Donald Sterling’s wife moved quickly to oust her husband from talks to sell their Los Angeles Clippers basketball franchise, invoking a little-known “Plan B” to have him declared mentally incapacitated.
When Shelly Sterling and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer agreed to a mind-blowing $2 billion deal for the LA hoops team on May 29, Donald Sterling balked and told his estranged wife and her lawyers that he’d never sell their NBA franchise.
With a $2 billion deal hanging in the balance, Shelly Sterling’s lawyer Pierce O’Donnell turned to her and other advisers and said, “Time to go to Plan B,” according to the New York Times.
“Plan B” was code for a little-known proviso of the trust that formally owns the Clippers. It calls for either one of the Sterlings to become sole trustee if the other is found to have a cognitive impairment. Donald Sterling’s lawyer, Maxwell Blecher, said Monday that his client has withdrawn support for the sale and will press a $1 billion lawsuit against the NBA to block it.
Shelly Sterling said she had not known about that condition until just recently, her advisers told the Times.
Donald Sterling had given a rambling, self-destructive interview to CNN’s Anderson Cooper on May 13, shooting himself in the foot while trying to defend his racist comments that were recorded by ex-girlfriend V. Stiviano. Shelly Sterling called her estranged hubby that day and urged him to get a neurological exam — a move prompted only by concern for his health, she’s told confidantes, according to the Times.
While Shelly Sterling claims she had no idea about the mental-capacity codicil of the trust, O’Donnell was well aware of that condition, according to the report.
Doctors’ findings from Donald Sterling’s May 16 exam paved the way for Shelly Sterling to take control of the team and sell it to Ballmer.
The tech guru’s bid topped a $1.6 billion offer from a group led by Tinseltown titan David Geffen.
Before Shelly Sterling agreed to sell the Clippers to Ballmer, he agreed to not move the team to Seattle, according to the Times report.
Ballmer had previously tried to buy the Sacramento Kings with the intention of moving them to Seattle, which has been without NBA hoops since the Sonics left town in 2008 for Oklahoma City.
Shelly Sterling also negotiated herself the title of “owner emeritus,” which gets her two floor seats to all Clippers home games, five parking spots and three championship rings if the team ever wins its first NBA title, according to the report.