Embattled Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s televised apology aimed at cooling a racism row only fueled the fire on Monday, when he took a vicious swipe at NBA icon Magic Johnson.
Sterling, already banned for life by NBA commissioner Adam Silver, apologized profusely for the bigoted comments that have the league attempting to strip him of ownership of the club.
However, in his interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, which aired on Monday night, Sterling also criticized Johnson — a beloved figure in Los Angeles — as a poor role model because he contracted HIV.
Photo: AFP
He also suggested Johnson has not used his wealth to help the African-American community.
“He acts so holy,” Sterling said of Johnson. “He does nothing. It’s all talk.”
The attack was sharp enough to draw a statement from Silver, who said the league was pressing ahead with efforts to remove Sterling “as expeditiously as possible.”
“I just read a transcript of Donald Sterling’s interview with Anderson Cooper and while Magic Johnson doesn’t need me to, I feel compelled on behalf of the NBA family to apologize to him that he continues to be dragged into this situation and be degraded by such a malicious and personal attack,” Silver said. “The NBA Board of Governors is continuing with its process to remove Mr Sterling as expeditiously as possible.”
Sterling’s interview with Cooper marked his first lengthy response to the scandal that broke two weeks ago.
“I’m not a racist,” Sterling said. “I made a terrible mistake. I’m here to apologize.”
Asked by CNN why he waited until now to make his first public comments, Sterling said he has been “emotionally distraught.”
“The reason it’s hard for me, very hard for me, is that I’m wrong,” Sterling said. “I caused the problem. I don’t know how to correct it.”
However, the 80-year-old billionaire real-estate developer also said he was “baited” by V. Stiviano, the young woman he chastised for publicly associating with black people in a private conversation that was recorded and later made public via celebrity news Web site TMZ.
In that recorded conversation, he seemed particularly irked that Stiviano had posted a picture of herself with Johnson on Instagram.
“Well yes, I was baited,” Sterling said. “I mean, that’s not the way I talk.”
In a league in which the players are predominantly black, and in a country that grapples with racial issues, Sterling has been widely condemned.
Richard Parsons, the man drafted by the NBA to oversee the Clippers now that Sterling is banned from league activities, said on Monday he believes the League will succeed in forcing a sale of the team.
“My personal belief is that the league will prevail, which means that there will be an ownership change,” Parsons said at a press conference to introduce himself as the team’s interim chief executive.
In the meantime, Parsons, a former chairman of media giant Time Warner and of Citigroup, said his job would be to “make sure the boat still floats” and to preserve the club’s value, estimated at about US$600 million.
It will take a vote of 75 percent of the remaining 29 NBA owners to force Sterling to relinquish the club and Sterling questioned whether that would come to pass.
“Because the media says they want me out doesn’t mean they want me out,” he said.
In a further complication, Sterling’s estranged wife, Shelly Sterling, has said she will fight to keep her ownership stake, although the NBA insists she will not have that right under the league’s constitution.
The upheaval comes as the Clippers have their best opportunity in years to fashion a deep playoff run. They are tied 2-2 in their best-of-seven Western Conference semi-final series against Oklahoma City.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
RSS