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Jane Velez-Mitchell
Donald Sterling Gets Lifetime Ban from NBA
Aired April 29, 2014 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It worked together. There were no holes. It was just nailed down.
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST: Tonight, the NBA drops the hammer on its racist owner, Donald Sterling, in the wake of those jaw-dropping audiotapes leaked to TMZ.
Good evening, I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell, coming to you live tonight. Thanks for joining me.
Clippers owner Donald Sterling is now banned for life from the NBA. The man who said on tape he doesn`t want blacks at his games may be forced to sell his team. But is it that simple? Tonight critics wonder if the Sterlings have a secret plan to get around the ban.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD STERLING, OWNER, L.A. CLIPPERS: You`re associated with black people.
ADAM SILVER, NBA COMMISSIONER: I am banning Mr. Sterling for life from any association with the Clippers organization or the NBA.
D. STERLING: Bring him here, feed him, (EXPLETIVE DELETED) him, I don`t care.
SILVER: Deeply offensive and harmful.
D. STERLING: Don`t come to my games. Don`t bring black people and don`t come.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No room in this game for an owner like that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can we talk to you? Talk to you for a second?
V. STIVIANO, GIRLFRIEND OF DONALD STERLING: People call you and tell you that I have black people on my Instagram.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A slave master.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Today in a stunning public shaming, the NBA commissioner slapped Clippers owner Donald Sterling with a lifetime ban for those vile, racist comments he made to his girlfriend, who is herself is black and Mexican. A tape of their argument was leaked over the weekend.
Sterling and his supposedly estranged wife were confronted outside a restaurant Sunday. Shelly, the wife, had earlier slammed her husband for his racist comments, but then she turned around and started defending him. Here, listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Sterling. Are you a racist, Mr. Sterling?
SHELLY STERLING, STERLING`S WIFE: No, of course not!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People want to know, Mr. Sterling.
S. STERLING: OK. You know...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you a racist? The accusations, are they true?
S. STERLING: Forget it. It`s not true.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not true?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Could wife Shelly take over the team, now that her husband has been banned? Is this a bait and switch?
Sterling is also being fined $2.5 million. Let`s face it. That`s chump change, with his fortune nearly two billion -- with a "B" -- dollars. And that`s 2 billion reasons for wife to stay on good side.
In the middle of this mess, the Clippers having their best season ever and will take to the floor in a couple of hours at the Staples Center, which is now off limits to the Clippers owner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SILVER: I am banning Mr. Sterling for life from any association with the Clippers organization or the NBA. Mr. Sterling may not attend any NBA games or practices and he may not participate in any business or player personnel decisions involving the team. I will urge the board of governors to exercise its authority to force a sale of the team.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The NBA commissioner says that Donald Sterling has admitted the voice on that now-infamous tape is his. Listen as Sterling scolds his girlfriend for posting this photo with Magic Johnson to Instagram.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STIVIANO: He happens to be black, and I`m sorry.
D. STERLING: I think it`s nice that you admire him. I`ve known him well, and he should be admired. And I`m just saying that it`s too bad you can`t admire him privately.
And during your entire (EXPLETIVE DELETED) life, your whole life, admire him. Bring him here, feed him, (EXPLETIVE DELETED) him, I don`t care. You can do anything. But don`t put him on Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me. And don`t bring him into my games, OK?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What do you at home think of the NBA commissioner`s just announced punishment for Donald Sterling? Call me: 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877- 586-7297.
Straight out to our fantastic Lion`s Den debate panel. Now, I`m going to start with this video of Mrs. Sterling at the game this past Sunday, which a lot of people thought was tacky and tasteless. I want to go to Jasmine Cannick, co-organizer of the L.A. protest at the Staples Center. She is live right now at the Staples Center as the protesters gather.
Could the Sterlings, Jasmine, have a master plan for the wife to take over the Clippers and keep the team in the family to protect their empire, despite this ban?
JASMINE CANNICK, PROTEST CO-ORGANIZER: I don`t think Angelinos are going to go for that. I also don`t think Clippers fans are going to go for that either. I think that`s one of the reasons why people are still going to gather this evening, because they want to stay vigilant. They want to support the team. They want to support the players tonight.
But I don`t think that anyone wants that team to stay within the Sterling family, whatsoever.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. But my -- and I agree. But my question is, and I`ll throw it to Boyce Watkins, social commentator, founder of Your Black World.
This is a guy who showed no remorse, according to the NBA commissioner, and who has eluded attempts to nail him on this issue in the past. So could he have a master plan, because his wife was estranged for the longest time. Now suddenly they`re going to dinner together, and she`s defending him.
BOYCE WATKINS, FOUNDER, YOUR BLACK WORLD: Well, you know, first of all, he`s 82 years old. I don`t think he`s worried so much about what`s going to happen in his future.
