While everyone and their mother contemplate buying the LA Clippers from disgraced owner Donald Sterling, shocking news regarding his health has come to light.
Sterling, who was banned from basketball over racist recordings released last week, has been battling prostate cancer. The report comes shortly after the NBA launched a bid on Thursday to oust the 80-year-old as owner of the franchise.
ESPN, citing unnamed sources, reported that Sterling has cancer. The New York Post, which first reported the news, also cited unnamed sources as saying Sterling has been battling prostate cancer for an extended period of time.
Reuters could not independently confirm these reports. Officials for the Clippers and the NBA did not immediately return requests for comment.
If you recall, Sterling was fined $2.5 million and banned from the NBA for life after telling girlfriend V. Stiviano not to bring black people to Clippers games. But he’s not the only one under fire for his actions.
Los Angeles NAACP head, Leon Jenkins, was forced to resign Thursday due to the controversy surrounding the chapter’s relationship with Sterling.
The chapter was set to bestow a lifetime achievement award on Sterling, his second in five years, despite years of Sterling’s discriminative behavior. Upon hearing the audio recordings of Sterling’s racist comments, the chapter rescinded the award. But the financial relationship, fostered between the chapter and Sterling, was hard to ignore.
Records indicate that Sterling’s foundations have given Jenkins’ branch at least $45,000 since 2007, The New York Times reports. The Times also points out that Sterling was given a similar award under Jenkins’ leadership in 2009.
“Please be advised that the legacy, history and reputation of the NAACP is more important to me than the presidency,” Jenkins declared in his letter of resignation shared in a NAACP statement. He added that he was resigning “In order to separate the Los Angeles NAACP and the NAACP from the negative exposure I have caused the NAACP.”
Following Jenkins’ resignation, the NAACP announced that the national office is developing branch guidelines for the award selection process.
Meanwhile, news about who actually released the racist recordings is making its rounds. Initially thought to be Stiviano, the Associated Press is reporting that a third-party released the tapes.
An attorney representing the woman Donald Sterling was talking to when he made racist remarks said Thursday that the hour-long conversation was taped by mutual agreement last September and provided to a friend for safekeeping, who then leaked it to TMZ.
V. Stiviano sent two snippets of the conversation, recorded in her Los Angeles duplex, to a friend who released them without her permission, lawyer Siamak Nehoray said. He would not identify the friend.
Nehoray said she sent snippets of the conversation recorded on her phone electronically to her friend for safekeeping in case anything happened, but only two went through, Nehoray said.
The lawyer also added that Stiviano was devestated to learn the tapes would become public knowledge after TMZ contacted her.
“She’s a young girl thrown in the middle of this thing, unwillingly,” Nehoray said. “She didn’t release the tape. She gave it to somebody for safe keeping. It was unfortunate that it was released. It’s a lot to deal with.”
We’ll keep you updated with the latest in the Sterling Scandal.
SOURCE: AP, Reuters, Huff Post | PHOTO CREDIT: SPLASH
