Magic Johnson Says Fans Want Him to Own Clippers (657 hits)
Magic Johnson may very well have turned lemons into lemonade when it comes to the racially offensive comments made by L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling. What started as a team owner’s magic-johnson2racist admonishment may end with Magic owning the Clippers.
Controversy erupted after Sterling’s girlfriend leaked audio of him criticizing her for bringing blacks to his games.
The NBA commissioner acted swiftly by administering a lifetime ban on Sterling as well as a fine, but what happens next is still up in the air. One thing we do know is that Magic Johnson would love to own the Clippers if the path for such a purchase was available to him.
“I will be owning an NBA team sometime,” Johnson told a group of business leaders on Wednesday , according to 89.3 KPCC. “Is the Clippers the right situation? Of course. It’s one of the premiere franchises.”
Johnson said he and his investors at Guggenheim Investment Group acknowledge that Sterling ran a good business, regardless of his beliefs on race. Magic also says that in considering the purchase, he’s reacting to fan support.
“I think the fans have already spoken,” Johnson said. “They would like us to own the team. But we have to wait and see.”
Magic said that any potential sale of the team is “a long way off” and he doesn’t expect Sterling to go down without a fιght.Johnson also said that if NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had not made a swift decision, it would’ve resulted in chaos.
“If the decision would have come down differently than it was, you wouldn’t have seen that game last night, or any other games from here on in the playoffs,” said Johnson. “The players were ready to boycott. This was much bigger than a basketball game or the NBA.”