But I do think that they`re going to keep their wealth. They`re going to do fine. They`re going to reinvest the money, but I don`t think that they`re going to get away with leaving the team within the family.
Remember, there are a lot of ways they can invest their money, not just in a basketball team. And there`s transparency. I mean, the fans can see if you`ve done a simple bait and switch. So I don`t think it`s going to work. Because right now the Clippers` brand is destroyed. Not just Sterling, but the Clippers brand. And so in order for them to rebuild that brand, they`re going to have to get new ownership and start over from scratch.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Areva.
AREVA MARTIN, ATTORNEY: Jane -- Jane, can I just add? I just want to add, the NBA and the league has the final say in terms of who buys a team. So it`s not going to just be up to the Sterling family to decide that they want to conveniently transfer the team from Donald to the wife or to the children. The NBA is going to have to make a decision about who that team gets sold to and who`s accepted into the league.
So this is not just a family decision. This is a league decision. And we have to keep that in mind.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: In today`s press conference, it was revealed that during the NBA`s investigation, embattled Clippers owner, Donald Sterling, acknowledged that it was his voice on the tape. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STIVIANO: People call you and tell you that I have black people on my Instagram. And it bothers you.
STERLING: Yes, it bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you`re associated with black people. Do you have to?
STIVIANO: You associate with black people.
STERLING: I`m not you and you`re not me. You`re supposed to be a delicate white or a delicate Latina girl.
STIVIANO: I`m a mixed girl.
STERLING: OK.
STIVIANO: And you`re in love with me. And I`m black and Mexican. Whether you like it or not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Sterling admitted it was his voice on the tape. But again, he did not allegedly express any remorse, at least not to the NBA commissioner, Silver.
So I want to go to our very special guest, Karinne Steffans, you are friends with V. Stiviano, that woman right there, Donald Sterling`s mistress, OK? The woman who is on the tape, talking with him, saying, "Hey, you say you don`t want me to be photographed with black people. I`m black and Mexican," essentially saying how dare you.
So you`re friends with her. There she is, walking through a press gauntlet with a bizarre visor covering her face. How is she doing tonight? What is she going through in the center of the storm?
KARINNE STEFFANS, ASSOCIATE OF V. STIVIANO: Two corrections. I`m associated with V., and she is not Donald Sterling`s mistress. Nor has she ever been, not to my knowledge.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well...
STEFFANS: She`s never admitted that to me. And so I cannot -- I cannot attest to that.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Well, look, I`ve got a lawsuit in my hands right here where Mrs. Sterling said they had...
STEFFANS: Still allegations.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: ... sexual relationship, and she`s been photographed with him numerous times. What is she doing if she`s not having a relationship with him, appearing with him numerous times at the game and purportedly getting gifts like...
STEFFANS: V. Stiviano -- V. Stiviano worked...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Go ahead.
STEFFANS: V. Stiviano has worked for Donald Sterling for several years for the Clippers organization as his right hand, as well as for his -- for nonprofit. So she has for several years worked with him, which is why she`s with him all the time. She has been his right hand.
As much as I know of her, and as much as we have spoken -- again, I just left her an hour ago -- she`s never been his mistress. She has never one time in our personal private conversations said that to me. Even before this happened.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, we have a clip, actually, where she says, "You`re in love with me," which we`ll play for you in a second. And we`ll play it again. We just played it, and we`ll play it again. Because to me, if she`s saying, "Hey, you`re in love with me," and they`re having these personal conversations, and she`s purportedly, according to the lawsuit, getting a Bentley and a Ferrari and a Range Rover and a $1.8 million home and $250,000 in cash, according to his wife`s lawsuit, who claims that they are having -- or they did have a sexual relationship.
But let`s listen to the clip. And then we`ll talk more. And we`ll get -- we`ll get your insights. Let`s listen to the clip again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STIVIANO: People call you and tell you that I have black people on my Instagram. And it bothers you.
STERLING: Yes, it bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you`re associating with black people. Do you have to?
STIVIANO: You associate with black people.
STERLING: I`m not you and you`re not me. You`re supposed to be a delicate white or a delicate Latina girl.
STIVIANO: I`m a mixed girl.
STERLING: OK.
STIVIANO: And you`re in love with me. And I`m black and Mexican. Whether you like it or not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. So you just heard it there, "And you`re in love with me." Karinne Steffans.
STEFFANS: Someone being in love with you does not mean he`s having sexual relations with you.
Everyone who knows V. is in love with V. She`s an amazing person. She`s an angel. I`m in love with V. That doesn`t mean we`re having sex with each other.
There are men who are in love with me. Doesn`t mean that we`re having sex.
