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Alleged Racist Remarks Rattle NBA; Obama: U.S. Remains Committed To Jet Search; Search For Flight 370 May Move North

Aired April 27, 2014 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. These are the top stories we're following right now in the CNN NEWSROOM.

A firestorm of controversy surrounds racist remarks allegedly made by the long-time owner of the L.A. Clippers. Now Donald Sterling is the focus of an NBA investigation. So what punishment could he face? We've got that and the latest reaction from the sports world coming up.

Angry, frustrated, and demanding answers. The families of passengers on board missing Malaysia Airline Flight 370 have a new target. So what response have they received from Boeing so far? We'll take a look.

And a ceremony unprecedented in the history of the Catholic Church. Two former popes become saints in one day, and nearly a million people gather in Vatican City to witness history in the making.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

We begin today with stunning recorded comments rattling the NBA. The long-time owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, Donald Sterling, is under fire for allegedly making racist remarks about African-Americans. TMZ released a recording that it claims is Sterling fighting with his girlfriend, seen here with him in this photo. He allegedly says he doesn't want her associating with African-American players at Clippers games. And he takes issue with a picture she took with Magic Johnson. Listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GIRLFRIEND: I saw someone I admire. I admire Magic Johnson.

DONALD STERLING, OWNER OF L.A CLIPPERS: Okay. Good.

GIRLFRIEND: I'm sorry. He's made a lot of changes in his community, for the world, for the people for the minorities. He's helped a lot of people.

STERLING: Why are you forcing this down my throat? I'm finished talking to you. I have nothing more to say.

GIRLFRIEND: And I took a picture with someone I admire. STERLING: Good.

GIRLFRIEND: And he happens to be black, and I'm sorry.

STERLING: I think it's nice that you admire him. I know him well, and he should be admired. And I'm just saying that it's just too bad that you can't admire 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 this event so the world has to see and they have to call me. And don't bring him to my games. Okay?

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And today, a sports blog, Deadspin, got access to an extended recording. Listen to what was in that clip.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

STERLING: If you don't feel like it, don't come to my games. Don't bring black people. And don't come.

GIRLFRIEND: Do you know that you have a whole team that is black that plays for you?

STERLING: Do I know? I've supported them. I've given 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? Is there 30 owners that --

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: We can't confirm the authenticity of the recordings. And then there is another twist in this story. Sterling's wife filed a lawsuit against his girlfriend last month, according to KCAL and KCBS. This controversy has spread around the world very quickly. Even President Barack Obama was asked about it while traveling in Malaysia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance, you don't really have to do anything. You just let them talk. And that's what happened here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And now calls for the NBA to take action are pouring in from fans, players, and former players. I'm joined now by host of CNN's "UNGUARDED," Rachel Nichols, live for us now in New York. So Rachel, let's start with Magic Johnson who was personally named in these reported audios. He first tweeted yesterday and then today on a Clippers' pre-game show, he had more to say. This is really personal, isn't it?

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Magic has expressed outrage. He and Donald Sterling have a history together. They've known each other for more than 30 years. They've been at social events together; they've even gone out to lunch together, just the two of them with Donald Sterling soliciting Magic's advice. So Magic never expected this. And now, he's had more than 24 hours to get over his surprise. And by the time he did go on TV this afternoon, Fred, this was in his role as an analyst on the pre-game show, he was very clear about what he wanted to say. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAGIC JOHNSON, TNT ANALYST: I had a friendship with him. So for him to then make these comments, or alleged comments about myself as well as other African-Americans and minorities, there's no place in our society for it. There's no place in our league because we all get along. We all play with different races of people when you're in sports. That's what makes sports so beautiful. And then he's put his own team in a tough situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLS: Now, Magic also said he thinks Donald Sterling should sell the team, and that's a point of view that's been expressed in a lot of corners around the NBA in one way or another. We've heard a lot of players saying that between this latest allegation and then a lot of the other allegations in the past, they just don't want Donald Sterling around anymore.

LeBron James may have been the strongest of anyone. Take a listen to what he said yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEBRON JAMES, MIAMI HEAT PLAYER: There's no room for that in our game. We've found a way to make this the greatest game in the world and for comments like that, it taints our game and we can't have that. We can't have it from a player, we can't have it from an own owner, we can't have it from a fan, and so on and so on. It doesn't matter if you're black, Hispanic, white, or whatever the case may be. We can't have that a part of our game.

And the commissioner will take care of it, we're sure of that. And we'll continue to build this game the best way that we can because it's been an unbelievable 2014 playoffs, and we don't want Donald Sterling's comments to overshadow what this means to everyone, including the fans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLS: LeBron even went as far as to say he think Donald Sterling should be in the league anymore. And his words, of course, carry a lot of weight because of his status in the NBA. A lot of players have followed his lead over the past 24 hours.

But what was even more notable is we've also started hearing from Sterling's fellow owners. Heat owner Micky Arison released this statement. He called the recording, quote, "offensive, appalling and very sad." And Michael Jordan, who now owns the Charlotte Bobcats, remember, he said in a statement, quote, "I'm obviously disgusted that a fellow team owner could hold such sickening and offensive views."

Now, that kind of strong talk is particularly interesting, Fred, because it indicates a real change in the NBA. There was a time when sports teams were so old guard, they would close ranks around their own really no matter what. We'd see all kind of cronyism. But it's a different era now and, frankly, it's pretty refreshing to see other owners speak for themselves, give strong opinions, even if it means taking down a fellow member of the club, which is what they are starting to do.

WHITFIELD: All right. Rachel, there's so much more to this story. This really is just the tip of the iceberg. We're going to talk to you again later. And then also coming up, we've got a number of people who are going to weigh in on this, including a live report from one of our reporters, 2:30 Eastern time, from the L.A. Clippers-Golden State Warriors game in Oakland. One hour before tipoff.

And I'll also get a chance to talk to NBA great, legend Kareem Abdul- Jabaar, get his reaction in a CNN exclusive, coming up just moments from now. Sports journalism Terrance Moore will also be weighing in as well as former George Zimmerman attorney Mark O'Mara. He'll be talking about the legal aspects on this story. All straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

President Obama says the world must unite to show its disapproval of Russia's actions in Ukraine. Speaking from Malaysia today, the president said an international coalition is needed to avoid the perception that this is strictly a U.S.-versus-Russia issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: It's important for us to take further steps, sending a message to Russia that the kind of destabilizing activities that are taking place in the east and the south Ukraine have to stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Moscow has refused to pull back thousands of troops at the Ukrainian border and have denied flying military aircraft into Ukraine's air space.

All right. Here in the U.S., residents in several states are bracing for a possible outbreak of severe weather today. This could include tornadoes. We've already seen warnings and watches in several states.

Jennifer Gray is in the CNN Severe Weather Center. Already, Jennifer, we're starting to see a little bit of activity percolate, right?

(WEATHER BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Severe stuff and potentially dangerous, too. Thank you so much, Jennifer. We'll check back with you later on.

All right. The Vatican made history today. Two popes were canonized on the same day. And two living popes were part of the ceremony.

And frustrated families of the missing on Malaysia Flight 370 have found a new target for their questions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Fifty-two days, and still no sigh of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Malaysia's government has been widely criticized over its handling of the search and how it's dealt with getting information out. But today President Obama had words of praise during his visit there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I can say that the United States and other partners have found the Malaysian government eager for assistance, have been fully forthcoming with us in terms of the information that they have --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Today's planned air and sea search was suspended due to weather, but the underwater search with the Bluefin-21 autonomous underwater vehicle went ahead as planned.

Frustration among the families of the missing has been growing by the day. They have lashed out at Malaysian authorities for a lack of answers. And now they are taking it out on Boeing ,which built the plane, the engine, and whose shareholders actually meet tomorrow in Chicago. Here now is Alexandera Field.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More desperate, more frustrated. The family members of the passengers aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 turned their attention toward Boeing.

SARAH BACJ, PARTNER OF MALAYSIA AIR 370 VICTIM: And if we're not getting information directly from Malaysia Airlines and from the Malaysian government, we might as well try to go directly to the source.

