Donald Sterling and the Clippers organization are pulling a Shaggy!
After an audio tape of racist comments, allegedly coming from Clippers owner Donald Sterling, were leaked to TMZ, the Clippers organization is claiming that the voice might not be Donald’s and the tape could very well be altered. In other words, Donald Sterling is more or less saying: “It wasn’t me.”
Sterling and the Clippers organization tell TMZ Sports, “We have heard the tape on TMZ. We do not know if it is legitimate or it has been altered.”
The statement goes on … We do know that the woman on the tape — who we believe released it to TMZ — is the defendant in a lawsuit brought by the Sterling family, alleging that she embezzled more than $1.8 million, who told Mr. Sterling that she would ‘get even.'”
The Clippers owners go on to say that the comments on the tape don’t reflect what Sterling believes.
“Mr. Sterling is emphatic that what is reflected on that recording is not consistent with, nor does it reflect his views, beliefs or feelings. It is the antithesis of who he is, what he believes and how he has lived his life.”
As the heat comes down on Donald Sterling, he’s supposedly apologizing for those who may have been hurt by the sentiments attached to him:
“He feels terrible that such sentiments are being attributed to him and apologizes to anyone who might have been hurt by them.”
Clippers star DeAndre Jordan took a strong stance by posting an all black image on his Instagram page. Alice Huffman, The President of the NAACP California State Conference, also had this to say on Sterling (who was supposed to be honored at an upcoming NAACP gala) :
“If these allegations are proven true, we are extremely disappointed in Mr. Sterling,” stated Alice Huffman, President of the NAACP California State Conference. “Recent remarks like these, and those of Cliven Bundy, remind us that racism is not a footnote of our past, but a reality of our present that we must confront head on.”
Huffman continued, “For 105 years, the NAACP has fought against the culture bigotry that leads to the comments like those we heard on the recording, and as public response to these remarks has shown, we have made significant progress.
As the investigation is in progress, we urge the LA Branch of the NAACP to withdraw Donald Sterling from the honoree list at its upcoming Gala. We also suggest that African Americans and Latinos should honor his request and not attend the games.”
“If true, these are very hurtful remarks and Mr. Sterling, whose team talents and fan base is majority minority, should offer an apology to Californians.
At the conclusion of the investigation into the alleged comments, if true, we seek further redress from Mr. Sterling.”
What do you think? Do you think the audio tape could have been altered?
SOURCE: TMZ | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty
