Disgraced former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers Donald Sterling made a rare appearance going with friends and family, including wife Shelly near his Malibu home this week.
The businessman, 88, was seen saying his goodbyes in all black after an outing before getting escorted to the car by a mystery woman. He appeared a long way from the man who used to sit court-side at the Staples Center.
Sterling’s wife of over 60 years, Shelly, was alongside, though her husband was led away to a car by a different woman carrying a bag for Malibu steakhouse Lucky’s.
Sterling has rarely appeared over the the past eight years since his epic downfall, when his past racial insensitivity was well-documented and made headlines after a racist conversation with mistress V. Stiviano.
The NBA banned Sterling for life in 2014 and fined him $2.5million and forced a conversation about racism in the sport.
Shelly Sterling sold the team from under him the following offseason to Steve Ballmer, banking the family $2billion in the process.
Disgraced former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers Donald Sterling made a rare appearance going with friends and family, including wife Shelly near his Malibu home this week.
The businessman, 88, was seen saying his goodbyes in all black after an outing before getting escorted to the car by a mystery woman. He appeared a long way from the man who used to sit court-side at the Staples Center
Sterling’s wife of over 60 years, Shelly, was alongside, though her husband was led away to a car by a different woman
Sterling was led away by hand to his car by a brunette woman
Sterling has remained low key over the the past eight years since his epic downfall
Sterling hugs an acquaintance goodbye before leaving the restaurant
Shelly Sterling (pictured center) initially sold the Clippers from under her husband, prompting him to file for divorce. The two have since reconciled
Sterling found himself at the center of controversy after private recordings of him making racist comments were made public.
The resulting firestorm saw the billionaire businessman banned from the NBA for life and made to pay a $2.5 million fine by the league.
The team was later sold to former Microsoft executive Steve Balmer for an estimated $2 billion in August 2014.
Sterling’s ex-girlfriend, V. Stiviano, was responsible for the leaked audio, which recorded Sterling making racist comments over a photo Stiviano had posted on Instagram posing with Hall of Fame basketball player Magic Johnson.
‘It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people,’ Sterling tells Stiviano in the tapes leaked to TMZ.
Sterling found himself at the center of controversy after private recordings of him making racist comments were made public
The resulting firestorm saw the billionaire businessman banned from the NBA for life and made to pay a $2.5 million fine by the league
The team was later sold by Shelly Sterling to former Microsoft executive Steve Balmer for an estimated $2 billion in August 2014
‘You can sleep with [black people]. You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want,’ but ‘the little I ask you is … not to bring them to my games.’
Sterling was married at the time to his wife Shelly.
According to then Clippers executive Andy Roeser, Stiviano made the tapes public as revenge after Sterling’s wife sued her for the return of a $2.6 million Los Angeles duplex as well as a Ferrari, two Bentlys and a Range Rover.
Sterling was a lawyer and real-estate mogul before purchasing the Clippers in for $12.5 million in 1981. He has an estimated worth of $3.5 billion.
The team was largely considered the league’s laughingstock for much of his tenure, consistently playing second fiddle to the Lakers and rarely making the NBA Playoffs.
Sterling and his wife of over 60 years filed for divorce in 2015 but eventually decided against it in 2016.
As with many scandals, the Sterling affair is set to become fodder for a miniseries on FX, with former Married… With Children and Modern Family star Ed O’Neill set to portray Sterling.
