Donald Sterling

Or what do you wish me to tell the fans that are by the polls at least 50/50 divided at the insane level of punishment given?

Shelly wants to sell before NBA owners vote you (and her) out Tuesday and assert the league’s claim to take over the team. Blecher just announced the agreement that you signed with Shelly “was something he wouldn’t think of doing today. It’s an evolutionary process; he’s gone from ‘shock and awe’ to ‘Go get ‘em and kill ‘em.’”

It’s only laughable for people who don’t know you. You’ve renounced signed contracts and pursued cases with arguments just as incredible. After dragging out former Coach-GM Mike Dunleavy for two years, you actually went before an arbitrator to claim that Dunleavy wasn’t fired–despite team announcements to the contrary–but just stopped coming to the office. (Dunleavy got the entire $13 million he claimed he was owed.)

Oops! There goes Shelly’s auction with six $1 billion offers and a required $300 million deposit. For a $1 billion-plus, Steve Ballmer et al., were hoping for more than an inter-Sterling court fight and getting on the wrong side of the NBA for the real sale.

Wow! Bill says 50/50, and the poll says 92% hates Sterling. BIG DIFFERENCE!

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2014/05/11/polls-show-support-shifting-towards-sterling-and-against-silver-as-public-support-for-free-speech/

NBA commissioner Adam Silver does not have the majority of people behind him any more.

Shortly after the commissioner announced his penalties for the racist comments made by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling that were illegally taped and released to the public, everyone seemed to be supporting Silver.

TNT’s “The Inside the NBA” crew of Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal applauded Silver’s decision to ban Sterling from the league for life, and every NBA owner supported the commissioner. NBA legend and Los Angeles Dodgers minority owner Magic Johnson tweeted: “Commissioner Silver showed great leadership in banning LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life. The public at large also was behind Silver. “On May 2nd, the New York Times jumped out of the gate with a poll that showed 54% felt Sterling’s punishment was acceptable.

But then the polling results began to shift in a big way. A CNN/ORC International poll released on May 5th showed that 47% of the public supported a forced sale of the team, while 50% were against it. Also on May 5th, a Rasmussen poll showed that only 38% believe Sterling should be forced to sell the Clippers. This running poll by HLN has 57% backing Sterling.

Steve Ballmer, center, attends an NBA playoff game. The proposed $2-billion sale price would be almost four times the previous NBA franchise high: the $550 million paid earlier this month for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Report: Donald Sterling declared mentally incapacitated, clears way for sale of team to Ballmer
Kurt Helin
May 29, 2014

I imagine Donald Sterling is going to fight this one too, but…

Shelly Sterling has been granted the authority to sell the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers to Steve Ballmer because her husband and co-owner Donald Sterling has been declared mentally incapacitated under the terms of the trust the couple owns the team through. That made her the sole trustee and decision maker.

That according to the tapped in Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.

There have been reports and rumors that Donald Sterling has been battling dementia, which is the reason his former mistress claimed to make the recordings that sparked the controversy in the first place (he would forget what he had previously said). Donald also is reportedly battling prostate cancer.

Donald and Shelly Sterling each own half of the Clippers through a trust, although Donald is the recognized primary owner by the league under its constitution. However, a finding of mental incapacity would change the dynamic of control of the franchise.

NBC has confirmed that Shelly Sterling and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer have signed papers where Ballmer will buy the Clippers from the trust for $2 billion (a record NBA price, almost four times the previous high). Those papers have been sent on to the league office for review.

The league has yet to comment on the latest reports. As of now there is an NBA Board of Governors’ meeting (the other owners) scheduled for June 3. At that meeting the owners would conduct a hearing then vote on whether to strip Sterling of his ownership of the franchise in response to the backlash that followed his prejudiced comments on a recording released to TMZ, plus later in a CNN interview.

Reports have suggested the league would postpone that meeting and vote if a sale agreement (with terms, a price and a new owner they liked) was in place before next Tuesday. Shelly Sterling and Ballmer are hoping this fits that criteria. For the league, a sale by the Sterlings is a much cleaner process.

Donald Sterling had publicly flip-flopped between saying, “Why would I want to fight my partners?” as he did on CNN and promising to “fight to the bloody end” in court as he did through his lawyer in an official response to the charges against him from the league.

However if he has been declared mentally incapacitated that would take him out of the picture. Under the terms of the trust he did not have to be declared incapacitated by a court of law, the structures are different, Shelburne reports.

We do not know how recently this incapacity was declared, under what circumstances, and how it would hold up to a legal challenge in court. It seems fair to assume that Donald Sterling’s first move would be to fight this ruling.

However if this holds up it seems as if the saga of the Sterlings could have a path to ending. Which is what everyone wants (except possibly Donald Sterling).
http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/05/29/report-donald-sterling-declared-mentally-incompetent-clears-way-for-sale-of-team-to-ballmer/

Quote:

Steve Ballmer, center, attends an NBA playoff game. The proposed $2-billion sale price would be almost four times the previous NBA franchise high: the $550 million paid earlier this month for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Amazing that anyone would be willing to paid 2 billions dollars or so for a team that could be taken away for one misstatement with Silver on national TV stating you are not fit to be an owner.

Of course assuming you do not do any missteps for long enough [decades] you might get the return on your investment that Sterling did IE 12 millions turn into 2 billions or so.

I have to read up (busy making bread today) - especially re the mental incompetence thing. Did she quickly get a conservatorship?

Maybe Ballmer was desperate after losing out on his attempt to buy the Sacramento Kings – which went for the bargain price of $534 million, mind you. Maybe he likes the fame and appreciation that will come with being the man who saved the Los Angeles Clippers. Maybe he's always wanted to be BFFs with Billy Crystal, the Clippers' super fan.

Or maybe he just has money to burn.