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Updates In Search For Flight 370; Obama Visits Malaysia on Asian Tour; Risk Of Severe Weather in Arkansas-Louisiana-Texas Corridor; Magic Johnson Responds To L.A. Clippers Owner's Comments; Clippers Owner Accused of Racist Comments; Interview with Charles Barkley

Aired April 26, 2014 - 18:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Don Lemon. Thank you for joining us.

Sit down and take a seat because we are going to have a really great conversation for you that is worth discussing, not only here on CNN, but in your own household with your friends around the dinner table, whatever you are doing this evening and beyond at work.

We are beginning a story that reaches beyond its origin in the world of sports and it gets to the heart of who we are as a country. The NBA has announced that it is investigating recorded remarks allegedly made by L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling. The comments obtained by the Web site TMZ includes a voices which disparaging African-Americans and also tells his girlfriend to stop bringing black people to Clipper's game. Here is a portion of the recording.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People call you and say that I you have black people on my Instagram and it bothers you?

DONALD STERLING, OWNER, L.A. CLIPPER: Yes, it bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you're associating with black people. Do you have to?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You also deal with black people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: There is much, much more there and it's very interesting to say the least. The voice On the Recordings also singles out basketball hall of famer, Los Angeles legend magic Johnson as one person in particular that he doesn't want to see.

Magic Johnson has responded on twitter and in his words, here it is. Quote " L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling's comment about African- American or a black guy for the NBA, I feel sorry for my friends Coach Doc Rivers and Chris Paul that they have to work for a man that feels that way about African Americans." Magic goes on to says a lot more and we will get to that this hour here on CNN.

Joining me now from Los Angeles, CNN's Paul Vercammen. Paul, let's start with the magic Johnson angle on this. Why would Donald Sterling dislike Magic Johnson or have anybody that he knows not want to be seen or photographed with Magic Johnson?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It would seem that it's heartburn over the Lakers/Clippers rivalry. Donald Sterling has owned the Clippers since 1981. Magic Johnson became the focus of the great Laker dynasty back in the '80s. And since then, it could be argued that the L.A. Lakers have been the most successful franchise in professional American sports. They have won some 11 championships since '80. That dovetailed right along with Donald Sterling's ownership. They share the staples center together and it would suggest that perhaps, if this is all true, that sterling was just having absolute jealously over magic Johnson, the Lakers, and all of the Laker mania that evades Los Angeles.

In fact, you alluded to this, Don. I mean, Magic Johnson is royalty in Los Angeles. A lot of people and movers and shakers and people in the stand could suggest that Johnson could run for mayor in this town. Yes, Don.

LEMON: I love you but that has nothing to do with the rivalry. He did not want his girlfriend to be photographed with a black man and he said as much in that tape. Again, according to the TMZ if it is him in that tape. He said you can do whatever you want to do with black people. You can sleep them. You can do whatever.

That's not about rivalry. That's about not wanting whoever he is to have control over the person who is he going out with that he doesn't want her to be photographed with a black man. That has nothing to do with the rivalry, Paul.

VERCAMMEN: Well, I think -- I think the rivalry does have something to do with it. I mean. obviously, if these comments turn out to be true and, Don, you've seen some of them. I mean, it's all about not being photographed with a black man. And, of course, there is another part of this where he suggested -- by the way, this is Vanessa Stiviano. She is reportedly --

LEMON: She is sitting next to him in this picture. She is black and Mexican and sitting next to him and what is so odd about this, Paul.

Paul, I have to run because I have to get to Rachel. Thank you very much. I Appreciate you.

I want to get to Rachel Nichols now. She is from CNN Sports.

Rachel, the NBA is investigating what kind of punishment Donald Sterling is facing here. What are they doing?

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, it is interesting. There has been a new development since you and I talked just a few minutes ago. The Clippers have released a statement and they have basically said that Donald Sterling believes that his comments were perhaps altered. He is making accusation that the woman in question, his -- at least at one time, girlfriend, had tried to embezzle almost $2 million from him and that this was her way of, quote, "getting even." That he said that he certainly regrets that any of these comments were made public in the way that they sounded. I'm not going to be able to do the statement quite justice but I can tell you they are certainly backing away from the comments.

