Well Diddy, Ross, Mayweather, Oprah and a host of others, your chance to buy the Clippers might not happen, Shelly plans on taking over the reigns.
Per ESPN:
Co-owner Shelly Sterling confirmed Wednesday that she intends to keep ownership of the team in her family, despite the NBA’s move to oust her estranged husband, Donald Sterling.
Shelly Sterling has been a co-owner of the Clippers with her husband since 1981 and is one of two alternate governors. The other, team president Andy Roeser, began an indefinite leave of absence Tuesday. The team is owned by a family trust.
Mrs. Sterling also released a statement to ESPN:
“Commissioner Silver made it clear, that when he announced sanctions against Donald, that the NBA was taking no action against me or my family,” Shelly Sterling said in a statement given to ESPN.
When asked to the Commissioner about any other family member, his response was:
“This ruling applies specifically to Donald Sterling and Donald Sterling’s conduct only,”
The NBA is gearing up for a legal battle concerning the Clippers. When someone takes over a team they are bound to a constitution with by-laws that an owner must maintain, one of those being that an owner can’t take a position that can negatively affect a team, which Sterling did. The NBA and Commissioner Silver are looking for 75% of the league owners to take vote in the removal of Sterling as the Clippers owner as he violated that cause.
The league has already met twice concerning the incident and plan to meet again next week.
One has to wonder why Shelly Sterling is fighting so hard to keep the Clippers amongst the Sterlings. Is it for her husband to ultimately keep the “Sterling” name attached? Or does she genuinely care for the team and their well being? Shelly hasn’t been the most forthcoming on her husbands views either, one moment she’s agreeing he’s a racist and the next they’re out to dinner and she expressed that he wasn’t. There is entirely too much confusion amongst them. I would like to see the Clippers be given to a fresh face to rebrand themselves and emerge as better team with owners who don’t see race. If Shelly really wants to be apart of the team, Im sure there is a way she can remain on the board of trustees to still have an active voice. The Clippers need something new, whether or not the views were shared, the name “Sterling” alone has been tarnished and to keep that over a team wouldn’t be the best for the Clippers, management or marketing/future endeavors.