was already pointed out, since he signed documents regarding matters such as this, his hands are tied. He has no chance.

 

[LAKERSUSCBAM]

waiting to see just how many owners will vote FOR him, it should be 0...if he still decides to pursue the legal angle the value of his franchise will plummet but then he's not of the right mind to understand it. all about the ego with this jack-off.

 

[tlance]

waiting to see just how many owners will vote FOR him, it should be 0...if he still decides to pursue the legal angle the value of his franchise will plummet but then he's not of the right mind to understand it. all about the ego with this jack-off.

I'm not saying that he doesn't care about the value of the franchise, he does, but the value is much less important to Sterling than the principle of the matter.

I bet he fights this with no expense spared until the day that he dies. This is more about control and power than it is about money.

 

[RobToxin]

There are way too many people propped up on their anti-racism high horse to grasp that this kind of thing is not something we want happening in this country.

It begins with a basketball owner.

Once precedent is set, everyone will have to fear what they say in their own home coming back to ruin them in their workplace, their business, their profession.

 

[gordontrue]

There are way too many people propped up on their anti-racism high horse to grasp that this kind of thing is not something we want happening in this country.

It begins with a basketball owner.

Once precedent is set, everyone will have to fear what they say in their own home coming back to ruin them in their workplace, their business, their profession.

I understand this sentiment but at the same time I totally disagree.

If you are a huge figure in the public eye... anything you say anywhere has the power to do serious damage to your reputation... and by extension your profitability. It doesn't matter how legally or illegally that information is obtained... if it is deemed to be accurate and true information it will have the power to damage your reputation.

Now, if the information is obtained illegally, then you cannot get into any trouble with the law, but you can still get into plenty of trouble with your reputation.

This is true for any big-time celebrity or business owner out there right now. This is a reputation / PR matter, not a legal one. Because of the words "constitution" and "contract", people are getting this confused with a legal matter when it really isn't. This is a business making a business decision.

 

[trojanfan12]

Folks need to remember, Sterling is going to be attempting to take this to court in California. We have lots of "activist judges" who want to influence laws and set legal precedents. Sterling's lawyer is one of the top and most well connected anti-trust lawyers in the country. He is one of very few that have defeated the NFL in court.


For it to get to this point, it's fairly likely that he has a pretty good idea that he knows a judge that will hear the case. Of course, this doesn't mean that Sterling is likely to win, but it means that he can drag it out for a very long time. Well into next season and possibly beyond.


It's like a comment I heard on the radio today: "The NBA is confident in their ability to win this case, but the problem is that they've picked a fight with the craziest guy in the room."

 

[wildturkey]

Fouled Out in 3...2...1...

 

[True Lakers Fan]

It really is the matter of the anti-trust law which is enforced by the federal government. In the case of the NBA, NFL, NHL and the MLB each organization enjoys an exemption to the Sherman Antitrust Act via the signed contracts by all of the parties involved in the operation of the NBA. Those contracts have all of the parties in agreement that no one can say anything that is considered detrimental to the NBA or other major league sports. Those contracts are enforceable because Sterling signed them and these good moral contracts have been in existence since 1946. The courts are not going to undo something like the NBA's way of doing business that has existed for 56 years. You have to get real - this is over for Sterling -it's just the matter of when. He is trying to deflect the issue and nothing more

 

[Pariah]

NBA won't win.

 

[True Lakers Fan]

NBA has already won - they have complete control of the Clippers and Shelly is trying to sell the Clippers with a deal by Tuesday. She wouldn't be trying to sell the Clippers I she wasn't already asswhupped - lol