Report: Donald Sterling says NBA efforts to terminate ownership ‘illegal’

As everyone expected, Donald Sterling isn’t going to let the NBA strip him of ownership without a fight through the legal system. According to USA Today Sports, the banished Clippers owner has responded to the NBA’s charges, saying the leagues’ attempt to revoke ownership is illegal.

"Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling said the NBA’s efforts to terminate his ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers are “illegal” and that it would force his family to pay an enormous capital gains tax that would be “egregious,” according to his response to NBA charges filed Tuesday.In a 32-page response to the league, he said he will fight the charges and noted that he has received offers of more than $2.5 billion for the team.via Donald Sterling vows fight, says he has offers of $2.5B | USA Today Sports"

We all knew this was coming.

Due to the NBA being a private company, the general rules of “freedom of speech” don’t apply here, hence the NBA’s charges that state Sterling  “undermined the league’s effort to promote diversity. The NBA also said he damaged the league’s relationship with fans, harmed NBA owners, players and Clippers team personnel, and impaired the league’s relationship with marketing and merchandising partners, as well as government and community leaders.” (The LA Times)

As fans of the NBA, the want for the Sterling saga to end expeditiously is huge. It’s distracting us from an interesting NBA playoffs, one that includes Lebron James continuously building on his legacy while the Spurs and Thunder fight it out in the Western Conference. Adam Silver has the NBA’s best interest in his mind when dealing with Sterling, and if this takes time, than so be it. It’s better for the NBA to get this matter right, setting the proper precedent going forward, than to rush through the process just to get it over with.