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L.A. Clippers Owner Under Fire for Alleged Racist Comments; CNN Hero Focused On Helping Communities In Crisis

Aired April 27, 2014 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. And here's what's topping our news this hour.

We begin again today with stunning recorded comments rattling the NBA. The longtime owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, Donald Sterling, is under fire for allegedly making racist comments about African- Americans. TMZ released a recording that it claims is Sterling arguing with his girlfriend seen here with him in this photograph.

She allegedly says he doesn't want her associating with African- Americans at Clippers games and he takes issues with an Instagram picture of her with Magic Johnson and this is the picture, right there, obtained by TMZ Sports.

They also got another picture referencing other recordings of the girlfriend with L.A. Dodgers player, Matt Kemp. Here's a piece of that recording.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I saw someone I admire. I admire Magic Johnson.

DONALD STERLING, LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS OWNER: OK, good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sorry --

STERLING: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's made a lot of changes for 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.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I took a picture with someone I admire.

STERLING: Good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 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 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 see so they can call me. And don't bring him into my games, OK?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. Today sports blog Deadspin got an access to an extended recording. Listen to what was in that clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STERLING: Well then, if you don't feel -- don't come to my games. Don't bring black people and don't come.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you know that you have a whole team that's black, that plays for you?

STERLING: You 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? Is there 30 owners that --

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going not going to bring --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, we can't confirm the authenticity of these recordings. The attorneys for Sterling's girlfriend have released a statement saying the tape is legitimate, but she didn't release it.

And then there is another twist in this story. Sterling's wife filed a lawsuit against his girlfriend last month.

So all of this happening as the Clippers are on the court, game four of the playoffs under way right now in Oakland, and that's where we find our Stephanie Elam.

So, Stephanie, the Clippers are not on their home turf. They were in Oakland but you apparently have had a chance to talk with some of the folks in the crowd. What have they been saying about all of this?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a lot going on here, Fredricka. For one thing a couple of people that we spoke to do believe that Sterling should be ousted in some way or another.

We talked to one Clippers fan who says, you know what, he's here to support the players. They are out here doing their job. He is here for them but that he does need to go, and inside right now as you can see they are playing inside the coliseum, Oracle Coliseum here, and the Warriors are ahead right now.

It is not in the best way that they would like to say that they're going into this playoff game obviously for the Clippers, but the Clippers did have a message to share. They went ahead and at the beginning while they were doing their warm-ups they did take off their jerseys and reveal that they all had on long sleeve red T-shirts that were on inside-out, with the logo on the inside. They dropped those sweatshirts in the middle of the floor, somebody took them off.

So whether or not they were going to make a statement that seems to have been out there. It's interesting to note, too, that, you know you're talking a whole bunch of black men who play for the Clippers and so I think there may have been a conflict on how you address this.

As far as the coach, Doc Rivers said that their focus right now -- they don't like what was said but their focus right now is on winning this game. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOC RIVERS, HEAD COACH, LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS: This is a situation where we're trying to go after something very important for us, something that we've all dreamed about all our childhoods, and you know, Donald or anyone else had nothing to do with that dream and we're not going to let anything get in the way of those dreams.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: Now speaking of the players, I was talking about the black men that play for the Clippers. One of them is Chris Paul and he also happens to be the president of the Players Association. He put out a statement as well saying that, "On behalf of the National Basketball Players Association, this is a very serious issue which we will address aggressively."

They also want Mayor Kevin Johnson, former NBA player, to expand his responsibilities with the association and determine their next response and their next steps.

So you have to imagine it's an interesting position for these players because they're focused on winning. This is their job, this is what they get paid to do, but also having this massive distraction coming to you by hands of the owner of the team -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Yes. You wonder what kind of distraction it is for these elite players. So Mayor Kevin Johnson, has he responded?

ELAM: We have not heard yet what the plan is. And I think that's part what people are waiting to hear from him on Monday. What the union is going to do for these players, also what the overall NBA is going to do about this and how they are going to address this and handle this and how do you get rid of an owner. It's not the same as having a coach or a player who is doing something out of line here and also the checking the authenticity of these tapes.

