Report: NBA says Donald Sterling asked V. Stiviano to lie
By Steve Almasy, CNN
May 21, 2013
(CNN) -- The 30-page NBA document detailing the charges against Donald Sterling accuses the longtime owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of trying to persuade V. Stiviano to tell a league investigator she altered a recording and it wasn't Sterling making racist remarks on the audio, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.
On Monday, the NBA released a summary of the charges that could lead to NBA owners voting to strip Sterling and his wife, Shelly, of the franchise they have co-owned for 33 years.
In it, the NBA said: "In the course of the investigation into Mr. Sterling's conduct, it was discovered that relevant evidence was destroyed, false and misleading evidence was provided to the NBA's investigator, and LAC issued a false and misleading press statement regarding this matter."
The Times reported that the NBA document it obtained alleges Donald Sterling and Stiviano met on May 2, about a week after the recording containing racist remarks was released by TMZ and just before Stiviano was interviewed by Barbara Walters on ABC.
"Sterling asked Stiviano to tell the NBA that she lied in her previous meeting with the league," the Times reported.
The newspaper also reported the NBA is prepared to argue at a June 3 meeting of the NBA Board of Governors that evidence shows that Sterling and his wife are not estranged and that she helped prepare the team's press release after the recordings were aired. Team President Andy Roeser also was in on the drafting of the statement that questioned the validity of the recording and suggested it was released by someone seeking revenge against Donald Sterling, according to the newspaper's account of the NBA document.
The Times report also said the NBA suggested Roeser heard the recording on April 9, weeks before it went online, after a Clippers employee sent Roeser a copy.The document says Roeser told the employee to delete the audio file and text messages about it from a cell phone. Roeser is now on indefinite leave from the team.
The paper said Sterling's lawyer, Maxwell Blecher, didn't respond to a request for comment.
When asked by a CNN producer at a Tuesday news conference what evidence had been destroyed, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he wouldn't comment on the specifics of the investigation.
Silver said on Tuesday he is confident the league will be able to force the Sterlings to sell the franchise for violating the NBA constitution.
But, the new commissioner said, he would prefer the Sterlings sell the team without the league's pushing.
The chances of that happening appear unlikely. Sterling, through his lawyer, has sent a letter to the league saying he won't pay a $2.5 million fine and threatening to sue if he isn't afforded due process.
Shelly Sterling has said she wants to maintain her 50% stake in the franchise.
"It is their team to sell," Silver, who has been commissioner for three months, said ahead of the league's draft lottery. "(They) know what the league's point of view is. If (they) wanted to sell the team on some reasonable timetable, I prefer (they) sell it than we go through this process."
On Monday, the National Basketball Association officially started the process of terminating the Sterlings' ownership rights. It sent Donald Sterling a list of charges that the billionaire real estate investor has until May 27 to answer.
The league scheduled the June 3 special board of governors meeting for each side to present evidence.
Silver also addressed CNN's question about a report that Sterling demanded a three-month extension, saying the 80-year-old owner needed to abide by the NBA constitution, which puts a firm timeline on the process of removing an ownership group.
In order to terminate the Sterlings' franchise rights, 75% (23) of the 30 team owners would have to vote to sustain the charge and force a sale. Because Sterling is banned from any NBA activities, he is not allowed to vote, but the Clippers will have a vote, the NBA said.
In the case of a forced sale, the league does have a duty to the Sterlings to sell the team for the highest possible price, Silver said. The commissioner told reporters if it gets to that point, the league will hire investment bankers to conduct the sale.
The league said it has been damaged by Sterling's racist remarks to Stiviano, which were posted online in April by TMZ and aired in an interview with CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360."...
http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/20/us/donald-sterling-nba/