Now, of course, he can say this. The NBA is, as you mentioned, looking into the authenticity of the tape. Is it in fact Donald Sterling's voice? That is the first question. The second question is was it a true recording? Are the comments altered or was it something he came out and said? And if it is him and it is something that he said without any alteration, you can be sure is there a significant backlash.

This is a league where the majority of the players are black. This is a league where increasing number of coaches and scouts are black and this is a league where fans certainly care with equality. And this is a league that is, in fact, led the way on racial equality, on same sex with Jason Collins and that kind of equality with having female executives in key positions. This is a league that has taken a leadership role and doesn't want this kind of black eye. But it's interesting because Donald Sterling has certainly been a black eye for a long time and you and I have talked about that as well.

LEMON: Yes. The bottom line could he lose the team?

NICHOLS: Well, there is a way for him to lose the team. It is long and it is complicated. It would require some other NBA owners to participate in that. Adam Silver, at the moment, doesn't have the power, that the is commissioner of the NBA to just sort of, you know, say hey, you're out of the league.

He could invoke something called the best interest of the game, but would need the participation and empowerment of other owners. And what if he did that, he would have to look at the body of Donald Sterling's work and to the fact that he has twice been sued by the U.S. justice department for racial discrimination in apartment buildings that he owned. And he was sued by Elgin Baylor, one of the great to ever play the game, 11-time all-star for racial discrimination. That there is a pattern of behavior here that is not suitable to the NBA.

LEMON: All right. Thank you very much, Rachel Nichols. I appreciate you.

If we can get the pictures back up of Donald Sterling. I just want to point out to the viewers, again, his girlfriend seen sitting next to him. She is Asian and black and he doesn't want her to be photographed with black people or bring black people to the game according to TMZ and the alleged recording that they have of him making these remarks. OK? Supposedly of him.

Now, let's move on. We are going to continue to follow this story, by the way, throughout the hour here on CNN. So don't go far. We are not going to go far away from it.

But we are going to talk about another big story now. It's the official start of the severe weather season. And this will definitely be a rough weekend for many here in the United States.

Forecasters are calling it the strongest and most widespread dangerous weather system in months. And, right now, most of it is west of the Mississippi river, but it will eventually reach the Carolinas where emergency crews in several towns are dealing with the damage that tornadoes did last night.

At least two tornadoes have now been confirmed. They hit the Raleigh area and also other communities on the coast near the Virginia state line.

Jennifer Gray in the CNN severe weather center.

Jennifer, I can see that your maps -- I see your map and it doesn't look like there any storm out there or any storms out there. So, where is this dangerous weather?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. It's still in the work. It is developing. And you are right, it doesn't look like a whole lot right now. But, as we get into the late evening hours into tonight, and especially into tomorrow, that is when the danger is going to come in.

And for through, the wee hours of the morning, it's basically north Texas and southern Oklahoma. You can see some showers starting to fire up just a little bit. The sun has been out all day. Things have been heating up. And so, instability is definitely in the atmosphere.

We are also watching these storms fire up along that dry line. So, as we go forward in time, we are going to see these storms develop not only today but tomorrow, Monday, and Tuesday. That severe threat will remain across a large chunk of the country. Basically, anywhere east of the Rockies all the way through the Carolinas, like you mentioned.

So, what we are dealing with, the setup, very warm, moist air coming in from the gulf of Mexico. We have warm and dry air moving in from the southwest and cooler air from the northwest. All of this combined with that upper level support is going to trigger these storms over the next couple of days.

So for today, this is the severe threat as we go through the rest of the night. Tonight is not the huge threat. The biggest threat is going to be tomorrow. That is where we will see a moderate risk of severe weather for the Arklatex, all of Arkansas on into southern Missouri. We could see large tornadoes, large hail and also damaging winds.

And then that threat moves a little bit to the east, the Mississippi river valley on Monday. And then by Tuesday, it is going to stay basically in that area. So we are looking at a multiday event and this could produce some very, very active weather, don, as we go through the next couple of days.