One thing I can tell you, though, Fredricka, is that the NAACP, the Los Angeles chapter, was going to honor him with a Lifetime Achievement Award, that is no longer going to happen, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK, and Stephanie, just a moment ago you talked about how the players came out, they had their red shirts inside-out when they were warming up. We have some snapshots right now of some of the players who are wearing those red shirts inside out and you're saying that was kind of a statement being made there, a non-verbal statement perhaps being made about this controversy surrounding the owner?

ELAM: You would have to believe so. I mean, they're honoring their jerseys, they're playing in their jerseys, they're not going out of uniform for the actual game so you have to take that as some sort of signage. And again, as a black person, I imagine that they're conflicted right now. How do you play this game and do what you want to do and win but at the same time acknowledge to the world this is not cool and I think that may be what they were letting us know. Why else would you have your logo on inside out.

WHITFIELD: Right. And of course once game play logo has to be right side out, they've got to be playing in their uniform with their jerseys in the proper procedural way. So lot to read into that warm- up.

All right, Stephanie Elam, thanks so much, in Oakland. We'll check back with you. Appreciate that.

So 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: Earlier I spoke with CNN Sports' Rachel Nichols and she says Donald Sterling has a past which might support these latest actions perhaps?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: It's not surprising to hear that kind of talk from Donald Sterling. For those of your viewers who aren't familiar with him before this incident, let me give you a little background here.

Sterling made some of his money in real estate development and two separate times he was sued by the U.S. Justice Department for discriminating on what kind of tenants he wanted in his buildings, for not wanting to rent a black, not wanting to rent a Hispanics. Both times, instead of fighting the lawsuit, there was enough evidence against him that Sterling settled for huge amounts. In fact, one time it was a record amount.

Then in 2011, he was sued by Elgin Baylor. Now Baylor was one of the greatest who ever play in the NBA. He is an 11-time all-star who then worked for Sterling in the management of the Clippers. Baylor filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against Sterling. And one of the quotes that was entered into the record in that suit was Sterling allegedly saying that the reason he discriminated back in his apartment buildings was that, quote, "black tenants smell and attract vermin."

Now, of course, all of this has been public knowledge before this audio recording came out. And the NBA has been criticized in the past for not doing anything about Sterling. But now this recording, it really does seem to be the tipping point, Fred, and a lot of people are demanding they take action.

WHITFIELD: And so what is the kind of action that the NBA would be able to take?

NICHOLS: Well, Adam Silver is the new commissioner of the NBA. He just took over a little bit less than three months ago and he has an enormous task to unravel this. Because there aren't a lot of clear guidelines in the NBA bylaws for these kinds of situation.

First of all, he's got to determine the authenticity of the recording which is promised to do, quote, "extremely quickly" in a matter of days. Then he's got to marshal consensus among the other NBA owners to see how far he can go in punishing Sterling.

It's going to be tough for him to force Sterling out. It's not impossible but it would be extremely difficult and Sterling is known to be a very litigious guy. So even if they try to go that way, this could spend years in court. Alternately, what he could do is suspend him from having any interaction or decision making with the team. Possibly even for life, he could fine him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, that's Rachel Nichols there. And a short time ago I also spoke with NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who actually worked for Sterling some years ago, for about three months he said, and this was his reaction when he heard the comments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR, FORMER NBA PLAYER: I'm kind of reminded of 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's 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. And I'm not surprised by this very much, and that's really I think the most unfortunate part of 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 one who used to work for him, but along, you know, 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 these recorded -- that these recordings seemed to display?

ABDUL-JABBAR: None whatsoever. He was for the most part congenial. He invited me to his daughter's wedding. You know, it wasn't like he -- I felt shunned. But given what I heard him saying to on this recording, if it works out that it's actual recording and it hasn't been doctored or anything, but it seems to me that it hasn't.

WHITFIELD: So --

ABDUL-JABBAR: You know, if it hasn't, it's -- 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 kind of blows your mind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar there in our exclusive interview with him.

And another one of the biggest names in the history of the NBA has plenty to say about the racial controversy surrounding the Clippers owner, Don Sterling. You'll hear from him coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Alleged recordings of NBA team owner Donald Sterling have created quite a firestorm about race in the league. He's allegedly heard on a phone recording making racist remarks. The alleged comments have now triggered an NBA investigation.

