Report: Donald Sterling doesn’t petition Supreme Court for review
By Phil Watson
According to a report, former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling allowed a deadline for petitioning the California Supreme Court for review to pass, making it virtually impossible for him to reacquire the NBA franchise.
Sports Illustrated reported Wednesday that Sterling is now out of legal options in California to get the team back from former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
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Sterling had 10 days from Aug. 13—the date an appellate court rejected Sterling’s petitions for the $2 billion sale of the franchise to be stopped or reversed—to petition the state Supreme Court with the same request.
Legal analysts say it would have been a long shot, at best, but Sterling could have sought a different ruling from the state’s highest court.
By allowing the deadline to pass without filing a petition for review, Sterling has effectively given up any claim to the Clippers.
Given Sterling’s history for litigating and his reputation for attempting any legal move available to him, it’s a shocker that he allowed the Supreme Court filing deadline to pass without incident.
It was Sterling who called NBA officials “despicable monsters” and vowed he would “fight to the bloody end” to keep the Clippers.
But Sterling also told TMZ Sports on Aug. 18:
"“I’m finished. I’m over.”"
Apparently, he meant it.