LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles
Clippers owner Donald Sterling, who was banned for life from the
National Basketball Association after a tape of his racist comments
became public, claimed in a new recording he was not a bigot, according
to an online report on Thursday.
The new recording came as Sterling's wife expressed interest in
holding on to the Clippers, the Los Angeles Times reported, even as
league officials worked to force a sale of the team.
Entertainment website Radar Online posted a recording of Sterling
talking about race, which it said it obtained from an anonymous
source. Radar said the source signed an affidavit confirming the
voice was that of the 80-year-old billionaire.
"You think I'm a racist?" Radar Online quoted Sterling as saying on
what it reported was a secretly recorded phone conversation. "You
think I have anything in the world but love for everybody? You don't
think that! You know I'm not a racist!"
Radar included the recording in its report. Reuters could not
independently confirm it was Sterling's voice on the recording, and
a Sterling representative could not be reached for comment on
Thursday.
The NBA fined Sterling $2.5 million last month and banned him from
the league for life after the website TMZ.com posted a separate
audio recording of a voice said to be his that made derogatory
remarks about black people.
The comments sparked outrage from players and fans, and led NBA
Commissioner Adam Silver to ask team owners to force Sterling to
relinquish ownership of the Clippers in what would be an
unprecedented step under the league's constitution and bylaws.
"How can you be in this business and be a racist?" Sterling said on
the new tape, according to Radar Online. "Do you think I tell the
coach to get white players? Or to get the best player he can get?"
WIFE INTENDS TO REMAIN AS OWNER
The new tape emerged as the Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday
that Sterling's wife, Shelly, said she intended to remain an owner
of the team and has hired a law firm as the NBA moved to terminate
her husband's ownership.
Shelly Sterling, who shares ownership of the Clippers through a
family trust, contended the sanctions against her husband do not
apply "to me or my family," according to the newspaper. An NBA
spokesman declined to comment on the report.
A representative for Shelly Sterling could not be reached
immediately for comment on Thursday. But in a statement, she denied
the league had let her know it would prefer she not attend Clippers
playoff games this Friday and Sunday.
"As co-owner, I have attended games for 33 years and I will continue
going to playoff games as the Clippers march towards a
championship," she said in the statement.
Silver was asked at a news conference last month whether any of
Sterling's relatives, including his wife, might exercise an
ownership or managerial stake in the team.
"There have been no decisions about other members of the Sterling
family," Silver said at the time. "This ruling applies specifically
to Donald Sterling and Donald Sterling's conduct only."
Sterling purchased the Clippers for $12.5 million in 1981, when it
was based in San Diego. The team is now estimated to be worth at
least $575 million, according to Forbes, which compiles a list of
professional sports team values each year.
The Clippers are currently tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder in
the second round of the NBA playoffs at one game apiece. Their next
match is scheduled for Friday.
(Additional reporting by Curtis Skinner in New York; Editing by
Cynthia Johnston and Jeffrey Benkoe)
