Sterling pursues lawsuit, denies sale
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, June 11, 2014
Donald Sterling, the embattled owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, has decided to fight to keep the National Basketball Association team and pull out of a sale deal, according to reports on Monday.
Sterling, whose racist comments prompted NBA commissioner Adam Silver to ban him for life, had announced last week through his attorney he had agreed to sell the Clippers for Steve Ballmer for US$2 billion.
"The deal is off," Sterling attorney Max Blecher said in an e-mail to ESPN, which also reported that Sterling has instructed the lawyer to pursue a US$1 billion lawsuit against the NBA and Silver and withdraw support for a sale.
Blecher would not say if the U-turn was a result of the NBA being unwilling to back off the life ban and US$2.5 million fine imposed by Silver.
"I have decided that I must fight to protect my rights," Sterling said. "While my position may not be popular, I believe that my rights to privacy and the preservation of my rights to due process should not be trampled. I intend to fight to keep the team."
NBA owners were set to meet last week and vote on whether or not to strip Sterling of the Clippers, but the gathering was called off when the deal with former Microsoft Corp chief executive Ballmer, negotiated by Sterling's wife Shelly, was thought to be done.
The unraveling of the sale could lead owners to reschedule the meeting and vote on Sterling's fate as an owner, a vote Silver said he expects will support pulling the team from Sterling.
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