They have a close relationship. They work very closely together. And she is not responsible for his feelings.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. Well, whatever their relationship is, she was on tape talking to him about these issues. And I would think, as a human being, it would be very hurtful for him to be saying these racist comments when, indeed, he`s essentially insulting her, as she very articulately points out to him. So how is she weathering this storm?
STEFFANS: Absolutely. V., as far as I know, quit her job before this even happened. She had had enough. As far as how she`s doing, V. is very strong. She is very aware of what`s happening around her, obviously. But she`s holding up very well, and she`s surrounded by people who love and adore her, and we all support her.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: "Inside Edition`s" Lisa Guerrero asked the billion-dollar question at the NBA commissioner`s news conference today. Let`s listen and then we`ll talk to Lisa live.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LISA GUERRERO, "INSIDE EDITION": You said that you were personally outraged. Yet many people believe that they are outraged that for years people have known that this man is a racist slumlord, and the NBA hasn`t done anything until today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Donald Sterling has been hit with a slew of lawsuits, including one where a tenant accused Sterling of saying Hispanics smoke, drink and just hang around the building. And then black tenants smell and attracted vermin. That case was settled.
2006, another housing discrimination suit. Sterling was accused of refusing to lease apartments to African-Americans. That case settled with no admission of liability.
He was sued again in 2009, this time by the Clippers` vice president, Elgin Baylor, who accused Sterling of repeatedly saying he wanted a team of, quote, "poor black boys from the south and a white head coach," end quote. So the jury sided with Sterling, believe it or not.
Lisa Guerrero of "Inside Edition," first of all, bravo on a very tough question. I think it was the best question of the news conference. My question to you, has the NBA turned a blind eye to Donald Sterling for a long, long time until it was just put into their face, and they couldn`t deny it anymore?
GUERRERO: Yes, absolutely. And for the record, I`m a Latina. I`m not a delicate Latina, hence the question today. I think so many people are outraged.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m a Latina, too, and I`m not a delicate Latina either. Go ahead.
GUERRERO: Exactly, sister. All -- you know, when I was at the press conference today, I think, you know, my question came from a place of frustration, A, as a sports fan; B, as somebody who grew up in the Los Angeles area; and C, as just a human being. And I think, you know, I admired the fact that Adam Silver came out swinging and said, you know, "We`re giving a lifetime ban to this person."
But in my opinion, that`s kind of too little, too late. There have been documented occasions where this man has been sexist. He`s been racist. And you know, you could hear a pin drop when it comes to the other owners in terms of their comments about his behavior, now and years ago.
So I think that, you know, the bigger picture to me is why hasn`t this man been taken to task until today? Why did it take an audiotape to get us talking about this?
Now, again, I worked in the sports media in Los Angeles. Many of us have covered him in the past and have done stories about him. But it never had the kind of traction that it`s having today because of this tape.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s an open secret!
GUERRERO: Right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And it`s not a secret. The whole world knew about it. We just didn`t hear his actual voice on the tape.
Want to go -- because the phone lines are lighting up like crazy. Debby in New York, what do you have to say? Debby, New York.
CALLER: Hi, Jane.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hi.
CALLER: I agree with Lisa Guerrero 110 percent. The NAACP should be ashamed of themselves. They should investigate them now. They are just as despicable as this Donald Sterling. They turned a blind eye. They took all his money, and they knew what he was, a racist.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know, I want to give somebody from our panel a chance to respond. And I think what you`re referring to is that at least some chapter of the NAACP was about to give him an award, Areva Martin.
MARTIN: You know, Jane, what I want to say about this case, you know, Lisa raises the point about why wasn`t something done to him sooner? I don`t think we can underestimate the power of the players. These players came together. They called Kevin Johnson, the mayor of Sacramento, and they said, "Unless something very, very severe is done to Donald Sterling, we`re going to boycott." So they hit the NBA in its pocketbook. They said, "All of you billionaire players, you`re not going to make money on us African- American players." The league is 80 percent African-American. And allowed this racist man to continue to own a team.
So I think we have to give a lot of credit to these players for stepping up and demanding that something be done. That didn`t happen in 2009. That didn`t happen in 2006. And it didn`t happen with those other lawsuits. So I think the players sent the league a very important message today...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`ve got to go for a second, Areva.
MARTIN: ... in their pocketbook.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: On the other side, we`re talking about a couple of things. Why didn`t the NBA commish poll the owners? He was asked point blank, "Did you poll the owners?" "No." Well, there`s only about 30 of them. So why not? Why couldn`t he get a real lockdown at this moment when the world is watching? And also, will Mrs. Sterling show up at the game tonight?
We`re all over it. More on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
D. STERLING: Broadcasting...
STIVIANO: I`m not broadcasting anything.
