LAS VEGAS — Basketball great Magic Johnson has “already forgiven” Donald Sterling, the Los Angeles Clippers basketball owner who was kicked out of the NBA for racist comments before insulting the Hall of Fame player on national TV.
“The man is living in the past,” said Johnson, speaking at the SALT hedge-fund conference here Wednesday. The comments were made at an off-the-record lunch but were widely discussed among attendees later in the day.
Although meant as an apology for racist remarks he made in a secretly taped phone conversation with a female friend, Sterling, in an interview with CNN, criticized Johnson, saying, “What does he do for the black people? He doesn’t do anything.”
Johnson, who told attendees at the conference he was “done talking about it,” said the 80-year-old Sterling should take the money he’ll make from selling the Clippers — which some have estimated could be as much as $1 billion — and “go enjoy the rest of your life.”
When questioned if a $100 million donation by Sterling to an African-American focused charity would help repair the team owner’s reputation, Johnson, according to those at the lunch, said, “The minority community is so upset it probably wouldn’t take it.”
Johnson, 54, a part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the founder of Magic Johnson Enterprises (which owns a chain of movie theaters and dozens of Burger King franchises, among other assets), also talked about how he came to team with Guggenheim Partners in acquiring the Dodgers, according to those at the lunch.
Johnson said he wanted a partner that was interested in the team and not simply in the valuable real estate under the stadium or the huge TV deal available, those at the lunch said.
Johnson met with several billionaires, including Steven Cohen, to discuss buying the team before choosing Guggenheim, the people said.