Donald Sterling

Donald Sterling, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, was condemned by the NBA and the nation after making racist remarks towards African Americans. He was recorded making debasing comments, and many in the NBA responded with great distaste upon its publication. Fans encouraged boycotting Clippers games and engaged in protests outside the Staples Center, while players threatened to abstain from playing under Sterling’s ownership and wore their jerseys inside-out to conceal their affiliation.

After much deliberation on part of the NBA commission, board head Adam Silver banned Donald Sterling from the association and fined him a $2.5 million duty–the maximum penalty allowed–as reparations. While he still owns the Clippers at the time, players and fans are urging for Sterling to surrender his status and sell the team. Silver is currently conveying these feelings to the NBA’s Board of Governors, which has the power to force his sale of the team.

With his current status, Sterling is prohibited from entering the Clippers stadiums, attending any practices or games, engaging in business or personnel decisions, or entering into Board of Governors interactions.

Even if he sells the team, Sterling will gain a considerable sum of money; he originally purchased the team for $12 million, and Forbes predicts their value to have increased over 40-fold to an impressive $575 million throughout the three decades of his ownership.