D. STERLING: And why are you taking pictures with minorities? Why?
STIVIANO: What`s wrong with minorities? What`s wrong with black people?
D. STERLING: Nothing. Nothing.
STIVIANO: What`s wrong with Hispanic?
D. STERLING: I`m like talking to an enemy. There`s nothing wrong with minorities. They`re fabulous. Fabulous. Because you`re an enemy to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STIVIANO: I`m a mixed girl.
D. STERLING: Well...
STIVIANO: And you`re in love with me. And I`m black and Mexican. Whether you like it or not.
D. STERLING: You can`t be flexible. You can`t...
STIVIANO: I am flexible. I understand that that`s the way you were raised and that`s your culture, and I`m just...
D. STERLING: Well, why do you have to disrespect them, those that are...
STIVIANO: Who am I disrespecting?
D. STERLING: The world before you.
STIVIANO: Why am I disrespecting them?
D. STERLING: By walking and you`re perceived as either a Latina or a white girl.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: There is something so nauseating about these comments. And it really runs the gamut from just the outright racism to the disrespect this man is showing this woman, who has been described in a lawsuit as Donald Sterling, the L.A. Clippers` owner, the disgraced Clippers` owner`s mistress, girlfriend, sexual partner, but whose friend says no, they were just friends.
So I want to go to Wendy Walsh, psychologist. On so many levels, what he is saying is offensive. Because he`s insulting her as he`s insulting others, as well.
WENDY WALSH, PSYCHOLOGIST: Oh, of course. It`s the same hypocrisy that in the olden days, white slave owners, when they would bring the lighter- skinned woman into the house as their sex slave, if you will. It sort of harkens back to that.
But he has to rationalize it in some way. He`s got these racist tendencies, but he`s sexually attracted to this woman.
But I want to say one thing about the sex piece. This is an 82-year-old man. OK, one-third of men over the age of 50 have erection problems. By the time they get into their 80s, a very small percentage are actively engaging in sex. This relationship was more about the perception in public that he was having sex with her. And they were exchanging care in exchange for goods.
Here was a high-status female mate. She had youth, beauty. She was hot. She was a perfect 10. And I think her value on the mating market was at least $2.4 million for her exclusive attention. Don`t you?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Look, again, I`m looking at the lawsuit filed by Mrs. Sterling, who was estranged until just about this Sunday night when they`re having dinner together and she`s defending him.
As we told you earlier, on Sunday night, TMZ caught up with Mr. and Mrs. Sterling as they left dinner. This was after this whole scandal has broken. And Shelly Sterling, Donald`s wife, vehemently defends her husband, insisting he`s not a racist. Check this out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Sterling. Are you a racist, Mr. Sterling?
S. STERLING: No, of course not!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People want to know, Mr. Sterling.
S. STERLING: OK. You know...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you a racist? The accusations, are they true?
S. STERLING: Forget it. It`s not true.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not true?
S. STERLING: No, of course not!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, but the tape speaks for itself, doesn`t it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, I`m...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m on -- I`m on...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s public now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m on public property.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s public now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. She is screaming, "of course he`s not a racist" in the video. But earlier that day, Shelly told TMZ, quote, "Our family is devastated by the racist comments made by my estranged husband. My children and I do not share these despicable views or prejudices. We will not let one man`s small mindedness poison the spirit of the fans and accomplishments of the team and the city we love. We are doing everything in our power to stand by and support our Clippers team."
Now, I want to go to Boyce Watkins, social commentator, founder of Your Black World. They have reportedly been estranged for years. She says in the court documents I hold in my hand that he was cheating on her with V. Stiviano. So if it`s not for 2 billion reasons, why on earth is Mrs. Sterling suddenly defending her disgraced husband?
WATKINS: I think they have a complex relationship. They`ve been together for, what, 40 years or so? I think after a while your relationship is more than just who you`re having sex with. I think that she really is trying to stand by her man, so to speak.
And I think she sees the nuances here, that maybe in her mind she believes that, because Donald Sterling has worked with black people, he`s given money to black people, he`s done some things with his black friends, that he`s really not the demon that we believe him to be.
But what people have to understand is that, when you look at a Donald Sterling or Paula Deen or people who said very racist things, many of them actually do like black people to a point. But the problem is, they don`t respect black people.
The best analogy I can think of is the way someone might love a pet. You might love your dog, be willing to die for your dog, fight anybody to protect your dog, but you don`t want your dog sitting at the dinner table thinking that he`s an equal.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me say this. I feel, and we debated this today as we were getting ready for the show. In my opinion, somebody who`s a racist is mentally ill. I put it right up there with borderline personality disorder or schizophrenia. I don`t think there`s any intellectual rationalizations.
