Goodbye Donald Sterling, Hello Steve Ballmer

UPDATED at 5:06 p.m. with new details: After months of legal wrangling, the $2 billion sale of the Los Angeles Clippers to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was completed today, ending Donald Sterling’s 33-year tenure as the team’s owner.

In a brief statement, the NBA confirmed the deal, saying the sale was finalized “following the entry of an order by a California court confirming the authority of Shelly Sterling, on behalf of the Sterling Family Trust, to sell the team.

“The NBA Board of Governors previously approved the sale and Ballmer is now the Clippers Governor,” according to the league.

Attorneys for Donald Sterling had filed a petition with a state appeals court on Friday asking for an emergency order blocking the sale. The court declined to take any action, since a ruling by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Levanas allowing Shelly Sterling to move ahead with the sale had not been finalized.

Sterling filed another petition with the appeals court today after news of the sale was announced, but no immediate action was taken.

Ballmer said he was “humbled and honored” to be the Clippers owners.

“Clipper fans are so amazing,” he said. “They have remained fiercely loyal to our franchise through some extraordinary times. I will be hard-core in giving the team, our great coach, staff and players the support they need to do their best work on the court. And we will do whatever necessary to provide our fans and their families with the best game-night experience in the NBA.”

The team is planning a Fan Festival at noon Monday at Staples Center.

“This is an amazing new day in Clippers history,” said Clippers Coach Doc Rivers, who is also the team’s president of basketball operations. “I couldn’t be more excited to work together with Steve as we continue to build a first-class, championship organization. I am already inspired by Steve’s passion for the game, his love of competition and desire to win the right way, and I know our players and fans are going to be inspired as well.”

The $2 billion sales price is believed to be the most ever paid for a North American professional sports team.

“I am thrilled that the Clippers now have such a wonderful new owner,” Shelly Sterling said. “I am happy for the team, the fans, the sponsors and the city of Los Angeles.

“I am confident that Steve will bring the city a championship team in the very near future, she said. “I cannot wait for the new season to begin.”

Ballmer has given Shelly Sterling the title of “owner emeritus.”

On July 28, following weeks of testimony in a non-jury trial, Levanas ruled that Shelly Sterling had acted properly in removing Donald Sterling as a trustee of the Sterling Family Trust that owned the team. The move came after two doctors examined Donald Sterling and determined him to be mentally incapacitated.

Sterling contended he had been duped by his wife into submitting to the medical tests as part of a plot to have him ousted from the trust so the sale could move forward.

Levanas, however, said Shelly Sterling was motivated “solely by her concerns for his well-being,” Levanas said, adding that despite the couple’s estrangement, there remains genuine affection between the pair.

There was no “secret plan to remove (Donald Sterling) from the trust,” the judge concluded.

The judge also shot down Donald Sterling’s contention that his revocation of the family trust removed his wife’s authority to sell the NBA franchise.

Sterling has also filed a separate lawsuit challenging Shelly Sterling’s right to sell the team based on corporate law.

He also has a civil rights lawsuit pending in federal court against the NBA, claiming he was being railroaded out of the league in violation of his constitutional rights.

The NBA on Monday filed a counterclaim, accusing Sterling of causing “incalculable harm” to the league by his legal maneuvering. The counterclaim noted that Shelly Sterling signed an agreement in May on behalf of the family trust, indemnifying the NBA for any litigation costs relating to the sale of the team. The suit also notes that similar indemnification agreements are included in the league’s constitution and in another document signed by Sterling nine years ago.

Donald Sterling, who purchased the Clippers in 1981 for $12.5 million, has been under pressure to sell the team since the release of recorded conversations between him and companion V. Stiviano. In those conversations, Sterling criticized Stiviano for having her picture taken with black people and tells her not to bring them to Clippers games.

The comments earned Sterling a lifetime ban from the NBA, which initiated actions to strip the Clippers from him. The league put those efforts on hold pending the decision on Shelly Sterling’s ability to sell the franchise.

--City News Service