Clippers Scandal
Who is former NBA Clippers owner Donald Sterling and where is the disgraced racist now?
The former basketball club owner and businessman was shunned after making racist comments and handed a huge fine
DISGRACED Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling received a huge fine and was banned from the NBA after anti-Black comments he made came to light.
Find out more about the businessman’s life and how much he was fined.
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Who is Donald Sterling?
Donald Sterling used to be the owner of NBA team Los Angeles Clippers.
He was born Donald Tokowitz in Chicago, IL, in 1934 to his parents Susan and Mickey.
His family moved to Los Angeles when he was 2-years-old.
Sterling got married to Shelley Stein in 1955, and they had three children together.
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He and his wife later changed their surname to Sterling after claiming people found their name difficult to pronounce.
The businessman started his career as a divorce and personal injury attorney, before moving into real estate in Los Angeles in the 60s.
Sterling then bought the Los Angeles Clippers NBA team in 1981, vowing to build up the team and make them more successful.
In 2014 he was banned for life by the league and handed a huge fine, resulting in him being forced to sell the team.
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Why was Donald Sterling banned from NBA games?
Donald Sterling was banned after racist comments came to light he’d made to his mistress at the time.
A recording came out of a conversation he had with V. Stiviano.
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In the clip he said: "It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you're associating with black people."
He asked that Stiviano - who herself is part African-American - didn’t post pictures with Black people to Instagram or invite them to Clippers games.
The scandal is the subject of new FX miniseries Clipped, which is being released weekly on Hulu.
Sterling is played by US actor Ed O’Neill in the show.
How much was Donald Sterling fined?
The NBA fined Donald Sterling the maximum amount it could following his remarks.
He was forced to pay $2.5million - the harshest penalty ever issued by the league and one of the biggest punishments ever given to a professional club owner.
The decision to hand out such a fine was welcomed by a host of NBA players.
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NBA commissioner Adam Silver said: “"We stand together in condemning Mr. Sterling's views.
"They simply have no place in the NBA."
Where is Donald Sterling now?
Despite the fine, Donald Sterling is reportedly still incredibly wealthy.
He settled his lawsuit against the NBA in 2016.
It’s reported that he’s now worth over $2billion following the sale of the Clippers.
He remains active in real estate in Los Angeles, and is often seen around Malibu with his wife Shelley.
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They’ve now been married for nearly seventy years, however he’s been spotted being accompanied by another mystery woman whilst his wife traveled around separately.
Sterling filed for divorce from his wife in 2015, however it was revealed the following year that they’d resolved their differences and wouldn’t be going ahead with it.