Breaking news,,,,, NBA bans Clippers owner Sterling for life (1337 hits)

(CNN) -- Basketball Commissioner Adam Silver slapped Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling with a lifetime ban from the sport and a $2.5 million fine Tuesday over racist remarks attributed to Sterling.
Silver said the National Basketball Association "will begin immediately" to force Sterling to sell the team, which he has owned since the 1980s. Sterling admitted it was his voice on the recording, Silver said.
Before Tuesday's announcement, the head of the league's players association had called for Silver to hit Sterling with the most severe penalties.
"When a hint of cancer is shown, you have to cut it out immediately, and I feel that's where the players are today," Kevin Johnson, the former all-star who is the chairman of the National Basketball Players Association's executive committee, told CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront."
Johnson said the players trust that the new commissioner, on the job for less than three months, will find the right penalties for Sterling.
"They don't think he's worthy to be an owner," said Johnson, also the mayor of Sacramento, "so whether there's a sanction that includes a suspension, whether there's a sanction that includes a hefty fine ... the players feel very strongly that he's not fit to be an owner and a part of this NBA family."
Former NBA player Thurl Bailey, a broadcaster for the Utah Jazz, told CNN that if Sterling merely received some kind of suspension, that would be an inadequate way to address the issue.
Bailey said he recognized Sterling's voice on recordings that were posted online that are at the center of the controversy.
"For me, that was his voice," Bailey said.
Tuesday, the Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network, called on Silver to meet this week with him and other civil rights leaders, according to a statement from the organization. Sharpton is planning to meet with the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington to discuss the situation, it said.
Monday brought a slew of sponsors distancing themselves from the team and a host of other owners and team officials condemning the comments attributed to Sterling, who has never been disciplined by the league.
Adidas confirmed to CNN Tuesday that it was suspending its current marketing partnership with the Clippers. That means the company will not have in-arena promotions, signage, LED boards and so forth, but Adidas will remain the official outfitter. The Adidas logo doesn't appear on the team's warm-ups, shooting shirts and gear, Adidas spokeswoman Laura Lamkin said in an e-mail.
Read: Clippers sponsors jump ship
On Saturday, the website TMZ posted a 10-minute recording of a conversation, reportedly between Sterling and his girlfriend, whose legal name is V. Stiviano. According to the website, the conversation occurred on April 9.
On the recording, the man and woman argue about photos posted to Instagram in which she appears with African-Americans. The man says he doesn't want the woman bringing any black people to games with her.
Team President Andy Roeser issued a statement this weekend that said "what is reflected on that recording is not consistent with, nor does it reflect (Sterling's) views, beliefs or feelings." He suggested that the recording was an attempt by Stiviano to "get even" with Sterling.
Speculation on possible punitive actions
Silver has promised the league would give Sterling due process but would act quickly.
It is unclear whether Silver could order Sterling to sell the Clippers, a team he bought for $12 million in 1981 and is now worth $575 million, according to Forbes magazine. A lifetime suspension and fine of at least $1 million is more likely, experts say.
The commissioner might announce an indefinite suspension while the investigation continues, CNN's Rachel Nichols reported.
Opinion: Sterling has to go
"He (eventually) could suspend Donald Sterling maybe for a year, maybe even two years or even indefinitely," Nichols said. "And the idea and the hope would be that if he made him so uncomfortable, if he was removed from day-to-day operations, if sponsors are pulling out the way that they are, there would be some way to convince Sterling, it's in your best interest and the interest of everyone else to sell the team."
Nichols likened the situation to that of the late Marge Schott, who owned the Cincinnati Reds and made racist and other insensitive comments. She was suspended twice, the second time in 1996, and sold the team in 1999.
Other NBA owners have called the remarks attributed to Sterling "abhorrent," "reprehensible," "hurtful," and said they have no place in the league or anywhere in society.
And they all said they have confidence Silver will handle the matter well.
Charlotte Bobcats owner and Hall of Famer Michael Jordan made a rare public statement on a controversial subject.
"As an owner, I'm obviously disgusted that a fellow team owner could hold such sickening and offensive views," he said. "As a former player, I'm completely outraged. There is no room in the NBA -- or anywhere else -- for the kind of racism and hatred that Mr. Sterling allegedly expressed."


Posted By: DAVID JOHNSON
Tuesday, April 29th 2014 at 2:54PM
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