FIELD: The manufacturer of the missing 777 has issued a statement that says, quote, "In accordance with international protocols, Boeing is serving as a technical adviser to the National Transportation Safety Board in support of Malaysian authorities." But families have technical questions they want Boeing to answer.

STEVEN MARKS, AVIATION ATTORNEY: They would have all of the data. They would also have all the tape recordings and they'd have the Inmarsat images and whatever other information the government has shared with them.

ARTHUR ROSENBERG, AVIATION ATTORNEY: I've advocated that Inmarsat and perhaps together with Boeing as a participant, release some of this information, some of this technical data information so that the families can at least get a handle on how they came about to calculate the area, this coalesced area where everyone is looking at right now.

FIELD: Boeing has expressed sympathy, but so far, they aren't saying much more. And an appeal from the family likely won't change that.

ROSENBERG: They are under no obligation to disclose any of that information.

FLOYD WISNER, AVIATION ATTORNEY: Boeing will say that they are prohibited from talking to the families under Annex 13 of the Ikale (ph) International Civilization Organization, but that really only applies to information gathered in the course of the investigation.

FIELD: Potentially a lawsuit against Boeing could force the manufacturer to turn over information about its aircraft. But with the plane still missing, some aviation attorneys say the families don't have a case, at least against the Boeing company. WISNER: You're not going to be able to bring a claim against Boeing, in my view, without the wreckage or the black boxes. It's just not possible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Alexandra is joining me live now from New York. So Alexandra, we know that Boeing's shareholders have a meeting tomorrow and that this is an opportunity the families have been waiting for. But what do we expect will really happen?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, at this point the families say they have written out their list of questions. They have given it to a representative who will deliver the questions. But a Boeing source says that MH-370 is not on the formal agenda of the shareholders' meetings, and these are formal proceedings. It's possible that MH-370 could be brought up by somebody or we could see some sort of statement made, or it could be raised during a question- and-answer period.

But will the families be satisfied? Will they get the kind of information that they are asking for? Well, according to the aviation attorney who you heard there, they predict -- and it's a prediction -- no.

WHITFIELD: Potentially they could get even more frustrated. All right, Alexandra, thanks so much.

Overseas, the Vatican has never seen a day like this in history. Two living popes embrace on a day when two others are elevated to sainthood. We'll get Carl Bernstein's impression next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. People around the world saw history made at the Vatican today. Two living popes canonizized, two former popes as new saints, while nearly a million people crowded into and around St. Peter's Square just to be a part of it. Here is CNN's Delia Gallagher.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: It was a day of firsts in more ways than one today for the Catholic Church, not only for the canonization of two popes but for the presence of two popes on the same stage as Pope Francis came out and embraced pope emeritus Benedict at the beginning of this morning's ceremony.

Two of the most important attendees at this morning's ceremony were the women without whom this day might not have happened. They were those that the Vatican says received the miracle from John Paul II. A French nun who is said to have recovered from Parkinson's disease, the same disease that John Paul II suffered from, and a Costa Rican woman who was healed of a brain aneurism after intercession to John Paul II. She brought up the relic of John Paul II, which was the vial of blood, and she was accompanied by relatives of John XXIII, who brought his relic to the altar.

Pope Francis said of both John XXIII and John Paul II that they were priests who had lived through the tragedies of the twentieth century, but were not overwhelmed by them. John XXIII he said was an example of openness to the Holy Spirit that inspired him to open the second Vatican Council. And John Paul II was an example of families, he said, a pope who loved the youth and we remember those World Youth Days and the traveling of Pope John Paul II.

Now the crowds camped out overnight to witness this morning's historic event. They were from all over the world waving their flags. By far the largest contingency from Poland here to cheer on their native saint. Their weight was well rewarded when Pope Francis at the end of the ceremony got into his Popemobile, left St. Peter's Square and came down the Via (INAUDIBLE) that leads straight down from the Vatican in a gesture of thanks to them for joining him for this historic day.

Delia Gallagher, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Delia. So a truly historic event at the Vatican today. Carl Bernstein is a political commentator and journalist and author of "His Holiness: John Paul II and the History of Our Time." He's joining us live now from New York. Thank you for joining me, Carl.