And I`ll put this to Areva Martin. I believe that this is really a sad commentary on him and no one else. It`s a sick -- a sickness that he is infested with. And for us to even make it any more than that, I feel that it`s in some way dignifying it or giving it more credence than it deserves, Areva.
MARTIN: I agree with you, Jane. And I just want to say to Royce [SIC], Royce [SIC], I don`t know if I agree that Donald Sterling likes African- Americans. I don`t think he likes us at all. I think he saw the value that African-American players could bring to his team. He took a team that he bought for $12 million. It`s now worth over $500 million. They made money for him.
WATKINS: I`m not going to -- I`m not going to say -- I`m not going to say that he loves black people.
MARTIN: They were just objects to him. I don`t think he likes us. He doesn`t respect us; he doesn`t like us. He doesn`t respect us.
WATKINS: No. I understand that. No. But remember, I mean...
MARTIN: He called adults boys who were making money for him.
WATKINS: Black people say horrible things about white people who don`t necessarily hate them.
MARTIN: He allowed them to play on his team.
WATKINS: So -- and I agree with you. But the thing is, I think we have to look at the situation in its entirety and understand that Donald Sterling was not punished for being a racist. He was punished for admitting that he`s a racist.
There are a whole bunch of racists in the NBA and corporate America in that back office that people work in. And that are not being called out.
MARTIN: It`s not up to the NBA.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Great point.
WATKINS: ... over racism. He should have been called out a few years ago, not just from the reporting.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We are just getting started. Phone lines lighting up, and we`ve got the executive from TMZ, the place that broke this story, on the other side. Stay right there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
D. STERLING: Everything you say to me is so painful. Do I want you to change your color? You know how to really hurt somebody. Instead of saying, "I understand." Please leave me alone. Please, please?
STIVIANO: I`m sorry. Is there anything that I can do to make you feel better?
D. STERLING: No, you can never make me feel better. You`re just a fighter, and you want to fight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
D. STERLING: If you don`t feel it, don`t come to my games. Don`t bring black people and don`t come.
STIVIANO: Do you know that you have a whole team that`s black, that plays for you?
D. STERLING: Do I know? I support them and give them food and clothes and cars. And houses. Who gives it to them? Does someone else give it to them?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Those hideous comments have him banned from basketball.
Donald Sterling`s alleged girlfriend, Vivian Stiviano, is the woman we hear on the tape. The woman, believed to be Stiviano, says she`s of mixed racial and ethnic background herself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
D. STERLING: And you`re not me. You`re supposed to be a delicate white or a delicate Latina girl.
STIVIANO: I`m a mixed girl.
D. STERLING: OK, well...
STIVIANO: And you`re in love with me. And I`m black and Mexican. Whether you like it or not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Donald Sterling`s wife, the blonde lady you see there, recently filed a lawsuit against V. Stiviano, the one on the left, accusing her of having an affair with her billionaire husband. In the complaint, Mrs. Sterling accuses V. Stiviano of targeting extremely wealthy older men and claims her now-disgraced husband used the couple`s joint money to buy Stiviano a Ferrari, two Bentleys, a Range Rover and a $1.2 million duplex plus 250 grand in cash.
Stiviano fought back in court, saying in documents there`s nothing wrong with getting gifts from Donald Sterling.
Her lawyer insists she did not leak the tape, but Donald Sterling`s wife`s lawsuit against Vivian was filed just last month. And then suddenly this highly damaging tape is leaked after being recorded on April 9, according to TMZ.
All right. So I want to go to Evan Rosenblum, executive producer, TMZ, and my good buddy from way back.
First of all, congratulations on a scoop of at least the year, Evan. Way to go, dude.
EVAN ROSENBLUM, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, TMZ: Jane, I mean, we couldn`t have done it without everything we`ve learned from you along the way. You are the master.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, thank you. We worked together. We were a great team. Here`s the thing.
ROSENBLUM: That`s right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, the president of the L.A. Clippers suggested this recording was an attempt by V Stiviano to get even. What can you tell us about the back story of how you got this bombshell tape?
ROSENBLOOM: Well, we know that this thing was recorded on April 9th. And that, you know, V Stiviano and her people are saying they had absolutely nothing to do with the release of the tape. Now, we`re not going to reveal where we got it from, to protect our sources, essentially. But she is adamant it had nothing to do, did not come from her.
We do know that this tape -- we had this thing eight days before it was released. We vetted this thing like crazy to make sure that this thing was authentic. V Stiviano is saying it is her, and now Sterling said to the NBA investigators he confirmed it was him. So now there`s no more allegedly. This is V Stiviano`s voice, this is Donald Sterling`s voice and now he`s banned from the NBA for the rest of his life.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What I find that most shocking is that the NBA commissioner said "No, he didn`t express remorse to me." So he had an opportunity -- this is a horrible mess. It`s despicable, it`s disgusting, it`s revolting. But as they say in 12-steps sometimes, you can clean up a really bad mess. But he didn`t even attempt to do so. What does that tell you about his ultimate goals because tonight, Evan, a lot of people are thinking that he might have a plan to do a bait and switch and just transfer the ownership to his wife who is suddenly now on his side, according to the video you captured of them.
