NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has banned Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life and fined him $2.5million [€1.8million].
Silver also added that Sterling is prohibited from attending any NBA games or practices, be present at any Clippers office or facility, or participate in business or player personnel decisions.
Silver added that he will also attempt to force Sterling to sell the Clippers franchise.
“We stand together in condemning Mr. Sterling’s views,” Silver said. “They simply have no place in the NBA.
“This league is far bigger than any one owner, any one coach and any one player.
“The fine will be donated to organizations dedicated to anti-discrimination and tolerance efforts that will be jointly selected by the NBA and the Players Association,”
The announcement comes after an audio-tape was leaked by celebrity website TMZ over the weekend, in which Sterling made racist remarks to girlfriend V. Stiviano. Silver confirmed that the male voice in that audio was that of Sterling’s and was backed up by Stiviano, who cooperated fully with the NBA.
Many NBA players, past and present voiced their obvious dismay of the audio on several platforms, with the most prolific being Twitter. The Clippers, who were preparing for a vital first round NBA Playoff game against the Golden State Warriors 24 hours later, showed unity amongst each other on game-day by wearing their warm-up jerseys inside-out, hiding the Clippers logo.
The Miami Heat joined the Clippers by wearing their warm-up jerseys inside-out in Game 4 of their Playoff game against the Charlotte Bobcats.