CARL BERNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: OK, so not everyone has been happy with how fast John Paul II was canonized. Some felt that his reign should've come under more scrutiny, that he didn't do enough to address the Church's child abuse scandals over the years. So why do you think the Vatican, Pope Francis, decided to do this in this manner?

BERNSTEIN: Two things. I'm told by people who have talked to the pope about these matters, he sees the church as accommodating these two great figures, John XXIII and Pope John Paul II, who represent different aspects of the church. Pope John II was seen by more individuals than any person in person in the history of the world. He put the church into the modern world, help defeat communism as perhaps no other individual did, was responsible because of Poland and what he did there for cracking the wall and in the Soviet system. And, you know, the pope wants this recognized. It had already been set in motion by Benedict, and doing the two together demonstrates a kind of unity that he wants to show the world this new pope.

WHITFIELD: And then pope -- John Paul XXIII, what was his distinction? Because these are two very different popes.

BERNSTEIN: First of all of, these are both radical figures in the history of the church who accomplished amazed things both within the church and within the secular world. And one of the things that John XXIII did is he convened the Vatican Council, Vatican II, the ecumenical council, which did away with a lot of Latin mass, among other things. But moved to make the church more accessible to Catholics who saw it as hidebound in many ways in its traditions, in aspects of its theology. And, of course, John Paul II saw some of what happened at the Vatican Council, which he attended, as going too far and tried to pull the church back away from some of the things that Pope John XXIII did.

But again, Francis wants to show that all of this can be accommodated in the church. And as for the controversy that has to do with John Paul II, which really is about him over the papacy at a time of these great, horrible scandals involving priests and -- pedophile priests. That is part of the record and at the same time this pope wants to say this was a holy man. Yes, there was this terrible failing on John Paul II's watch, but look at what this pope did for humanity.

And also, I wouldn't exaggerate within the church the degree of controversy over this canonization of Pope John Paul II. Maureen Dowd in "The New York Times," a Catholic, very eloquent on the argument against. But I don't think that there's a huge constituency in the church that holds that view.

WHITFIELD: And what do you suppose this says about Pope Francis, that he would have this pairing of John XXIII and John Paul II in this way?

BERNSTEIN: That he's very astute and that like John Paul II he recognizes that the church now is a huge presence in media, in the world in a way that it never was before, partly because of John Paul II. And Francis is also becoming amazingly adept at getting his message out there, and this calms the church. It calms the internal divisions within the church by saying, look at these two great figures in our history, great figures in the history of the 20th century of our church. Let us canonize them in our lifetimes while people who remember these two popes can see what we are doing here and see them as examples of what the perennial theology, among other things, of the Catholic Church is about.

WHITFIELD: Pope Francis from the very start has been kind of doing it it his own way and he continues to do so as shaking things up. What do you see as the next potential hurdle that he'll be crossing or maybe a tradition that he will be reshaping?

BERNSTEIN: I really can't tell you. He is obviously trying to be a different kind of pope in making his humility what he becomes known for in terms of his flock. A kind -- a different kind of humility than John Paul II. And at the same time, he's clearly opened to ideas that John Paul II was not. He wants to see the church not be caught up in these controversies to the extent that it has been over the role of women, over contraception, over abortion, over gay rights. He wants to stress other aspects of the church, and this would be a huge step, much more like John XXIII in some ways if he were to go forward as he seems to be.

And also, remember, he has captured the attention and admiration of non-Catholics in a way that both of these popes who were canonized today also did.

WHITFIELD: All right. Carl Bernstein, always good to see you. Thanks so much from New York today.

BERNSTEIN: Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: All right, speaking of controversies, how about this controversy on the hardwood. The NBA is in the middle of the playoffs and the only thing anyone can talk about, can feel consumed about these days is the allegations of racist comments from a long-time team owner. We have reaction from legend NBA, legend Kareem Abdul Jabbar. It's a CNN exclusive right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, the NBA is promising swift action and due process in investigating racist comments allegedly made by L.A. Clippers' owner, Donald Sterling. TMZ first posted the recording reportedly made between Sterling and his girlfriend. The couple is allegedly arguing about Sterling's girlfriend's association with African-Americans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 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 if you want to broadcast that you're associating with black people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So I'm joined now on the phone by basketball legend six- time most valuable player, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, former star center for the L.A. Lakers and before that Milwaukee Bucks. Good to see you or for you to be with us, Kareem. So give me an idea. You know, how shocking are these comments to you? What is your reaction?

