Doc: Tough if Shelly retains control

Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers said Thursday at the team's training facility that "it would be a very hard situation'' if Shelly Sterling, the wife of Donald Sterling, retained her portion of ownership in the team.

Shelly Sterling's attorney, Pierce O'Donnell, said his client would fight to retain her ownership stake in the Clippers.

"I guarantee you every person wouldn't be on board with that,'' Rivers said. "Whether I would or not, I'm not going to say.''

Shelly Sterling confirmed Wednesday that she intends to keep ownership of the team in her family despite the NBA's move to oust her estranged husband, who was banned for life by commissioner Adam Silver last week in the wake of racist remarks he made that were published by TMZ.

Shelly Sterling has been a co-owner of the Clippers with her husband since 1981 and is one of two alternate governors. The other, team president Andy Roeser, began an indefinite leave of absence Tuesday. The team is owned by a family trust.

Shelly Sterling has hired O'Donnell to represent her interests as the league moves to terminate her husband's ownership of the team.

Silver said last week that no decisions had been made regarding members of the Sterling family other than Donald.

ESPN.com's Darren Rovell reported Tuesday that the NBA believes it has the legal grounds to force Donald Sterling to sell the team because he has signed numerous contracts with the league agreeing that an owner will not take any position or action that will materially and adversely affect a team or the league. Owners also sign morals clauses, which state they will be held to the highest standards of ethical and moral behavior.

The NBA will maintain that Sterling violated those contracts should he choose to fight the league's plan to force him to sell. The league must get 75 percent of owners to agree to make the move.

Can players contracts be voided??

In the event the team was bankrupt like NOLA the league steps in and runs it. They could trade players.

Part of the franchise value is its players. While the league will move to out Sterling they won't destroy the value of the team. The players can retire, nobody is forcing them to play. The league is doing what it can to remove the offending element (sterling) but players are not subject to abuse or mistreatment. It may be hurtful, but sterling is banned even if his legal team prevails in holding up the sale via litigation.

DrAlphaeus wrote:I bet the whole Sterling TMZ scoop made players and staff aware of a ton more dirty laundry, particularly their racial profiling of tenants. Bomani Jones said in that radio interview with Dan Le Batard that Shelly went door-to-door in their buildings pretending she was doing a government survey or something and actually was recording the race/ethnicity of the tenants. The whole fact that she is still married to him and supposedly sued the mistress makes their relationship seems very co-dependant and shady. I can understand why players and staff would want the entire Sterling family out of ownership. It will just be very tricky since the tape and Donald's words are the motivation for the move.

I get that and Bomani had some great points. Now, can you indict her based that? How long ago was that? Did that information used against tenents? Its shady, but as we know its shady because of Donalds comments. She has been estranged for years and lived seporate lives. I know a few couples that are seportated for years and live entirely seporate lives but there is financial reasons why they legally stay married.

Its an interesting phenom. Staviano has been milking him for money and she opened up a pandora box of trouble for herself as well.

OasisBU wrote:I said this from the start - the Sterlings are not going to take this lying down, I don't care what the NBA bylaws say. Sure they can get rid of Donald but they cannot get rid of his (ex?)wife or the rest of his family based solely on his own comments.

The NBA cannot pick who the next owner is and if she wants the team or to keep her portion of it, I believe she will eventually prevail.

I am not saying I think it is the right thing, but law is a funny thing - it comes down to interpretation. Anyone who thinks just because the NBA bylaws sound harsh and exact, that it means they can be followed to the letter, simply have not dealt with lawyers at the level the Sterlings will be coming with.

The by-laws i doubt ever had language written to deal with this level of complexity. While Sterling as an owner complies to those bylaws the interpretation will be challanged by the league. Generally the league might prefer to resolve via arbitration given its antitrust status and the stench that Sterling can unleash in a public trial. Like what? think the 29 other owners have some bad things around their lives and ownership? Some might be public knowledge but when old news is bought back up its never good for business.

Bottom line will be "Whats good for the league".

BRIGGS wrote:

OasisBU wrote:I said this from the start - the Sterlings are not going to take this lying down, I don't care what the NBA bylaws say. Sure they can get rid of Donald but they cannot get rid of his (ex?)wife or the rest of his family based solely on his own comments.

The NBA cannot pick who the next owner is and if she wants the team or to keep her portion of it, I believe she will eventually prevail.

I am not saying I think it is the right thing, but law is a funny thing - it comes down to interpretation. Anyone who thinks just because the NBA bylaws sound harsh and exact, that it means they can be followed to the letter, simply have not dealt with lawyers at the level the Sterlings will be coming with.

The NBA ultimately will not be able to hold weight in court as the team is owed 50-50 by the mans wife. Even if they removed D Sterling--what grounds could they remove his wife?

Exactly.

It is interesting that some of the media are trying to make the case that she is Don's proxy and by keeping her in he will remain involved with the team. At the end of the day I don't think there is much anyone can do to remove her. She is not the one who caused this.

holfresh wrote:

Vmart wrote:Doc needs to stop discriminating based on association. Shelly Sterling has every right to keep her share of the team. She is already on record condemning her estranged husband.

Shelly Sterling has already settled out of court a racial discrimination cases on her own, not including her husband according to Mike and Mike..She has paid a settlement of 3 million dollars out of court in one case...

plot thickens

is there anymore info on that?