Also Sterling takes issue with a picture his girlfriend took with NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. This is the picture you see right there from TMZ Sports. In an interview on ESPN, Magic Johnson calls all of it personally hurtful.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Plain and simple, when you heard those comments, Magic, what was your reaction?

MAGIC JOHNSON, NBA HALL OF FAMER: I was really upset. You know, you can't understand how hurt I was and also I was hurt for all African- Americans and all minorities because when a man who owns a team in the NBA, and Donald Sterling has had issues in the past, so this is not the first time. And I've known Donald. He's one of the first men I met when I came to L.A. Dr. Buss took me to his annual Malibu beach party.

Actually my first week in L.A. Then I met with Donald two or three times. He wanted to discuss the issues with his Clipper team. So 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. So I believe that once Commissioner Silver -- I was going to say Stern. Silver, you know, does all his due diligence, get all the information, gather the information, we got to -- he's got to come down hard.

He shouldn't own a team anymore. And he should stand up and say, "I don't want to own a team anymore," especially when you have African- Americans renting his apartments, coming to the games, playing for him and coaching for him. This is bad for everybody. It's bad for America. And so I'm really upset about it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Magic, you, from an ownership capacity to being a Hall of Fame player to now your role with the Dodgers, you mentioned not going to any clipper games again as long as he's affiliated with the team. That's a strong statement because if you're not welcome, obviously everybody below you so to speak isn't welcome. So can you talk about that statement about not attending?

JOHNSON: Well, he said don't bring me to the --

(LAUGHTER)

To the game.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't bring Magic.

JOHNSON: Don't bring Magic, on the tape. So no problem. I have no problem with that. And so I won't be going and then he said don't -- other African-Americans, they can't -- they're not welcome either, and so this is -- this is not good, this is not good, and it's not good for not just the league but just for America. You know, this is not good. And then I think about Jalen, the fact that we have made him money but we're not welcome at the game, and so that's -- you know, you can't get over that. And that's why everybody is upset, black, white, Latino, everybody is upset at Donald Sterling right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Magic Johnson there earlier on ESPN.

All right, up next, our legal analyst, Mark O'Mara will weigh in on the private recording that allegedly contained these racist comments. What's next, legally.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, back to this NBA team owner, Donald Sterling, is under fire after allegedly making a racially insensitive comments that were caught on tape. He denies he's a racist on the tape but an NBA investigation is pending.

Let's bring in CNN legal analyst Mark O'Mara. All right, so let's talk about this from a legal standpoint. There is precedence when you start to hear from former colleagues in the NBA from Kareem to Magic and then, you know, there is the -- I guess the legal, I guess, you know, paper trail.

MARK O'MARA, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Sure.

WHITFIELD: We got other discrimination cases whether it be as a result of his apartments, you've got, you know, Elgin Baylor who has his own discrimination case history. Because of this precedent and now you have this kind of recording, do you see that they're going to be other legal challenges involving discrimination that might be tied now to these alleged recordings?

O'MARA: I do think so because now what we have is a piece of evidence which is concrete and it's known, and there's no denying that that is a racist behavior. So then we look back into the Elgin Baylor lawsuit and see the way he was discriminated against. We look back to the fact that this owner had to pay $5 million in attorneys fees and cost for the way he handled litigation when it was found in that lawsuit that he didn't want to rent to blacks because they smell, he didn't want to rent to Koreans and non-Koreans in Korea Town.

We have that type of behavior. So now we look at it, it's almost look like it's finally come to the surface. We can't ignore it and we shouldn't ignore it as a country.

WHITFIELD: So I wonder if there are cases that were dismissed that now might be reopened or reconsidered as a result -- those may be connected to him?

O'MARA: I think this gives evidence to those people who didn't file lawsuits or that their lawsuits failed because of lack of evidence. This piece of evidence and what else it's going to uncover, I think, is now going to be good fodder for those people to come back and say I told you, he was racist, I told you he acted in a way that was discriminatory. Because here are some concrete evidence of it.