KAREEM ABDUL JABBAR, FORMER L.A. LAKERS CENTER (via telephone): I'm kind of reminded about what happened with presidential candidate Romney when he was taped in a way that he wasn't aware that he was being taped so his comments were a lot more candid than they would have been if he had known that the media was listening. So I think that is what happened to Mr. Sterling. He has a bad reputation, as far as I'm concerned. You know, the cases that he lost about discriminating against blacks and Hispanics and people with children that wanted to rent some of his properties. You know, that was kind of like a milestone and then we hear these comments. You know, I used to work for Mr. Sterling. I coached the Clippers for about three months in the year 2000. I know him. I know his voice. I'm not surprised by this very much and that's really I think the most unfortunate part about this.

WHITFIELD: So wait a minute. You said you're not very surprised then. You know him. You know the man. You know his voice as someone who used to work for him. But along those three months that you worked for him did you ever hear these kinds of comments? Did you ever read from him that there was this kind of sentiment that was recorded, that these recordings seem to display.

JABBAR: None whatsoever. He was, for the most part, congenial. He invited me to his daughter's wedding. It wasn't like I fell shunned. But given what I heard him saying to -- on this recording, if it works out that it's an actual recording and it hasn't been doctored or anything and it seems that it hasn't, if it hasn't, this is -- we can't have this. You know, we -- it's a very offensive and repugnant attitude for someone to have and for him to be an employer of so many people of color, it's kind of -- kind of blows your mind.

WHITFIELD: Magic Johnson has said that Sterling should not be the Clippers owner anymore. He said that today during a pre-Clippers game show on ESPN. What do you think the NBA should or can do at this juncture?

JABBAR: You know, I don't know what the guidelines are here. He owns the team. He was talking about his personal attitudes and it's very much ownership and people with regard to their businesses, their attitudes and what they do as business people sometimes are two different things. So I think that's a very -- it's a difficult thing for someone in my position to really talk about because who knows what is possible.

But, you know, maybe so many of the players get fined for things that they shouldn't say. You've had players that have said things that were anti-gay or, you know, racial slurs or just things that when they mouth off and say something that they shouldn't say and they get fined by the league. But something has to be done.

You can't have a situation like this. It's crazy. I mean, it's an indication that -- I think one of the players who plays for the Indianapolis Pacers said it best, David West. He said it's an indication that the plantation mentality is still alive and well in many of the people who own businesses here in the United States.

WHITFIELD: And before I let you go, Kareem, you know what it's like to be in the playoffs. You've got six NBA titles yourself. For these L.A. Clippers, for these players, for the coach, how do you suppose they are feeling? Do they want to continue playing? Do they feel like they have to continue playing for themselves, for the fans? But at the same time, you know, how do they not be distracted by these reported comments from their owner and the attention that the team and the owner are receiving? JABBAR: Well, you know, they can't help but to be conflicted and districted by all of this. Here they are playing in the playoffs. They have a very good team. They have a chance to do very well. This is something that they dreamed about all of their lives since they were kids and they started playing basketball and imagining themselves winning an NBA title. And now to have -- to find out that their owners is a bigot, that's kind of really disconcerting.

And I really will see in them how professional they are, if they can ignore that and do their jobs to the best of their ability, which is what they are paid to do. But that can be an additional burden on them to try to be at their best under these circumstances.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, thank you so much for joining us. Thanks for calling in. Always appreciate your perspective on all things sports and American culture. This is one of those things that combines all of it.

