Former Los Angeles Clippers team owner Donald Sterling and V. Stiviano watch the San Antonio Spurs play against the Memphis Grizzlies during the Western Conference Finals of the 2013 NBA Playoffs Ronald Martinez/Getty Images hide caption
Donald Sterling Donald Sterling
Stories About
Donald Sterling
V. Stiviano, whose recording of former Los Angeles Clippers basketball team owner Donald Sterling led to his having to sell the team, arrives at Los Angeles Superior Court in March. Nick Ut/AP hide caption
Florida State fans cheer Rashad Greene after a 74-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game against Clemson in Tallahassee, Fla., on Sept. 20. In college sports, African-American student athletes and white student audiences are the norm. Commentator Frank Deford asks why this dynamic does not make us more squeamish. Mark Wallheiser/AP hide caption
Bruce Levenson, seen at an Atlanta Hawks game on Dec. 4, 2013, in Atlanta, announced Sunday that he was selling his stake in the team because of a racially charged email he sent in 2012. John Bazemore/AP hide caption
Steve Ballmer is the new owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, the NBA franchise said Tuesday. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption
Shelly Sterling sits with her husband, Donald, during a 2010 Los Angeles Clippers game against the Detroit Pistons. Mark Terrill/AP hide caption
Los Angeles Clippers co-owner Shelly Sterling (left) has announced a "binding contract" to sell the team to former Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer for $2 billion. Any sale of the team would require the NBA's approval before it is made official. Mark J. Terrill/AP hide caption
Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has reportedly agreed to sell the team, allowing his wife, Shelly, to broker a deal. They're seen here at a 2012 game. Mark J. Terrill/AP hide caption
Shelly Sterling (top right), wife of embattled L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling, watches Friday's Game 3 of the Clippers playoff series. The NBA says that if Donald Sterling is forced out, his wife cannot keep the team, either. Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Shelly Sterling, the wife of Donald Sterling owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, watches the Clippers against the Golden State Warriors in Game Four of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2014 NBA Playoffs in Oakland, California. Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images hide caption
Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Former and current NBA players (from left) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Roger Mason, along with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and the Lakers' Steve Nash and former Laker and Clipper Norm Nixon, welcome the NBA's ban of Clippers owner Donald Sterling Tuesday. Noel Vasquez/Getty Images hide caption
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announces a lifetime ban and a $2.5 million fine for Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling Tuesday. Silver said the league verified an audio recording of Sterling making racist remarks. Elsa/Getty Images hide caption
In a protest against comments attributed to Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, the team's players wore their red warm-up shirts inside out to hide the team's logo. The NBA is still working to confirm Sterling made the controversial statements. Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP hide caption
President Obama speaks during a joint press conference in Malaysia's administrative capital in Putrajaya Sunday, where he was asked about racist comments attributed to Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. Mohd Rasfan/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
An October 2013 photo shows Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, right, and V. Stiviano, left. A recording released Friday includes racist comments allegedly made by Sterling as the couple argued. The NBA is investigating the claim. Mark J. Terrill/AP hide caption