Clippers owner allegedly tells girlfriend not to bring blacks to games
theGRIO REPORT - Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling allegedly told his girlfriend, V. Stiviano, not to bring blacks, including legendary NBA player Magic Johnson, to his games.
Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling allegedly told his girlfriend, V. Stiviano, not to bring blacks, including legendary NBA player Magic Johnson, to his games.
In audio obtained by TMZ Sports, you can hear a male voice that is being reported as Sterling’s having a heated conversation with a woman, who is reported to be Stiviano. The discussion allegedly started after Stiviano posted a photograph of herself with Johnson on her Instagram account (the photo has since been deleted).
Throughout the nearly 10 minute long audio clip, a male speaker makes it clear that he does not want his girlfriend, who is Mexican and black herself, “broadcasting” that she is friends with minorities, African-Americans in particular.
“People call you and tell you that I have black people on my Instagram, and it bothers you?” questioned the female speaker.
“Yeah, it bothers me a lot that you want to promo … broadcast that you’re associating with black people,” the male voice replied.
Roughly halfway through the audio, the male says, “You can sleep with [black people]. You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want. The little I ask you is not to promote it on that … and not to bring them to my games.”
NBC has yet to confirm the voice on the tape is that of Clippers owner Donald Sterling.
However, this would not be the first time Sterling has found himself in hot water. Former Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor sued Sterling in 2011, claiming he was fired “on the basis of age and race.”
The lawsuit was eventually dismissed by a jury, but details from the court documents revealed disturbing claims from Baylor.
Baylor claimed the Clippers missed out on multiple players because Sterling refused to fairly compensate black players. He also claimed that Sterling would bring women into the locker room following games to watch players shower.
In 2006, Sterling was sued by the U.S. Department of Justice for refusing to rent apartments he owned to African-Americans and families with children.
Sources around the owner’s estranged wife, Shelly, told TMZ she is “mortified” by Sterling’s alleged recent comments. She is still highly involved in running the team.
Click here to listen to the full audio on TMZ.
The NBA has released the following statement in regards to the TMZ recording:
We are in the process of conducting a full investigation into the audio recording obtained by TMZ. The remarks heard on the recording are disturbing and offensive, but at this time we have no further information.
Follow Carrie Healey on Twitter @CarrieHeals.
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