WHITFIELD: And so we can't confirm the authenticity but when you hear from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and maybe others, but I spoke with him earlier, and you heard the conversation where he said, you know, I worked for, you know, Mr. Sterling for three months, I know the man, I know his voice and that sure sounds like his voice.

O'MARA: If it was my -- if it was not my voice I would have come out on TV the next moment I could get a camera and say that's not me. The fact that he didn't I think speaks volumes.

WHITFIELD: So it's very telling in your view that he has kind of disappeared. He's not at the game, he's not denying, you know, any participation in these recordings, nothing.

O'MARA: If he -- if he does not have a perfect explanation for this, then he needs to make a decision to simply move away from the NBA and not try to salvage something that he can't deal with in today's society. WHITFIELD: And now as it pertains to the ownership, he is an owner of an NBA team, whether the NBA Players Association has a strong point of view on this or whether it's the new commissioner, Mr. Silver, who is going to, you know, take some action on this because he is an owner.

Can he just be removed because he made these insulting remarks? I mean, what really kind of leverage do any of these other organizations or entities have?

O'MARA: The lawyers who interpret the contract that exists between the NBA and the owners, has certain provisions in it that allow the NBA to look at the way you act as an owner. I would imagine that this type of behavior is going to shed such poor light on the NBA that I think they're going to be able to use that and say, you cannot do to our organization what you're doing by acting the way you're acting in public, quasi-public, behavior continually because you're putting so much dirt, in effect, on the NBA.

WHITFIELD: All right. It's a fascinating case and we know it's really just the beginning as more information kind of trickles out.

Mark O'Mara, thanks so much. Good to see you.

O'MARA: Sure. Great to be here.

WHITFIELD: Thank you.

All right, coming up next, our sports panel talking about the possible effects of this controversy on the sport, on the NBA, the team is in the middle of a playoff battle, we're talking about the L.A. Clippers. Plus the league and its players will now also have to deal with the fallout.

(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.

Notably, this Instagram photo from TMZ Sports is showing her with NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

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

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it bothers me a lot that you want to promo -- broadcast that you're associating with black people.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK, so the fallout from this is far-reaching.

Let's get more now With CNN's Dan Simon by phone in Oakland, where the Clippers are battling the Golden State Warriors in their fourth playoff game, and CNN.com sports contributor Terrance Moore is contributing in the studio, and CNN commentator and ESPN senior writer L.Z. Granderson joining us via Skype from Chicago.

Glad all of you are able to join us.

Terence, you first. We have not heard anything from Mr. Sterling.

TERENCE MOORE, CNN SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: And that silence really speaks volumes. Why wouldn't the owner come out at this juncture -- or how important would it be for him to say anything at this point?

MOORE: Well, he's not coming out because he's guilty.

OK, if you're not guilty you come out and say that I'm not guilty, instead of assuming that Rich Little is still out there doing impersonations of Donald Sterling. I don't think I have heard Rich Little in years. This is Donald Sterling actually doing this.

His only other choice which is not in Donald Sterling's personality is to pull a Jimmy Swaggart and say, I have sinned, I blew it, and this sort of thing.

WHITFIELD: But you're a big businessman. You're a team owner. And, again, we still don't know whether this tape is authentic, but if indeed that is him, there are people who say, I recognize your voice. We talked to Kareem earlier. He says, I worked for the man. I know his voice.

MOORE: Yes. It's obvious.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: I know his voice.

Why wouldn't you, as the team owner, come out, knowing that your team is in the playoffs, fourth game, had been doing well, and say, you know what, I got to own these words, it was wrong, et cetera, and I'm wishing the best for my team or something?

(CROSSTALK)

MOORE: Well, I will tell you, Fred, if you listen to what this guy said -- and, again, that is his voice on there. Everybody says it's his voice. When you have got that sort of mentality, then you take a hard-line approach until you're dead, basically.

This is basically Richard Nixon and the cover-up in the breakup of the Watergate type thing. Until he is dead, Donald Sterling, he is going to say that, hey, this wasn't me. And then if it comes out that it is him, it's going to be, I didn't mean to say it that way. He will continue to alibi right down to the end because that is his personality.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

Or, L.Z., is this Donald Sterling trying to come up with an exit strategy? We're not hearing from him, not seeing him because now he's trying to figure out, all right, how do I gracefully let go of the team?

