Los Angeles Clippers co-owner Donald Sterling made it clear Friday that he wasn't going away, suing the NBA for more than $1 billion for its decision to ban him for life and force him to sell the franchise.
The lawsuit -- which was provided to CNN by Sterling's lawyer and wasn't unexpected -- marks the latest twist in a case that began last month when TMZ posted a recording in which Sterling made racist comments. It also comes amid fresh questions about the 80-year-old's mental state, raising the issue of how much control he has or should have with the Clipppers.
Sterling's inflammatory remarks to his companion, V. Stiviano, spawned outrage among NBA fans, players and.........executives. Chief among the latter was NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who banned Sterling from the league, fined him $2.5 million and pushed through a charge to terminate all of his ownership rights in the franchise.
Sterling's camp, in its lawsuit, claims that the move to terminate his ownership "is unconstitutional, in breach of contract, in restraint of trade, in breach of fiduciary duties and ... is malicious and oppressive."
Among other allegations, Sterling says in the lawsuit that he never violated the NBA's constitution and that the recording that spawned this scandal -- and that recording, it says, is the sole base of the NBA charges against him -- is against California law.
The lawsuit also states that "the forced sale of the Los Angeles Clippers threatens not only to produce a lower price than a non-forced sale, but more importantly, it injures competition and forces antitrust injury by making the ... market unresponsive to ... the operation of the free market."
"(Sterling believes) that the NBA's forced sale ... would create damages of at least $1 billion, which includes capital gains taxes, unnecessary and increased investment-banking fees, legal and transactional costs, and the loss of all future appreciation in the Los Angeles Clippers franchise value," it adds.
The filing in a federal court in California comes a day after Sterling's estranged wife, Shelly, agreed to sell the Clippers to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for $2 billion.
It also comes days before the NBA Board of Governors had been set for a vote that could have forced the Sterlings to give up that team.
The NBA said Friday that the June 3 meeting has been canceled -- something Sterling himself had asked for in his lawsuit -- due to the Clippers' pending sale to Ballmer.
On Friday, former Time Warner CEO and current interim Clippers CEO Dick Parsons spoke to CNN affiliate KTLA about the team's sale.
"I hope obviously this thing goes through, the sooner this thing is resolved, the better for everybody, the league, the Sterlings, certainly for the team and for the staff, to have some certainty around who's going to own the team going forward and sort of pick up on the momentum that the team has built towards the end of the season. I think it's a big plus," Parsons said.
Sterlings could make huge profit
Whatever happens with Sterling's lawsuit, there's no question that, if the sale goes through, it would mean a huge windfall for him and his family.
The real estate investor bought the Clippers for about $12 million in 1981.
Three-quarters of the NBA Board of Governors would have to OK any deal with Ballmer. If they do at the agreed-upon price, it would be the largest sum paid for an NBA franchise by far.
Last month, the Milwaukee Bucks, a team with a losing record in a small television market, sold for $550 million.
In a statement earlier Friday, Shelly Sterling confirmed the deal with Ballmer and how it would revamp the team's ownership.
"We have worked for 33 years to build the Clippers into a premiere NBA franchise," she said in a statement. "I am confident that Steve will take the team to new levels of success."
Who is Steve Ballmer?
The Sterling's would-be successor as owner, Ballmer, is worth $20 billion, according to Forbes magazine.
Ballmer was recently involved in an unsuccessful effort to buy the Sacramento Kings and move them to Seattle, near where Microsoft is based. But in a statement Friday, he indicated that the Clippers would stay in Southern California.
"I love basketball. And I intend to do everything in my power to ensure that the Clippers continue to win -- and win big -- in Los Angeles," Ballmer said Friday.
How Ballmer's $2 billion Clippers deal could pay off
Source:CNN
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