USA Today Sports is reporting that Donald Sterling has agreed to transfer his ownership share of the Los Angeles Clippers to his wife, Shelly. And she has changed her mind — after insisting she'd hold on to her 50 percent share — and will voluntarily sell the basketball team.
The story, which relied on anonymous sources, said:
There are contingencies in the agreement, a second person with direct knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports. Shelly Sterling has agreed to sell the team as long as she retains a minority interest in the Clippers, according to the second person, who also requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the negotiations.
It was not immediately clear whether the NBA will agree to Shelly Sterling's terms. The NBA, which banned Sterling for life on April 29, has said its move to terminate Donald Sterling's ownership would also terminate any other ownership interest in the team.
A person with knowledge of her interest told USA TODAY Sports that Oprah Winfrey is still interested in putting together a bid with David Geffen and Larry Ellison. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no other announcement was being made.
Donald Sterling, 80, has been the focus of almost nonstop attention since April 25, when TMZ Sports released a recording of a conversation between him and his friend, V. Stiviano, in which he made racist comments about African-Americans and came across as an all-around troglodyte. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling for life four days later, and fined him $2.5 million. Last week, Sterling's lawyer said he wouldn't pay the fine.
On May 12, in an interview with Anderson Cooper on CNN where people expected the embattled owner to take a stab at damage control, Sterling instead made a really bad situation even worse, by attacking basketball legend Magic Johnson and his HIV status.
The USA Today story said that transferring ownership is a multi-step process and approval requires three-fourths of the owners' vote.