I know you were mentioning the tornadoes in North Carolina from yesterday. In fact, one of those EF-3 confirmed and that is the latest EF-3 of the season ever. So that broke a record. Just shows you how late we are getting started this year.

LEMON: I had a couple of folks in Toronto worried because, you know, in my infinite wisdom, I read Toronto, a tornado as Toronto on the teleprompter. I meant a tornado.

GRAY: Yes. Am I missing something? What is going on? No, you're all good.

LEMON: That was at 4:00. Now I got it. There are no tornadoes in Toronto.

GRAY: No.

LEMON: Thank you, Jennifer. Appreciate it.

GRAY: All right.

LEMON: To Ukraine now where a chaotic situation continues to unfold. And a phone call today between Russia's foreign minister and secretary of state John Kerry, Russia stressed that Ukraine must cease military operations against pro-Russian separatists in the eastern part of the country and those groups have seized land and government buildings and refuse to lead.

Ukraine's acting prime minister commented while traveling in Rome.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARSENIY YATSENYUK, UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER: We ask Russia to pull back its security forces, not to provoke and not to support Russian- link terrorist that are located and deployed in eastern and southern Ukraine. We urge Russia to leave us alone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Meanwhile, concern is mounting for the safety of the eight international observers who were seized by pro-Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine.

Observers are tasked with implementing an international deal signed nine days ago in Switzerland.

Nevada rancher took on the feds but his fighting words have outraged and offended lots of people even as they have won him some supporters. So, more on Cliven Bundy's fight against the world. That is straight ahead.

And the president could hardly have found a more troubling time to visit Malaysia. We are live with the latest on his trip to Asia straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A Nevada rancher who went from a hero of land ranch to an offender of civil rights is defending himself to CNN. It started with this, (VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

LEMON: Cliven Bundy's tensed standoff with the federal government and quickly escalated to his suggestion that blacks might be better off under slavery. He tells CNN he may be politically incorrect, but he is no racist.

CNN's Dan Simon hat latest from Nevada.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. He may have lost Sean Hannity, but Cliven Bundy still has his core supporters, about 150 showed up for a barbecue last night. But today there are not any news conferences. We are told that Mr. Bundy is back at his ranch and that he has taken his phone off the hook.

He still has not apologized for what he said. He said he is sorry people may have been offended but he stands by the original message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)\

CLIVEN BUNDY, NEVADA RANCHER: The issue of racial issue yesterday and it got sort of bad. They repeated I was probably one of the worst racial people on the whole earth. But I never did believe that. I believe that the people who did listen to me knew better. I think the media knew better. And I hope I didn't offend anybody. If I did, I ask for their forgiveness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: Despite these highly inflammatory remarks, the tension was at its highest a couple of weeks ago when the federal government began seizing Mr. Bundy's cattle because he hadn't paid his grazing fees. When that occurred, you militia groups come from all over the country and he had this standoff with the federal government or face with the prospect of violence. The government backed down and put the cattle back and that is where we are today. They says they will pursue Mr. Bundy through other means.

LEMON: Dan Simon, thank you very much.

Right now, it is after 6:00 in the morning in Malaysia. Two big things happening there today. The search continues for the missing airliner. It is day 52 since the plane van issued. And two, the president of the United States is there. He arrived in Kuala Lumpur as the first U.S. leader to visit since LBJ, the LBJ administration.

CNN's Jim Acosta, traveling with the president.

Jim, how much of this is goodwill and how much is partnership building?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You know, Don, I think it's a lot of both. And when you haven't had a U.S. president of visible ages since LBJ in 1966, it is time for the U.S. president to get to Malaysia and that's part of the Obama administration's feeling about this visit. But there are couple of other things going on here, Don. One is, that there this big pacific trade deal that the president wants to get ironed out and Malaysia is a key partner in that trade deal so he'll talk about that when he sits down with the prime minister of this country later today before both men have a news conference.

And then Don, as you know, he has also touched on flight 370. The president giving an interview to a major Malaysian newspaper and saying that going forward, we need to start thinking about the lessons learned in tragedies like this. And so, the president has touched on that as well.

So, you know, getting back to your original question, I think it's a little bit of both and I think that the Obama administration is eager to see how this plays out.