ROSENBLOOM: Well, earlier today before Silver -- Adam Silver said he was banned for life, he -- Donald Sterling got on the phone with a reporter and said "I am absolutely not selling the Clippers, no matter what. Even if they suspend me or whatever, I`m not selling the Clippers."
So it`s going to be interesting to see what happens now. They want no piece of him. Adam Silver that said he`s got the support of all of the NBA owners, the players, everybody involved in basketball, to try to do whatever it takes to get this guy banned, away from basketball, to force a sale of the team.
But this guy apparently doesn`t want to go quietly. He wants to fight. We called him days before this tape was released and gave him an opportunity to explain himself and talk about it. And his comment was "no comment" every single time we contacted him. Even though we know behind the scenes he had contacted a crisis management firm and tried to rally the team. He had a secret meeting with -- an emergency secret meeting with the team players right before this audio was released to warn them of the storm that was brewing.
But this guy didn`t do anything to protect himself or do anything. He just kind of -- I think maybe he thought that it was just going to blow over as it has in the past.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, do you have more? Because my life experience is when somebody says something like this, they say it a lot. And she was supposedly his archivist, that`s one way of putting it --
ROSENBLOOM: Right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- but she was recording the tapes, apparently with his knowledge. Tell us about that. And do you guys have more inflammatory, horrifying comments from this guy that you`re going to play and space out over the next few days. Because I know how you guys work, because I used to work for you.
ROSENBLOOM: I was going to say, you know Harvey Levin and you knew that if it we had that audio, it would be up on our site already, I promise you that. We don`t have any more audio in our possession right now but what V Stiviano is saying is that she was his archivist, that he tasked her to record their conversations because he was getting forgetful and wanted to have stuff recorded so he could remember what he said, and that she has over 100 hours of recorded conversations between the two of them.
And we`re told that some of the content of these conversations has more damage and explosive stuff, as hard as it is to believe that could damage him even more. Now we`ve heard that Sterling has reached out to Stiviano`s camp in an effort to try to reach a settlement/negotiation to obtain these tapes so they never see the light of day. But it`s hard to imagine what`s going to happen -- what`s being said on these other tapes that would make him look even worse than he looks right now.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, she says she didn`t leak them. But hypothetically, whoever did, if they`ve got more of them, and I can`t imagine who that might be, could make a fortune. This guy is worth upwards of $2 billion. And if he realizes, oh, my God, you know what`s hit the fan, I`ve got to shut this down, at least make -- do some damage control --
ROSENBLOOM: Or he doesn`t care. Or he is just like, you know what, I`m an old racist and it is who I am, and I don`t care anymore. I mean he didn`t do anything to try to get ahead of the story before we published it. We gave him so many opportunities. And he didn`t try to do anything.
He could have said it was taken out of context. He could have said it wasn`t me, even though we knew it was. But there are a million things he could have done. He didn`t do anything.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Evan, I`m so proud of you. For what you`ve done.
ROSENBLOOM: Thank you, Jane.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Amazing work. And remember me when you rule Hollywood because you`re on your way.
All right. We`re going to take a short break. Phone lines lighting up. We`ve got more information that we are spacing out over the course of this hour.
Again you just heard it here from TMZ. She`s somebody -- somebody has got a lot of tape. How much more damaging could it be?
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
DONALD STERLING, OWNER, L.A. CLIPPERS: Why are you broadcasting?
V. STIVIANO, DONALD STERLING`S GIRLFRIEND: I`m not broadcasting anything.
STERLING: Why are you taking pictures with minorities. Why?
STIVIANO: What`s wrong with minorities? What`s wrong with black people?
STERLING: Nothing, nothing.
STIVIANO: What`s wrong with Hispanics?
STERLING: It`s like talking to an enemy.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
STERLING: Why do you have to disrespect them, those are --
STIVIANO: Who am I disrespecting?
STERLING: The world before you.
STIVIANO: Why am I disrespecting them?
STERLING: By walking and you`re perceived as either a Latina or a white girl. Why should you be walking publicly with black people? Why? Is there a benefit to you?
STIVIANO: Is there a benefit to me? Does it matter if they`re white or blue or yellow?