Also coming up, we're going to get more responses and reactions on this story. We're also going to be joined by criminal defense attorney, Mark O'Mara, because there could be potentially be a legal road in all of this. He's going to help explain right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. The owner of the NBA Los Angeles Clippers is under investigation by the league for racist comments he allegedly made on a phone recording. If Don Sterling really did say the things that he's accused of saying, he could face disciplinary action from the league, but an NBA spokesman stressed Sterling must, quote, "Must be afforded due process."

Let's bring in CNN legal analyst, Mark O'Mara. So brief us on the law first in California with this recording. One party, two party state as it pertains to audio.

MARK O'MARA, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: California is a two-party state, which means that both parties have to agree to a recording for it to be admissible in court. If this was a lawsuit against him by the girlfriend or somebody else, I don't think it would be admitted into evidence. In a court of law, you can't without permission. Now, can the NBA use it? Can somebody else use it? Much more open question and I think they can.

WHITFIELD: Or potentially, say someone who was a player or a manager or an executive working under Don Sterling and said now upon hearing this I can reflect now, promotions passed, pay raises not received. I want to pursue a discriminatory case against him. Would I be privy to that kind of material? It's recorded if you're talking about the one- party, two-party.

O'MARA: The purpose of the two-party statute is to not allow the party who is recording it to gain favor, to gain credit. That's not going to happen in a lawsuit by a former employer. So I think in most cases it may be well admissible certainly in the pre-trial stages, in negotiation stages, in the threat of investigation stages. While it may not make it into a courtroom, certainly it's going to be available for those purposes.

WHITFIELD: This is not going to be a legal matter. If the NBA were to take disciplinary action or to say there was a violation in some kind of agreement that we have with owners of the team, could that potentially become a legal case or is that strictly, you know, a business agreement?

O'MARA: There's a contract between the NBA and their owners and they have to follow that contract. And I'm sure within that contract there's certainly morality clauses to what you can and cannot do and within that context. If in fact it's his voice and it's interesting he has not yet denied that it's his voice. So presuming for a moment it is his voice, now the NBA has to look this and say, can we possibly still have an owner of a team in our league who is acting this way. I think they are going to recover from the herd as quickly as they can because how can you have if those facts are true, somebody like that owning a team?

WHITFIELD: He hasn't said anything. We understand he has not going to be attending the game today. Sometimes silence speaks volumes. We have another legal case involving his wife who is suing the girlfriend, this girlfriend who got the recording. But this is separate from the content of the recording. What's going on here?

O'MARA: Back on March 7th of this year, wife filed a lawsuit against girlfriend saying in this community property state, girlfriend stole some of my property, the community state's property by talking my husband into it, by cajoling him, convincing him, deceiving him, extorting him got this information. So there's now a lawsuit pending saying wife wants that back.

Girlfriend has now responded saying, no, no, no, that's a gift. He gave it to me. He's a very sharp businessman, a real estate mogul. He knows what is he doing and gave it all to me. That's going to play out in the courts no matter what happens with the tape.

WHITFIELD: So now we have to look at the chronology of these events, that case filed versus when these alleged recordings took place, might it also lead into a potential extortion matter or accusation of, OK, if you're going to do that to me, I'm going to do this to you and there's --

O'MARA: If we were a fly on the wall, it certainly seems like the conversation between girlfriend and him, she was suggesting things to say -- again, he said them, but she seemed to be maybe setting him up, maybe knew that she was recording the call, thought that that would get her some leverage in either the lawsuit or the settlement.

WHITFIELD: Fascinating stuff and we know it's just the beginning.

O'MARA: Just the first day.

WHITFIELD: All right, Mark O'Mara, thanks so much. Good to see you. Appreciate that.

O'MARA: Great to see you. WHITFIELD: All right, we are going to shift gears quite a bit. Let's talk about happening overseas. President Obama becoming the first American leader in decades to visit Malaysia. Well, coming up, he speaks about how that country is handling the investigation into Flight 370's disappearance and he's got other comments as it relates to the case that we just discussed. That's right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President Obama is offering some words of encouragement for the Malaysian government and during the third leg of his Asian trip, Mr. Obama said Malaysia has worked tirelessly to find missing airliner, Flight 370, and has been forthcoming with the U.S. about information. Meanwhile bad weather suspended the latest air and sea search today.