LEMON: One more day in Malaysia and then what?

ACOSTA: After Malaysia, Don, he heads off to the Philippines and there he is expected to announce a new basing agreement with the Philippine government where basically you are going to see more troops, more naval and aviation assets being allowed to use bases in the Philippines. That is part of the Obama administration's idea of expanding its presence, not just economically, but militarily in the pacific region to sort of counter what they see as China's rise. Although, if you mention that to the Obama administration, the administration officials says this has nothing to do with countering China but there is some of that is going on.

And what is going to be interesting, Don, at the end of this trip, we are on the third leg of it, is to see how many deliverables the president brings back to Washington. Is he going to have a lot to show for this trip or was this really sort of a makeup for the Asia trip that was cancelled last fall because of the government shutdown and he is really just touching bases the U.S. has not seen in a long time that his administration has not been to.

And so, we are going to have to just take an assessment of that after this trip is over which is getting very soon, Don. We are almost to the end of it. We are about half way as three-quarters of the way through, Don.

LEMON: All right, Jim Acosta, and watch for the moths. We saw them flying around you there. So, we don't want them to get to you.

ACOSTA: A little distracting.

LEMON: Thank you, sir.

You know, a search that began with so much hope could soon be drawing to a close. The Bluefins first search for flight for 370 is nearly over with no progress in the hunt for the missing airliner.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Now to the search for flight 370. Do you remember when officials had a sneaking that day or perhaps six days away from finding flight 370? Well, those hopes have faded faster than the black box pings and now the search zone is moving, again, this time north.

After 13 trips to the near bottom of the southern Indian Ocean, the U.S. Navy's underwater drone has nearly scoured that yellow circle for you that we are going to show you there in just a second. There it is.

That is the six-mile radius drawn around the possible black box pings. Those pings were heard more than two weeks ago. But CNN has now learned if the Bluefin again surfaces with nothing, they are calling it quits, at least in this search area.

New lines will be drawn. And the Bluefin will be expanding its search northward. So, as far as we know the Bluefin is still scouring the final five percent of the search area. The underwater drone is working about a thousand miles off Australian's western coast in a remote part of the southern Indian Ocean. The Bluefin was forced to cut short its mission yesterday and return to the ocean surface to deal with technical problems. Some technical issues there.

Let's go to correspondent Michael Holmes live at the search base in Perth, Australia.

Michael, what are you hearing about the Bluefin's progress? How close to finishing this last five percent is it?

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, very close. Should be in the next couple of hours, Don, that we will hear how that mission has gone. As you said, mission number 13, had a bit of a software glitch apparently. And that mission ended pretty quickly.

But then they got 14 under way and should be done soon. As you said, before 14 began, they said 95 percent of that more focused search area that we have been talking about had been covered. So we would expect that mission 14, when it surfaces, will lift that to 100 percent of that area.

But, also confirmation of what we have been talking about in recent days, Don, and that is that the next area to be looked at just adjacent to that current six-mile radius you mentioned where the most promising acoustic sound was, this is going to be just a little bit north of the current site around where they got the first sound what they hoped then and hope now was a ping from one of those black boxes, Don.

LEMON: Michael, remember, you know, in the last press conference, I believe the last press conference that Angus Houston gave where he said we are going to be scaling back the air search in the next couple of days? We have heard that but, still, the air searches are going on. What are your sources telling you in Australia about that?

HOLMES: Yes. I think it's been one of those things, Don, where nobody wanted to say we give up on any part of this search, at least not yet. And as you said, Angus Houston, the man heading up the search, said over a week ago now that that part of the search, the air and sea search would end in his words in the next few days. Well, it did continue. Our understanding is that there was some pressure from the Chinese to keep it going so that it didn't look like they were giving up anywhere or any part of this search.

Now, Monday, we are expecting the Australian prime minister to make a statement on the entire operation. We will learn a lot then hopefully on the detail about the what next question. Indications, of course, from both the Aussie and Malaysian prime ministers are that this search very much will continue and that what we have seen with this focused area was just phase one.

