Magic Johnson must have some inside information regarding how the players on the L.A. Clippers really feel. Johnson told reporters Friday that if the wife of Donald Sterling, Shelly Sterling, retains ownership with the club, no Clipper players would play for the team.
Magic Johnson said Friday that none of the current Los Angeles Clippers players would play for the team if Shelly Sterling, the estranged wife of team owner Donald Sterling, retains her 50% ownership stake in the team.
“Those guys are not going to play for anybody (named) Sterling,” Johnson told USA TODAY Sports and two other reporters at the Omni Dallas Hotel. “It’s just how it is. It’s hard to separate the two. … It’s going to be hard for them to sell that to the fans and definitely to the players.”
Johnson brought up valid points by suggesting that it is impossible to separate Shelly Sterling from her husband, even though her voice was absent from the audio recording.
“When they accused them of (being) slumlords, that was both, it wasn’t one person,” Johnson said. “It was both of them. … They will never recover from this. All the sponsors pulling out, they will pull out for good if she is owning it. It’s not going to be the same.”