In a perfect scenario, Donald Sterling wouldn’t win in any way in this mess.
But it doesn’t work like that.
For sure, it’s not a popular position, but Sterling deserves to reap all the money from the sale of his Los Angeles Clippers.
Yes, every nickel, every thin dime, every penny he has coming to him.
Sure, it appears as if Sterling is being rewarded for his racial rant that was caught on tape and cost him his NBA ownership.
Media reports on Thursday night said that the Sterlings were offered $2 billion dollars for the Clippers, a team Sterling bought for just $13 million back in the early 80s.
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had the winning bid, beating out four other groups who wanted to own the Clippers.
“I am delighted that we are selling the team to Steve, who will be a terrific owner,” Shelly Sterling said in a statement. “We have worked for 33 years to build the Clippers into a premiere NBA franchise. I am confident that Steve will take the team to new levels of success.”
The sale now has to move to the NBA for approval. On Tuesday, there is an owners meeting scheduled in NYC to determine if the Sterlings should be forced to sell.
“I will be honored to have my name submitted to the NBA Board of Governors for approval as the next owner of the Los Angeles Clippers,” Ballmer said in a statement.
“I love basketball. And I intend to do everything in my power to ensure that the Clippers continue to win – and win big – in Los Angeles.”
While most will look at this as a great victory for the NBA — getting the Sterlings to sell without an epic, long and drawn out court battle – most believe it’s still a huge win for Donald Sterling.
Most thought the Clippers would have been sold for about $750 million. After all, the Milwaukee Bucks were recently sold for just $550 million.
Instead, Sterling will see a windfall the NBA has never seen with the sale of a franchise. There’s simply nothing the league can do.
Despite his actions that led the NBA to take away his controlling interest in the club, Sterling is legally entitled to cash in on the current value – even if it looks bad or unfair.
The league has no right to hamper the sale or limit the amount of cash Sterling can get for his property. If the NBA did, it would lose in a court of law.
Sterling, however, shouldn’t be allowed to own a team. That’s the only way the NBA could have punished Sterling after hearing his racist views on a tape recording.
The players, sponsors, fans and other owners condemned Sterling for his harmful words. It was clear that if Sterling decided to fight to hang onto his team, he would have had a hard time doing business as usual.
The players really forced the issue, even floating the idea that there would be a league-wide boycott next season if he remained owner.
You have to remember that was really the goal, forcing him out of ownership. It had nothing to do with money. It was simply that a man with hate toward minorities shouldn’t be a part of the NBA, which is diverse.
You have to look past the money aspect to understand that the NBA won and Sterling, indeed, lost here.
And while Sterling stands to get a great cash windfall, you can bet it still will hurt that his ownership was stripped. It’s a clear case of money not being able to buy happiness.
Being an owner of a sports team in this country is an exclusive club. For most, it’s their plaything, something that makes them seem cool to others.
Sterling is a wealthy man. He’s already a billionaire. So it’s just more money when the sale is final.
For Sterling, the prestige of being an owner is gone. His name has been stained forever. In fact, in a recent poll, he was named the most-hated man in America.
Sterling may get richer from this racist mess he caused, but ultimately he has been punished in the only way possible by the NBA.
