Shelly Sterling, estranged wife of Donald Sterling and co-owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, has let it be known that she is not interested in giving up her half of the team.
Through her attorney, Shelly Sterling said yesterday that she “will not agree to a forced or involuntary seizure of her interest,” and that her attorneys “will fight vigorously to defend her property rights.”
It’s just the latest uncomfortable twist in a story that seemingly gets more sordid by the day. Just yesterday, Donald Sterling “leaked” his own audio clip in which he “unknowingly” defends himself against allegations of racism. Really, it’s a pretty thinly-veiled attempt at PR by the soon-to-be-former Clippers owner.
Shelly’s defiance, however, can’t sit too well with the players and staff around the team who would love nothing more than to see their association with the name “Sterling” end as soon as possible.
You can count coach DocRivers among those who would not be a big fan of Shelly keeping the team. After practice yesterday, he said that “it would be a very hard situation” should she stay in the picture. He also offered “I guarantee you every person wouldn't be on board with that. Whether I would or not, I'm not going to say.”
The next thing to watch will be what happens once the NBA owners—as they are expected to do—vote Donald Sterling out. The legal battle here, unfortunately, has only just begun.
[via AP]
