NBA News Wire

Shelly Sterling intends to remain Clippers owner

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Los Angles Clippers co-owner Shelly Sterling said she intends to remain an owner of the Los Angeles Clippers despite the league banning her husband, Donald Sterling, for life.

Shelly Sterling has hired a law firm to help her as the NBA moves to terminate her husband’s ownership of the team, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver last week urged owners to force Donald Sterling to sell the Clippers as part of his punishment for making racist comments.

Sterling’s wife apparently isn’t going away without a fight.

“Commissioner Silver made it clear, that when he announced sanctions against Donald, that the NBA was taking no action against me or my family,” Shelly Sterling said in a statement given to ESPN.

Silver said that no decisions have been made regarding members of the Sterling family other than Donald.

“This ruling applies specifically to Donald Sterling and Donald Sterling’s conduct only,” the commissioner said last week in announcing the lifetime ban.

Shelly Sterling has been a co-owner of the Clippers with her husband since 1981. The league must get 75 percent of owners to agree to force an owner to sell.

High-profile figures have come forward to express their interest in buying the Clippers, including Oprah Winfrey, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Magic Johnson.

On Saturday, the league announced it would appoint a CEO who would take over day-to-day operations of the Clippers.

NBA owners on Wednesday held their second discussion about ending Donald Sterling’s ownership and naming a CEO, with the advisory/finance committee holding a conference call.

Donald Sterling, an attorney, told Fox’s Jim Gray last week that the team is not for sale.