STERLING: I guess that you don`t know that. Maybe you`re stupid.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Donald Sterling, the Clippers` owner, admits it`s his voice and has expressed no remorse to the NBA commissioner. Now in his news conference, NBA Commissioner Silver admitted he did not poll the 30 NBA owners before announcing his decision to ban Sterling for life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADAM SILVER, NBA COMMISSIONER: I didn`t poll the owners. I spoke to several owners. And I have their full support.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: "Inside Edition`s" Lisa Guerrero, you were at the news conference. The commissioner spoke to players, he spoke to a lot of people. Why didn`t he poll the NBA owners? Because in order for him to force Donald Sterling to sell, 23 of the 30 owners, have to vote in favor of Sterling being forced to sell. You talked to all these people. Why not poll the most important people, the NBA owners?
GUERRERO: You`re right, Jane, exactly. It`s a great question.
And let me just bring up another element that has to do with the owners. One of the issues I`ve been hearing over and over and over again is, you know, why shouldn`t a business person be able to say whatever they want to say in private? And why should that, you know, exclude them from owning a business.
Let me tell you what, in my opinion, what the biggest difference is. When you are an NBA owner, when you own any team, you are representing your community. This isn`t just your team. This team also belongs to the city of Los Angeles so that you`re not just a private businessman.
When this kind of thing happens, it affects a community. It hurts people of color in your community. He doesn`t just represent the Sterling Foundation. He represents the city of Los Angeles and, of course, the NBA.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Listen, Areva Martin, attorney, there was Lisa Guerrero asking tough questions at the news conference. And people did say, well, one of the big questions was, did you poll the NBA owners -- there`s 30 of them. You need three quarters of them to force Donald Sterling to sell. Of all the people he talked to, wouldn`t that be the first call?
MARTIN: It absolutely would, Jane, if he had the confidence that he had all 23 votes. I`m not so certain as we sit here today that he has all 23 votes. We can`t forget. This is a multibillion dollar enterprise that we`re talking about. These owners are motivated by money. They`re motivated by profit.
So they`re going to make decisions. Yes, they care about the players. Yes, they care about all of this negative media attention. But at the end of the day, they care about the bottom line. So I`m not so certain that Mr. Silver doesn`t have to go back to these owners and convince them that he -- that they need to come together collectively to vote to force Sterling and his family out of this team.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And, you know, Mark Cuban who said "I totally applaud what the NBA commissioner did" had earlier tweeted "I think it`s a slippery slope." So we`re getting people on both sides --
WALSH: Jane.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- go ahead, Wendy.
WALSH: What I was going to say is, these are cronies. This is a boys` club. And I suspect that what`s on the other 100 hours of tape are other people being named. In other words, him saying, well so-and-so agrees with me. So and so agrees with me.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, you know, you`re right --
WALSH: This is the tip of the iceberg.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Boyce, he says "I don`t want to get calls." and the first thing I said when I heard that is calls from who?
WALSH: Who?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Who in god`s name is going to call because your -- you`re Instagramming with Magic Johnson? That`s something to celebrate. And yet he gets calls and he is in a high stratosphere in Los Angeles.
KARRINE STEFANS, FRIENDS WITH STERLING`S MISTRESS: There is definitely a billionaires` boys` club here, and there are calls being made.
WATKINS,: Absolutely.
STEFANS: Every time V Stiviano goes -- whatever she does, especially if he is not there, because she works for him, she represents him. So no matter what she does, she`s always representing Donald Sterling. So if she brought me to a game which she has, other black friends to games, he will be notified of that.
It is a billionaires` boys` club and he is not the only racist in the NBA. There are eyes everywhere.
WATKINS: Right. Exactly.
STEFANS: And they`re not -- they`re all -- and a lot of them are racist.
WATKINS: That`s what`s being missed here -- absolutely. Absolutely. I think that`s absolutely true.
STEFANS: Yes, absolutely. This is not weird. This is not strange. This is normal.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We are -- coming to you next on the other side of this break. Because this is saying it`s the tip of the iceberg. Oh, my God.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
STERLING: Well then, if you don`t feel -- don`t come to my games. Don`t bring black people and don`t come.
STIVIANO: Do you know that you have a whole team that`s black, that plays for you?
STERLING: You`re just -- do I know? I support them and give them food and clothes and cars and houses. Who gives it to them? Does someone else give it to them? Do I know that I have -- who makes the game? Do I make the game or do they make the game?
(END AUDIO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The arrogance of this man. And Boyce Watkins, social commentator, founder of Your Black World. Tonight, we`re digging on this show, and we`re getting a specter of maybe this is the tip of the iceberg. We`re hearing from TMZ, there are many more hours of tape. He shows no remorse.
We wonder whether other people, other names might be mentioned. This one said this, this one said that. And these owners not being polled put it all together. Connect the dots.
WATKINS: Well, I think the way this can get ugly for the NBA is if Sterling doesn`t go quietly and he decides he wants to bring other people down with him. That could be messy.
