Doc: Tough if wife retains control
— -- Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers said Thursday at the team's training facility that "it would be a very hard situation'' if Shelly Sterling, the wife of Donald Sterling, retained her portion of ownership in the team.
Shelly Sterling's attorney, Pierce O'Donnell, said his client would fight to retain her ownership stake in the team.
"I guarantee you every person wouldn't be on board with that,'' Rivers said. `"Whether I would or not, I'm not going to say.''
Shelly Sterling confirmed Wednesday that she intends to keep ownership of the team in her family despite the NBA's move to oust her estranged husband, who was banned for life by commissioner Adam Silver last week in the wake of racist remarks he made that were published by TMZ.
Shelly Sterling has been a co-owner of the Clippers with her husband since 1981 and is one of two alternate governors. The other, team president Andy Roeser, began an indefinite leave of absence Tuesday. The team is owned by a family trust.
She has hired O'Donnell to represent her interests as the league moves to terminate her husband's ownership of the team.
Silver said last week that no decisions had been made regarding members of the Sterling family other than Donald.
ESPN's Darren Rovell reported Tuesday that the NBA believes it has the legal grounds to force Sterling to sell the team because he has signed numerous contracts with the league agreeing that an owner will not take any position or action that will materially and adversely affect a team or the league. Owners also sign morals clauses, which state they will be held to the highest standards of ethical and moral behavior.
The NBA will maintain that Sterling violated those contracts should he choose to fight the league's plan to force him to sell. The league must get 75 percent of owners to agree to make the move.
ESPNLosAngeles.com's Arash Markazi and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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