Of course, the reality is that that was an area that searchers were very hopeful for. We had people senior in the search operation saying they were confident, using that word confident, that they would find something down there. Of course, it's yielded nothing and I suppose the best word is committed, that they are committed to continuing the search -- Don.

LEMON: Thank you very much, Michael Holmes in Perth. Appreciate that.

Straight ahead, Donald Sterling has a reputation of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, but did the NBA team owner finally go too far with his latest comments, alleged comments? We are going to ask one hall of famer, Charles Barkley, is straight ahead. What he thinks of the comments. You don't want to miss that after this quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. More now on our developing story this hour. Sit down and listen to Charles Barkley who's going to join us in just a moment.

The NBA investigating recording remarks allegedly made by L.A. Clippers team owner Donald Sterling. The remarks obtained by the Web site TMZ include a voice disparaging African-Americans and telling his girlfriend to stop bringing black people to Clippers games. He also singles out basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson as one person in particular that he doesn't want to see.

The L.A. Clippers are now weighing in on this controversy and here's a statement that the team has just issued, OK? Go with me. I'm reading it with you. I'm reading it, just getting it here.

"We have heard the tape on TMZ. We do not know if it is legitimate or it has been altered. We do know that the woman on the tape -- who we believe released it to TMZ -- is a defendant in a lawsuit brought by the Sterling family alleging that she embezzled more than $1.8 million who told Mr. Sterling that she would 'get even'.

Mr. Sterling is emphatic that what is reflected on that recording is not consistent with, nor does it reflect his views, beliefs or feelings. It is the antithesis of who he is and how he lived his life. He feels terrible that such sentiments are being attributed to him and apologizes to anyone who might have been hurt by them.

He is also upset and apologizes for sentiments attributed to him about Earvin Johnson. He has long considered Magic a friend and has only the utmost respect and admiration for him both in terms of who he is and what he has achieved. We are investigating this matter."

It does not say, though, that it's not him. Did you notice that?

Joining me now is Charles Barkley. He is a basketball Hall of Famer and an NBA analyst on TNT.

Charles, thank you for joining us. Tried to get you earlier but you were on the air. You said, Don, I'm on the air, I can't come on now.

What do you -- you heard the last statement. What do you make of this?

CHARLES BARKLEY, BASKETBALL HALL OF FAMER (via telephone): Well, I think the first thing, if we can make sure it is his voice, he has to be suspended, because this is not the first time. He's, obviously, settled some lawsuits where he was discriminating in his real estate business against blacks and Hispanics. So, this is typical -- he has done it before.

So, he has to be suspended by the NBA. This is the first major test from Adam Silver, our new commissioner, but you can't have an owner of an NBA disparaging black people because the majority of its players are black. And also, any time you're in a position of power you can hire and fire people, you can't be racist.

So, the NBA has to address this. In my opinion, he has to be suspended, plain and simple.

LEMON: Yes. And you notice on the statement that I read, he said he is sorry for that it was attributed to him but he doesn't say it's not me. It does not say -- you know, he never said these statements.

BARKLEY: But, Don, not just that. He has -- this is guy who has settled lawsuits about discrimination in the past. So, it's par for the course, to be honest with you. You know, the NBA let him off the hook in his real estate business when he was discriminating against blacks and Hispanics and they should have done something to him back then.

So, this is habitual. This is not the first time. This is like the third or fourth time and this is the first time he has said something about black players but he was also discriminating in his real estate business. So, the NBA, Adam silver has to address this.

And I feel bad for the players too because they are caught in no man's land. They are working for a guy who is an idiot and now they are going to -- they are in the middle of a tough series again the Golden State Warriors and before one of their big games you have to be answering to this stuff.

LEMON: And I want to point out to our viewers, again, the girlfriend that he was allegedly talking to on this tape which is supposedly him is sitting right next to him. She is part black. The girlfriend that he reportedly does not want to be photographed with black people or to attend Clipper games with black people.

You know what Magic said to that, Charles? Magic said that he and Cookie, his wife, in a tweet, he said, I will never go to a Clippers game again as long as Donald Sterling is the owner. This will have an impact for the Clippers and far beyond.

BARKLEY: Well, see, that is the thing, I think, why the NBA has to address it because it's really not fair to the L.A. Clippers -- just because their owner is an idiot, it really has nothing to do with the players. The players are going to feel the ramifications and that's the sad thing. The Clippers got a terrific team. They got a really good shot at winning an NBA championship, but this guy bringing negative life on that team.

And I understand -- I understand Magic and I completely agree. Think about it, though, don. If he is going to talk bad about Magic Johnson, what is he think about a normal black person?

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: The average black person. He is talking about an icon.

BARKLEY: Go ahead. I'm sorry?

LEMON: He is talking about an icon, a trail blazer.

BARKLEY: Not just that. A very successful black man. A very, very successful black man. Can you imagine how he would treat a normal black person, if they came to get a job from him or something like that?

If you're going to disparage the great Magic Johnson and the point I want to make. It's a dangerous thing because this guy is in a position to hire and fire people. So, a normal black person can't get a job from him if he think that lowly of somebody as great as Magic Johnson. Imagine if you were a regular person trying to get a job with this guy?

LEMON: You know, there's a lot been going. Let's just talk here, Charles. A lot of people are saying I'm not surprised. This is a rich white guy from a certain era and I'm not surprised he made these remarks.

Listen, in some ways I have to say I'm not surprised but I am. I am, in some way, because it's over, people, when it comes to racism. It's over. Look at the world, look at the demographics of this country.

All he has to do is sit in the stadium and look around him and he will see that.

BARKLEY: But, Don, see, the problem -- the problem with that is a lot of black guys made him rich. You think about that. Those black players, not just now, those black players for however long he has owned the Clippers, they made him rich.

Yes, I know he made a lot of money in real estate, but those black players run up and down the court made him a lot of money. He does owe them respect and dignity. Those guys made him rich.

LEMON: Don -- Charles, I'm sure L.Z. Granderson will have a few questions for you as well.

L.Z. Granderson joins us. He's a senior writer at ESPN.

You heard the report now about the Clippers, what they said. You've been listening to Charles and I. He's on the phone. What do you want to say? You can feel free to ask him a question if you want to, L.Z.

L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You know, I was actually just talking with Jay Williams, the great Duke player, and former Chicago Bulls player, and we both had a very similar take on this and that is I want to ask Charles this question because he, obviously, has been a player and has had freedom to choose where he chose to play.

I just want to ask him you're right. This is not new. So, why do players choose to go to the Clippers and play for this man? You know, that's a free choice. Glen "Big Baby" Davis was waived and chose to go to the Clippers, you know?

So, my question to Charles is, why do players choose to work for a man that they know has a long history of being racist?

BARKLEY: Well, L.Z., that's a great question. But in fairness to those players, I think they went there to work with Doc Rivers and play with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. I don't think -- listen, I don't think both NBA players --

GRANDERSON: But he's been the owner for decades.

BARKLEY: Listen, you have a very good point. But, listen -- those guys went to L.A. to play for Doc Rivers and play with Chris Paul and Blake. I don't think -- listen. Most players don't know who the owners of these teams are and could care less, to be honest with you.

LEMON: Right, right.

BARKLEY: Listen, that is the thing that is going to get lost in this. The Clippers are going to get a lot of bad rap and they deserve it because their owner is an idiot but Doc Rivers and Chris Paul and Blake and DeAndre Jordan, those guys are amazing. They are amazing. And they have a shot to win an NBA championship.

And they don't need to be worried about this crap from this idiot who had a conversation -- first of all, like I said it's nothing new. We have known this before. I just think -- it, obviously, puts the players -- those guys have to release a statement the day before probably one of the biggest game of their career and that is not fair those players.

LEMON: I think Charles is right in that most people -- even, you know, companies that you've worked for, I worked for --

GRANDERSON: But, Don, Don, Doc Rivers --

LEMON: Do you really know what the owner of a company is, what their political views are? Most people just want a job and they want to get paid and they want to go there and do the best they can and maybe they have aspirations beyond the Clippers.

GRANDERSON: Don, Don, I will say a couple of things to that. Number one, I'll play the benefit of the doubt and say that none of the players, many of whom are very educated and well-read, had no idea with all of the reporting over the years that's been going on with this owner. I'll extend that olive branch.

But, then, you're also saying that Doc Rivers also is not paying attention and he chose to leave the Boston Celtics to come to this team. So, you're also saying not only were the players not paying attention, you're also saying Doc Rivers also was not paying attention.

You're also saying that every single company that chooses to advertise in that arena under the banner of the Clippers also is ignoring the fact of the owner that they are working with and the business they are working with is held by a man who is racist.

So, you're asking a lot of people to be blind to years of reporting about this guy and I got to tell you, just don't buy it. I just think Bill Rhoden, I got to give him credit. He wrote a book, very "Forty Million Dollar Slave." No one get a lot of mean tweets about it, but read the book first, look at the situation and tell me if there is not some correlation that you can point out.

LEMON: All right. Don't respond, Charles because I want you to do it after the break. He brings up a very good point.

More with Charles Barkley and L.Z. Granderson on the Clippers owner alleged racist remarks right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. We are back now with our story. This is our breaking news story here on CNN.

We are talking about Clippers owner Donald Sterling and allegedly making a disparaging remarks by black people caught on tape by the Web site TMZ. Here he is talking to his girlfriend -- allegedly talking to his girlfriend -- about not wanting her to associate with black people and posting the pictures of her associating with black people on Instagram, and then also not attending games with black people, including Magic Johnson.

Listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GIRLFRIEND: People call you and tell you that I have black people on my Instagram. And it bothers you.

DONALD STERLING: Yes, it bothers me a lot that you want to promo -- broadcast that you're associating with black people. Do you have to?

GIRLFRIEND: You associate with black people.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, it goes on a lot more. He says he just doesn't want her to do it publicly, saying she can do whatever she wants to, including sleep with black people, but just don't be seem associating with them. I'm paraphrasing.

We're joined now by the great Charles Barkley and also L.Z. Granderson.

L.Z. Granderson posed a very provocative question before the break, Charles, saying that the players have some onus as well and as well as the people who work with him, like Doc Rivers, to know about his history and to do their homework. Do we think we are shifting the focus here and putting the focus on the wrong thing, instead of Sterling?

BARKLEY: Yes, no question. Listen. It's easier for guys making a hundred thousand dollars a year to tell guys to take a stand while making $25 million a year. Yes, of course, everybody want to jump on the players.

Listen, these guys are paid $10 million to $30 million a year and to say they should take a stand and not have a job, that's silly and defeats the purpose.

This is all about Donald Sterling being an idiot. Players, you go to work. We have all worked with people who we like or disliked at different times in our life, but to try to say Doc Rivers shouldn't take $6 million, $7 million a year, or guys making -- Chris Paul $25 million a year, what kind of stance they don't go work and they don't have a job? That's silly to try to act like this and take a moral stance. We've all worked for idiots before.

LEMON: What should happen, Charles, after this? Once this is -- because they are investigating. If this is authenticated, what should happen? What should be the process after this?

BARKLEY: Well, he should get suspended. It's ceremonial. I'm not sure how much day-to-day involvement Donald Sterling has with the Clippers, but Adam Silver -- all our employees are black. I don't know the exact number but 80 percent of our players are black. We are a black league.

Just -- even if it's ceremonial, he has to make a stance and suspend this guy if it's authentic. Just let your players know we aren't just property, even though -- first of all, we make a great living playing sports. All jocks made a great living playing sports, but we deserve respect and dignity.

So, Adam Silver has to make a stance. I'm going to respect my players. He has to make that stance, in my opinion.

LEMON: What -- so, you know, I asked you what should happen after this and you said you're not surprised. Are you not surprised when it just comes to Donald Sterling or is this an issue in the league that other people in the league have had issues with this or problems, or you've heard other people who feel this way?

BARKLEY: Well, first of all, no, I never heard an owner describe his players -- first of all, no players will stand for that. Of course, racism is always going to exist. I don't think -- we are not -- we are not idiots. I mean, racism always has existed and always is going to exist.

I've always said it's like the greatest counselor of my lifetime where he said, you know, being from Alabama, you see it. I mean, being anywhere in the country you're going to see it, but you can't have a person in a position of power being a racist because they don't hire minorities or women. It's, obviously, negative for blacks and Hispanics and women.

If a guy is a racist or sexist, it impedes -- a guy walking around in a sheet, they are just ignorant but when you're in a position of power and you cannot give minorities or women economic opportunity, that is where racism is. Walking around calling people names, that just mean you're ignorant.

LEMON: Right.

BARKLEY: But when you in a position of power, that is real racism.

And let me tell you something -- as I said earlier, here's a white guy -- like I say I know he has a lot of real estate and he has made a lot of money, but he's made a ton of money off black folks in that arena. He's made a ton of money of black guys running up and down that court. And the NBA has to make a stance. They got to make a stance. You can't disrespect our employees. You can't disrespect our employees.

And this is a great test from Adam Silver. Like I say, even if it's ceremonial -- I don't think he goes to the office every day and makes basketball decisions, but as a show of force, the NBA has to come down on him and say you can't -- I don't know if they can make him sell his team. I don't know about that. But they've got to say, you got to be suspended for an indefinite period of time just as a show to your black players.

LEMON: Charles Barkley, thank you very much.

L.Z. Granderson, thank you. L.Z. is going to stick around.

Charles, we appreciate you for taking your time. Thanks.

BARKLEY: Thank you all for having me.

L.Z., take care of yourself.

GRANDERSON: You too, Charles. LEMON: All right. L.Z., we'll talk to you a little bit later on in the next hour, so stick around.

Up next, search teams looking for Flight 370 have precious few options if the Bluefin comes up empty. Next, we're going to talk to two experts about what can be done in the hunt for the missing plane.

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LEMON: Malaysia's first report on missing Flight 370 due for release next week. Soon, the underwater drone Bluefin will finish scouring the last 5 percent of the search area in the southern Indian Ocean. These are the faces really of the people who are on Flight 370, husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, grandparents. And we're still wondering what happened to each and every one of them.

After seven weeks, where does the search for answers go from here?

With me now to discuss this is forensic audio expert Paul Ginsberg, who has worked with the CIA, Homeland Security, the FBI, on plane investigations and on and on.

So, you know, Paul, without a black box, what does the sonar searchers -- what would they do at this stage and where?

PAUL GINSBERG, FORENSIC AUDIO EXPERT: Well, I think what they are going to do is sit around a conference room table and then they are going to say, what do we have here as fact and what do we have as conjecture? And are we at a dead end or are we at the end of the line? Do we pack up here and move or not?

Because I'll tell you as far as this panel that you've had on for weeks, Don, we are like doctors trying to diagnose a patient over the phone, where we're getting different pieces of information and they are conflicting.

LEMON: So, they sit down and figure out where to go from here and we don't know until they have the meeting to sit down and have the get- together.

GINSBERG: And all parties have to be part of that.

LEMON: All right. You're an audio expert, and you go -- they would far beyond plane investigations, and they would call you to authenticate -- I'm moving on to talk about this Donald Sterling investigation. They would use someone like you to authenticate whether or not it's him and how would that process go? What are they doing?

GINSBERG: There are two phases. One is voice identification to see whether his voice, his continuity, his cadence, his speech patterns and the actual tone of his voice match his. The second part is to see whether it's been chopped and spliced, to see whether there are any edits.

LEMON: How long does this process take? GINSBERG: Oh, it could take days and I would insist on having the original recorder.

LEMON: Thank you very much, Paul Ginsberg, for weighing in on both of those stories.

An exciting day tomorrow for Catholics in Rome and around the world. Two of the most beloved popes in history will be canonized and join the sainthood.

And at the top of the hour, no one will mistake Donald Sterling for a saint, but the NBA owner may have to atone for some apparently racist comments if the NBA can prove it.

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LEMON: In just hours, two former Catholic leaders are set to become saints, one of the holiest honors in the Catholic Church. And tonight, the Catholic faithful are gathering in Vatican City on the eve of this historic day.

Millions are expected in Rome ready to witness John Paul II and Pope John XXIII become forever part of the community of Catholic saints. Next hour, we're going to talk about the making of Catholic saints and the women who helped give these men their place in history.

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