Lifetime Ban, Fine For Los Angeles Clippers Owner Donald Sterling

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced Tuesday that Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has been banned for life and will be fined $2.5 million—the maximum allowed under the NBA constitution—related to comments that were attributed to him on an audio recording that became public over the weekend.

Silver said he spoke to Sterling and said the voice on the recording was, in fact, that of the Clippers longtime owner.

In addition to the sanctions, Silver said he will ask the other owners to take the unprecedented step of forcing Sterling to sell his franchise. Under the NBA constitution, the owners can take such a step, but will need a three-quarters vote in order to compel Sterling to sell the team.

But if anyone thinks Sterling will leave quietly, they don’t understand the man’s history. According to Forbes.com, Sterling had to be talked out of going to Sunday’s game in Oakland, the day after the story broke about his racially insensitive comments to a girlfriend that became public when a recording of the conversation was leaked to the entertainment news website TMZ.com.

Magic Johnson, who was unwittingly at the center of the controversy (it was pictures the girlfriend, V. Stiviano, posted to a social media account of herself and Magic Johnson that prompted Sterling to begin to spew forth his diatribe), said on Twitter that he is satisfied by the announcement:

Sterling’s ban is all-encompassing: He cannot attend games, practices, be present at any Clippers facility, or participate in any business or player personnel decisions involving the team.

At a press conference in New York, Silver said:

"“We stand together in condemning Mr. Sterling’s views. They simply have no place in the NBA. This league is far bigger than any one owner, any one coach and any one player.”"

I’ll admit to being surprised by the ruling from Silver. I expected a half-measure, an indefinite suspension of sorts to buy time moving forward.

Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson, representing the National Basketball Players Association, said at a Los Angeles press conference the players are satisfied with Silver’s ruling:

This situation is far from over; it’s expected that Sterling will attempt to fight against the ruling, but it’s a significant step forward for the NBA, a league that has dealt with Sterling for more than 30 years.