NBA believes Donald Sterling tried to destroy evidence
By Cory Buck
Donald Sterling will soon have his chance to present his case to the 29 NBA owners who want him out of the league. He’ll try to convince them that he just made a one time mistake and that he deserves another shot after decades of owning the LA Clippers.
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It appears that his credit will once again take a hit though, which will make his struggle all the more difficult.
In this latest report from the LA Times, it appears that Sterling knew about the infamous recording of his racist rant weeks before it was released to the public.
He and others within the organization allegedly tried multiple times to keep the recording under wraps and even tried to have it destroyed.
"The charges, obtained by the Los Angeles Times, said that Sterling’s attempt to alter Stiviano’s statements was part of an effort by Sterling — aided by his wife, Shelly, and Clippers President Andy Roeser — to evade responsibility for the recording that has enveloped the Clippers owner in controversy for nearly a month."
And the plot thickens.
Not only does it appear that Sterling went crazy trying to banish the recording, but even his wife and others within the organization had a hand in attempting to sway Sterling’s girlfriend, V. Stiviano, from releasing the tapes.
As we now know, none of that came to fruition, and the NBA is hotly pursuing the expulsion of Sterling and his wife from the NBA owner’s club.
This just adds another layer to what is sure to be a contentious court battle between Sterling, the Clippers ownership, and the NBA.
It’s been no secret that wife Shelly Sterling has been just as stubborn through this whole process as has her husband, Donald. It should be no great surprise that this power couple did everything they could to sweep this whole incident under the rug.
Now that all the dirt has been swept to the middle of the floor, what does this mean for the future of the LA Clippers? We’ll find out on June 3, when the Sterlings present their case to the NBA owners.