With the NBA’s owners’ 10-member advisory and finance committee scheduled to conduct a conference call Thursday to discuss the next steps in the ouster of Donald Sterling, a source close to the banned-for-life Clippers owner said he expects Sterling to mount a stiff legal challenge to Commissioner Adam Silver’s ruling.
And in case you missed it, the Clippers look to close out the Warriors in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series Thursday night.
The source — who has worked with Sterling, but is not advising him in this case — said the disgraced owner likely will work with attorney Robert Platt to fight the NBA. Platt, a 1982 Fordham Law School grad, successfully defended Sterling in 2009 against former Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor’s suit over alleged racial discrimination.
“I think it will be one last-ditch effort for both billionaire Sterling and millionaire Platt,” the source said.
On Tuesday, Silver announced Sterling’s ban plus a $2.5 million fine for racist remarks while stressing he will urge owners to force Sterling to sell. Under NBA by-laws, the owners can file charges of termination with the commissioner, who has three days to serve them. Next is a five-day period for Sterling to respond. The owners must vote within 10 days to force Sterling out, with a three-quarters majority needed, a number which Silver confidently said he could gather.
Apparently, Sterling will not go quietly.
If the NBA owners vote against Sterling, he likely will seek a temporary restraining order in the Central District of California.
“I’d be surprised if a restraining order was not granted,” the source said.
If a restraining order is granted, the court would need to rule within 18 days on a possible injunction — which could tie the case up in court for years. But the source acknowledged that the chance of an injunction looked “hopeless.”
Platt declined comment.
And all of this comes amid the playoffs. In an enormously emotional game Tuesday, the Clippers grabbed a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series with a 113-103 victory over Golden State in Los Angeles behind DeAndre Jordan’s 25 points and 18 rebounds.
“His value can’t be measured,” said Clippers coach Doc Rivers, who noted, quite correctly, that Sterling has overshadowed the games. “This might be the greatest playoffs in league history, and I can’t wait for us all to get back on that because we’re missing a hell of a playoffs.”
Additional reporting by Marc Berman