To Donald Sterling, it’s no longer all about the money. Actually, after Sterling was fined and forced to sell his franchise, it was probably never about the money. It’s always been about the game--but not basketball, business. 

Donald Sterling pictured with V. Stiviano, who released a recording between herself and Sterling to TMZ, initiating the whole controversy. (Flickr/ Lance Scurvin)

Donald Sterling is a billionaire. A $2.5 million fine from the NBA and even $1 billion lawsuit against the NBA is nothing to him. What matters more to Sterling is protecting his constitutional rights. Sterling firmly believes his privacy was breached and that he was treated unfairly. While filing the lawsuit is within the means of his rights, Sterling is thinking only of himself and not the franchise as a whole. 

Sterling suing the NBA is essentially a matter of pride and ability: he won’t be reprimanded by NBA commissioner Adam Silver without a fight, and he has the ability to spend much of his time and money on a worthless lawsuit. Sterling’s lawsuit only stalls what could have been a much easier transition of ownership, deterring the team from focusing on the game. The Los Angeles Clippers are a professional basketball team. Their job is to play professional basketball games, not to play into Sterling's convoluded business games.

Why fight?

Sterling said in a statement to NBC News that “[his] position may not be popular,” because he believed in the “preservation of his rights” to privacy. No, the reason his position “may not be popular” is because Sterling had never been the ideal franchise owner. Always more concerned with the team's revenue than their record, Donald Sterling ran the Los Angeles Clippers as more of a business than a team. The success of the Clippers on the court was built from within the team, between the players and Doc Rivers, without much help from Donald Sterling.

The Clippers have showed on multiple occasions that they no longer support or wish to play for Sterling. (Flickr/Gullpress WNA)

Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, on the other hand, has vehemently showed his support for both basketball and Los Angeles, seemingly determined to make the Clippers win big in Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles Times, the possibility of Ballmer as the new owner of the Los Angeles Clippers was received with extreme positivity. Magic Johnson tweeted that Steve Ballmer’s possible ownership “is a big win for the City of LA,” and Clippers power forward Blake Griffin echoed such sentiments. Griffin stated that Ballmer would be “putting the final piece to the puzzle together,” because it “allows everybody to go back to focusing on the real goal [which is] putting 100% of everything into winning a championship for Los Angeles from our side.” Griffin perfectly summarizes the main point in this case: the job of the team is to play and to win, not to be wrapped up in this prolonged controversy. 

So what could this mean for the Clippers?

Most likely, Donald Sterling is just prolonging the inevitable. If Sterling wants to fight for his privacy that was breached, fine, that’s his decision. However, he should also understand that he is further bringing down the Clippers with him.

As much as the team and fans want this controversy placed in the past, there is no getting over it with Sterling’s
continuous interferences. He is only adding more distress to the franchise by backing out of a deal that was ready to be executed. Sterling has made his money, but he continues to try and make his irrelevant point that he is first and foremost a business man and will fight for his business. 

Reach staff writer Durga Ghosh here.