NBA

Basketball insiders see many holes in Sterling’s logic

Donald Sterling’s response to the NBA’s attempt to remove him from ownership of the Clippers has more than a few holes in it, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

The source said Sterling’s claim that the team is involuntarily being taken from him by force is “dead wrong.”

“This is about violating contracts and rules he voluntarily agreed to when he became an owner and throughout his tenure as an owner,” the source said. “He never had any issue with these NBA constitutional proceedings for 33 years, but now he does when they were applied to him.”

In addition, the source said Sterling’s claim that he didn’t “willfully” damage the league because the taped recordings that sparked the controversy were private conversations does not hold up.

“It is the biggest news story of the past month,” the source said. “The comments have done extraordinary damage to the NBA’s business.”

The Sterling saga began when recordings of him making racist statements were released by TMZ in late April during the first round of the playoffs. It has dominated the news cycle throughout the sport’s postseason. Commissioner Adam Silver acted quickly to ban Sterling for life, fine him $2.5 million for his actions and ask the NBA’s Board of Governors to vote to force Sterling to sell the Clippers. That vote is scheduled to take place next Tuesday in New York.

The NBA declined to comment on Sterling’s response, which was released Tuesday night.

While Sterling claims he remains willing to fight for the Clippers, his wife, Shelly, moves forward with her plans to sell the team. Shelly Sterling was reviewing bids from five groups, according to an AP report. Groups led by former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, music mogul David Geffen and former NBA star Grant Hill were expected to be involved.