Donald Sterling

Donald Sterling
Born
Donald Samuel Tokowitz

(1934-04-26) April 26, 1934 (age 90)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Other namesDonald T. Sterling
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Attorney, businessman
Known forFormer owner of the San Diego / Los Angeles Clippers
Spouse
Shelly Sterling
​
(m. 1955)​
Children3

Donald T. Sterling (born Donald Samuel Tokowitz;[1] April 26, 1934) is an American attorney and businessman who was the owner of the San Diego/Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1981 to 2014.

In April 2014, Sterling was banned from the NBA for life and fined $2.5 million by the league after private recordings of him making racist comments were made public.[2] NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who announced Sterling's suspension, said he would "immediately" recommend to the NBA board of governors that Sterling be forced to sell the team.[3] In May, Sterling's wife Shelly reached an agreement for the Sterling Family Trust to sell the Clippers for $2 billion to Steve Ballmer. Sterling contested the agreement in court, but the NBA Board of Governors approved the sale of the Clippers to Ballmer in August 2014.[4][5] Sterling settled his lawsuit against the NBA in November 2016 and remains active in Los Angeles real estate.[6][7]

  1. ^ Fenno, Nathan; Christensen, Kim; Rainey, James (August 2, 2014). "Donald Sterling built an empire and an image; words were his undoing". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
  2. ^ Gregory, Sean (April 29, 2014). "NBA Bans Donald Sterling 'For Life' After Racist Rant". Time. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  3. ^ O'Donnell, Ricky (April 29, 2014). "Sterling suspended 'for life', fined $2.5 million". SBNation.com. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  4. ^ ESPN.com (August 12, 2014). "Steve Ballmer new Clippers owner". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  5. ^ "Ballmer officially becomes new owner of Clippers". NBA.com. August 12, 2014. Archived from the original on August 15, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  6. ^ Vinton, Kate. "Billionaire Donald Sterling Settles Lawsuit With The NBA Over Clippers Sale To Steve Ballmer". Forbes.
  7. ^ "Donald Sterling". Forbes.