HBO’s “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” is a ten-part drama that romanticizes the story behind the multiple championships won by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s. establish a legacy, the San Diego Clippers (now Los Angeles Clippers) struggled with multiple losing records during the same period. Donald Sterling bought the team two years after Jerry Buss acquired the Lakers. But Donald’s tenure as owner has been mired in much controversy. So if you’re curious for more, we’ve got you covered.
Who is Donald Sterling?
Donald Sterling was born Donald Tokowitz to Jewish immigrants in Chicago, Illinois. When he was just two years old, the family moved to Los Angeles, California. Later Donald married Rochelle Stein in 1955 and they had three children together. He graduated from law school in 1961 when he was just 23, becoming a divorce attorney. After that, he made his money by investing heavily in real estate when the market was down, buying run-down apartments in the Los Angeles neighborhood.
In 1981, Donald used his immense wealth to buy the San Diego Clippers franchise for $12.5 million. However, multiple out-of-court controversies made local headlines. In 1986, tenants of his Beverly Hills, California properties complained to City Hall about unreasonable rent increases. Earlier in 1982, the NBA fined Donald $10,000 for publicly suggesting his team lose more to end up with a better draft position.
A few years later, Donald had ongoing legal issues with his real estate holdings. In 2004, he was sued by the Los Angeles Housing Rights Center for discriminatory tenancy practices. According to his real estate supervisor, Summer Davenport, Donald did not want to rent properties to Hispanics and blacks. The tenants claimed that the employees did not take rent checks and refused to carry out repairs in the apartments. In 2006, the Justice Department sued Donald for housing discrimination in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles. It was later settled for $2.73 million.
The trend continued in 2009 when Elgin Baylor, the former Clippers general manager, filed a lawsuit claiming he had been discriminated against because of his age and race, which ultimately led to his dismissal. Elgin further alleged that Donald had a “pervasive and ongoing racist attitude” when it came to dealing with black players. Eventually, Elgin dropped the racial charges and a judge ruled in favor of Donald.
Perhaps the most damaging incident became public knowledge in 2014 when a recorded conversation between Donald and his girlfriend, V. Stiviano, leaked. Racist remarks included Donald saying ‘don’t bring black people’ to Clippers games. He was also recorded saying, “It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you associate with black people. Should you?” An investigation revealed that it was indeed Donald who was speaking.
As a result, the NBA banned Donald for life in April 2014 and fined him $2.5 million. In an interview the following month, Donald appeared to apologize, saying, “I’m a good member who made a mistake, and I apologize, and I ask for forgiveness.” He further claimed that his girlfriend made him say these things. However, he also insulted Magic Johnson during the same interview.
Where is Donald Sterling now?
Following the ban, Rochelle moved forward to negotiate the sale of the team. In May 2014, Donald’s attorney said his client had disavowed an agreement with Rochelle, indicating he would let her negotiate the sale. Eventually, it was determined that Donald was mentally unfit to make such decisions, and the team was sold for $2 billion to Steve Ballmer. It was reported in 2014 that he was being treated for prostate cancer and had also been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
In 2012, Rochelle kicked Donald out of their home after he was heard arguing with a mistress. After initially deciding to file for divorce, the couple appeared to have resolved their differences when they called it off in 2016. In a 2017 interview, Donald appeared to have come to terms with what had happened, saying, “ I’m as happy as I’ve ever been. I’m as comfortable as ever and I don’t want to do anything to disturb that. He still appears to live in Beverly Hills and has recently sought to support charities.
Read more: Where is Jeanie Buss now?
