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Donald Sterling may not be owner of the Los Angeles Clippers anymore, but he’s still watching them, still talking about them and still has an opinion about Magic Johnson, too.
TMZ caught up with Sterling in Beverly Hills and asked him a battery of questions.
Sterling has since moved on with his life — but when we spotted him in Beverly Hills, we had to know if he’s still following the Clippers, and rooting for them in the playoffs.
“Of course,” the 84-year-old billionaire told us on his way out of Nate’n Al … “And, I wish them the best!”
We also asked Sterling how he felt about Magic Johnson stepping down as the President of the Lakers — and that’s when Sterling looked up and gave a devious smirk.
It’s Sterling’s previous comments about Magic that led to his own demise — when he told V. Stiviano he didn’t want her bringing black people to Clippers games, including Magic Johnson.
Weeks after we published the recordings, Sterling went on CNN to attack Magic again — calling him an unfit role model for children because “he’s got AIDS.”
Johnson fired back at the time — saying Sterling was an ignorant old man who’s still living in the stone ages.
We reached out to the Clippers to see how the felt about Sterling’s support — but we haven’t heard back.
If you’re tardy to the party: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned Donald Sterling “for life” after an audio clip surfaced on TMZ featuring the Los Angeles Clippers owner making extremely racist comments to his then girlfriend.
In the recording, the embattled team owner urged V. Stiviano to disassociate herself with Black people, not bring her Black friends to Clippers games and to refrain from posting photos of her and “minorities” such as Magic Johnson to her Instagram account. In the recording, Sterling was specifically heard saying:”It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with Black people. Do you have to?”
The announcement of Sterling’s punishment was made five years ago.
“We stand together in condemning Mr. Sterling’s views,” said Adam Silver. “They simply have no place in the NBA.”
As part of Sterling’s ban, he may not attend any game or practices, be present at any Clippers office or facility, or participate in any business or player personnel decisions involving the team. “This league is far bigger than any one owner, any one coach and any one player,” said Silver.
Silver also fined Sterling $2.5 million, which is the maximum amount allowed under the NBA’s constitution. The fine was donated to organizations dedicated to anti-discrimination and tolerance efforts that will be jointly selected by the NBA and the Players Association.