Shelly Sterling has requested a probate court to confirm her as having the authority to sell the Los Angeles Clippers after doctors informed her that her husband has early Alzheimer's disease and that he won't be able to make sound decisions with regards to business affairs. Shelly sold the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for $2 billion.
But Donald Sterling challenges that he can get around $2.5 million to $5 billion if he sells the franchise due to booming sports media rights.
It was because of this that Interim CEO of Los Angeles Clippers; Richard Parsons was put in the witness stand to testify. According to him, Clippers could lose a substantial amount of sponsorships as well as the players of the team if Donald Sterling remains as the owner. Aside from that, he was also told that Clippers' head coach Doc Rivers will also resign if he still owns the team.
He said "We have a bunch of sponsors who are sitting at the edge of the pool and they don't want to go into the water"
It can be remembered that NBA has banned Sterling for life as he has been found out on a recording telling his girlfriend to refrain from bringing African-American friends to games. The racist comment received an ire from NBA fans, players and heads which caused him a fine worth $2.5 million as well as an immediate push to force him into selling the Clippers. For the record, Sterling denies the allegation of him being a racist.
According to Parson it is crucial that the LA Clippers will have a new owner when the new season begins as it may cause the downfall of the team. He said "If none of your sponsors want to sponsor, if the coach doesn't want to coach and if the players don't want to play for you, what do you got?"
Parson, who is considered as an expert in the management of big corporations, has said that the bid placed by Steve Ballmer was a more than the market value of the team. He said "There is no way you can get to this price on any metric basis. There is no way you can get to this price on any metric basis."
According to NBA, they could confiscate the Clippers and put the franchise up for auction if the sale is not approved by Sept. 15.
