Sterling's girlfriend, V. Stiviano, had posted a photo of her and Johnson on her Instagram account. Sterling told her to remove the photo and made racist comments that prompted outrage throughout the NBA and the nation when they were released, leading to his lifetime ban and $2.5 million fine from the league.
In the interview, Sterling said he's talked to Johnson twice since the audio recordings became public and was asked whether he apologized to the former Los Angeles Lakers star.
\"If I said anything wrong, I'm sorry,\" Sterling told CNN in the interview. \"He's a good person. I mean, what am I going to say?\"
Sterling said Johnson urged him to \"be patient\" during their discussions.
\"I think he wanted me just to do nothing, so he could buy the team,\" Sterling said.
However, Sterling added a dig at Johnson as well.
\"Has he done everything he can do to help minorities? I don't think so,\" he told CNN. \"But I'll say it: He's great, but I don't think he's a good example for the children of Los Angeles.\"
Johnson declined to comment on Sterling's remarks when asked by ESPN.com. A source close to Johnson told ESPN.com that Sterling contacted Johnson only once, however, just after Stiviano's recordings were leaked, and it was to apologize for what he said.
Sterling also claimed in the CNN interview that he was set up by Stiviano to make the comments.
\"Well, yes, I was baited,\" Sterling told CNN. \"I mean, that's not the way I talk. I don't talk about people for one thing, ever. I talk about ideas and other things. I don't talk about people.\"
The interview came nearly two weeks after Silver banned Sterling, fined him the league-maximum $2.5 million and urged the other team owners to force him to sell the team. Information from ESPNLosAngeles.com's Arash Markazi and The Associated Press is included in this report.
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