I'm joined now by CNN's safety analyst, David Soucie and aviation analyst, Mary Schiavo, former inspector general with the U.S. Transportation Department. Good to see both of you.

All right, so the president's remarks, pretty interesting. Might come as a surprise to some, especially the family members who say we're not getting enough information, but the president says that Malaysia has been forthcoming with information to U.S. authorities. So what do you make of these comments, Mary? What does he mean by that really? How detailed could this information be?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, some of it is very detailed because remember, the Malaysians gave to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, the pilot and co-pilot's home computers, the pilot's flight computer and the home simulator that he had made and I without a doubt they are probably calling on the United States FBI to help them with the cell phone issue and cell phone tower issue as well.

So the FBI played a major role in some of what would have been, I supposed, attributed to the criminal investigation by Malaysia and then supplying the Bluefin-21 and other assets, the Navy supply ship, there had to be a fair amount of communications to get those assets from the U.S. and so I think that the compliment and the exchange was genuine.

WHITFIELD: OK, and David, you know, speaking of the Bluefin, its mission is nearly complete in terms of that particular search area before authorities say it's going to move a little further north. How encouraging is that to you, that I guess reassessing the space that it needs to scan, extending it a little further north. Do you feel like that gives it a better chance of finding something?

DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: Well, not necessarily the Bluefin. But I think as they move further north, they are going to have to bring in some additional tools, some additional expertise and some fresh eyes. But could I mention back to the president real quickly --

WHITFIELD: Sure. SOUCIE: -- I support what Mary was saying exactly, but one thing I am surprised is that he didn't push the GOP to start pushing through a confirmation of the ambassador to the U.N. for ICAO. Remember we have no representation on ICAO whatsoever right now and this is the person that should be coordinating especially in the preliminary report and that sort of information as it passes back and forth.

So I feel like we're kind of jumping a link here by having them coordinate directly to our military and it misses a level of coordination, particularly as we move forward with coming up with laws and regulations. The cards are being dealt and we don't have a seat at the table.

WHITFIELD: And that's the political, you know, persuasion here. I'm wondering about the investigation of, you know, the air and sea search. Mary, what other technology might be able to be introduced here. We have heard about the Remus 6000 that can go 6,000 meters. But we are not hearing that they've actually been moved to this area. So what could compliment the Bluefin or even perhaps replace it?

SCHIAVO: Well, there are many different kinds of underwater autonomous vehicles. The Remus is one. There were others that have been used in the past. Some are manned, some are unmanned. Each one is going to require a ship to accompany it. You're going to have a lot of on-water assets and ship assets.

But also I think the intelligence function of the United States could be very useful because after all the prime minister in his interview with Richard Quest mentioned that they still consider it both criminal and civil. We could help them on that front as well with those assets and I still think that one of the most important things to do is to examine what the realities are of the performance of that pinger and the search under water.

And they could use this opportunity to really experiment, see how far that pinger can be detected and see what happens over time.

WHITFIELD: All right, Mary, David, thank you so much. We'll talk again. More on this and what else to look forward to this week in the ongoing search for Malaysia Flight 370. Thank you.

All right, racist remarks allegedly from an NBA team owner sending shock waves through the sports world. One player who was specifically mentioned in those comments is now speaking out. We have the reaction from Magic Johnson, next.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Mea Sharapova may have endorsement deals with Nike, Samsung and Posh among others, but in 2012, the 26- year-old launched a candy business called "Sugar Pova," the curious choice for a world class athlete.

MARIA SHARAPOVA, HIGHEST PAID TENNIS ATHLETE: I'm an athlete and being healthy is a part of my life. Living a healthy lifestyle, understanding what foods are important to eat and what is good for my body. But at the end of the day, whether you're an athlete or working in an office, everyone loves a treat and everyone loves candy and when I was young and finish a practice, what would I ask for, I would ask for a lollipop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sharapova was even said to have considered a little name change ahead of last year's U.S. Open, but her agent said the legal hassle of becoming Maria "Sugar Pova" for two weeks just wasn't worth it. But the global media coverage of the story shows that she's not just good at tennis and candy, but a pretty shrewd marketer, too.

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