And let me tell you another little secret. My PhD is in finance. I taught at Syracuse University for a lot of years. And one of the things that I agree with was actually a point that was made in "Forbes Magazine" that says actually, if you really want to punish Donald Sterling, instead of making him sell the team, you would force him to keep the team.
Why? Because the beginning of this year, his team was worth a half billion dollars. Well, now he can`t get any corporate sponsors, he won`t be able to get good players, he wouldn`t be -- no one is going to buy tickets from a bigot, so the valuation probably dropped by half when his comments were revealed. So Sterling is going to lose money by the boatload, whether he sells or not.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let me just put it this way. Here`s our stats.
MARTIN: Can I just say something?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Sure.
MARTIN: I just want to say, the problem with that, Boyce, is the players. You`re going to force these African-American players to work for this racist, bigoted owner. So although you`re punishing him and he may not make the --
(CROSSTALK)
WATKINS: So wait, so you mean to tell me -- wait, wait, wait. Hold on. So you mean to tell me that they did not know that this man was a bigot before he made those remarks? That working next to Donald Sterling for the last eight --
MARTIN: No, I`m addressing your point of forcing him to keep the team.
WATKINS: Donald Sterling has proven he`s a bigot.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: One at a time.
WATKINS: He has been telling you he`s a bigot for a decade.
MARTIN: Absolutely.
WATKINS: Everything Donald Sterling has been doing for the last decade --
MARTIN: My point is to forcing --
WATKINS: -- shows bigotry.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok. Areva.
MARTIN: My point is simply to your point of forcing him to keep the team. The players are playing in a hostile work environment and no one wants to force these players to have to be in an environment where they know the owner is racist and now overtly have made statements.
Of course we know his history. But now the history is revealed, no more secrets about it, comments that are public now. Hostile work environment for those players.
WATKINS: But what doesn`t make any sense is -- so you`re saying if Sterling`s comments had never been recorded they would still be fine working for this racist, because he was never recorded admitting that he`s a racist. If you look at Donald Sterling`s history --
MARTIN: Absolutely not, Boyce. That`s absolutely not true.
(CROSSTALK)
WATKINS: -- and all the lawsuits, all the complaints of racism --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hold on. One at a time.
WATKINS: He has proven time -- they chose to work for this they chose to work for this man and they knew he was a bigot. It wasn`t like it was a secret.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hey, people need jobs.
WATKINS: They just go confirmation on the tape.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And people can`t -- again --
MARTIN: Under your theory Boyce none of us would work.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- people can destroy their own lives and sabotage their own lives because somebody is mentally ill. Ok? That`s, again, how I view these racist comments. It`s an illustration of extreme low self-esteem. Because you have to prop yourself up to feel better than somebody else in your own mind because you don`t feel good about yourself.
And I think you would probably agree with me, Wendy Walsh --
MARTIN: But Jane.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And it`s a form of mental illness --
WALSH: Let`s not dignify it as --
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Go ahead Wendy.
WALSH: But Jane, this insecurity you talk about is the mind set of most rich, white men. Are you kidding? Why do you think they climb their way to the top? Because they wanted to prove to the rest of the world that actually they have some value because inside they feel they don`t.
WATKINS: Thank you.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well let me ask --
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: Let me say, if we weren`t going to work for racist people no one would work. I handle race discrimination claims all the time. There are race issues in almost every American company we can name.
STEFANS: Right. But let`s not call it --
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`re going to take a short break. And as we return to the other side, ponder this question. He bought the Clippers in 1981 for $12.5 million. It`s now worth $575 million to $700 million. Could this for sale if it happens make a rich guy even richer? Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Karrine Stefans, V Stiviano`s friend, did you get the sense from V that racism, this is the tip of the iceberg in Donald Sterling`s circle of friends?
STEFANS: First I want to say that I -- I don`t want to be called her friend because we`re not close --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Associates.
STEFANS: We do associate. Thank you. That`s more appropriate.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You`ve known her, you`ve known her for a year.
STEFANS: Is this -- is this the tip of the iceberg? Yes. This is just -- if you think about, you know, being in such close proximity to power, any woman being this close to anyone with this much power, money -- there are secrets. I have friends like this as well where they run the city. They have tons of secrets. We are entrusted to keep their secrets. And this with 100-plus hours of audio and video footage, you know this is the tip of the iceberg.
And also let me just say lastly, do not call racism a mental disorder. There`s no choice in mental disorder or mental disease. Racism is a choice here. He is choosing to be a bigot. We can all change how we think and feel on a daily basis. This is his choice.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I think you make a good point. My point is that it shames the person exhibiting it. It really doesn`t reflect on anybody else negatively but him.
Nancy Grace is next. Fabulous panel -- thanks.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
END