L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You know, I don't know if he's holed away somewhere with Olivia Pope from "Scandal," trying to figure out a plan to get out of this.

But what I will tell you is that the media and Americans in general have a short attention span. So, perhaps what he's hoping will happen is that we just sort of look at another shiny object. And I got to tell you, having been an observer of culture for as long as I have a journalist, I don't think that's a bad strategy, because we do have a short attention span. We do have a tendency to be really focused in on one person, and then something else happens and then our attention travels elsewhere.

So, I don't know if that's his conscious strategy, but I will tell you I would not be surprised if he waits this out and nothing more besides a fine comes of this.

WHITFIELD: OK.

And Dan Simon at the Oracle Arena, the L.A. Clippers in the middle of their game right now with the Golden State Warriors, we understand that during the practice -- and we have photographs of some of the players during the practice rounds wearing their shirts inside-out. Is that the extent of a statement? Was that a statement coming from these players that they are silently trying to say something?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely.

Everybody was wondering how the team would react, and that's exactly what they did. They took off their team jackets, placed them in the middle of the floor, and then revealed their practice shirts inside- out, with the logo facing inward.

And I can tell you right now, the Clippers down 18 points here in the second quarter, they're playing a little flat. It makes you wonder whether or not this whole controversy, everything swirling around is affecting the performance of the team. Right now, they're not playing too well.

WHITFIELD: Terence, weigh in on that. It's got to impact the psyche of the player, right?

(CROSSTALK)

MOORE: I will tell you what's interesting. In the first quarter, when they were down by 20 points, Doc Rivers was interviewed during the game and he said that this controversy had nothing to do with them playing flat. But this is the same Doc Rivers who said before the game in a press conference before the game that he figured this would have some kind of effect on the team. The Doc Rivers before the game was correct. This is affecting this team. They are not playing fired up.

WHITFIELD: How could it not? How could it not?

MOORE: It definitely has to. There's no question about that. And it would have been a lot worse if Donald Sterling was at the game. Donald Sterling is always at Clippers game.

WHITFIELD: Even away games?

(CROSSTALK)

MOORE: Exactly. He was told to stay away from this game here. If he was there at this game, if it you think they're playing badly now, I think it would be even worse.

WHITFIELD: And, L.Z., weigh in on this. Clearly, it's a distraction. These are elite players. They're professionals. They know how to play under pressure. But this is something different.

Your boss is saying, essentially, you're OK by me if you're making me money, but I wouldn't invite to you my home. I don't really want my family members, my loved ones associating with you. You really are not my equal.

GRANDERSON: This is not breaking news, Fred.

This man has a long, documented history of discrimination. And so while I understand that the players may be upset at this particular time and Doc Rivers may be upset right now about the recent allegations or discoveries, if you will, the truth is, is that many of those players arrived there with the understanding that this is who this person is, with the understanding that he has been sued and had to pay out a lawsuit...

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: But that doesn't make the blow any less hurtful. Why does this still sting, even though there's precedent, even though there's history?

GRANDERSON: Well, it's not just -- I mean, I think what we fail to realize is, it's not just about the players. I know that we can talk about whether or not they should be protesting and their jerseys inside-out and we can have that conversation.

But the truth of the matter is that everyone who is attached to this organization, everyone who works for the organization on a sponsorship level, and of course let us not forget about the NAACP positioning themselves to give him a lifetime achievement award -- we are all...

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Which they have rescinded.

GRANDERSON: They, did but not before they were going to go forward with it. And again this is after we already knew about his racist behavior.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

GRANDERSON: And my point is, is that, I do want to focus in on the players, but I want to expand this, because his behavior, his attitudes towards minorities is not breaking news.

WHITFIELD: Right.

GRANDERSON: This is old news -- and we're now being -- having our feet brought to the fire on we're going to deal with it this time.

We had an opportunity to deal with it before with the lawsuits.

WHITFIELD: Terence, last word?

MOORE: And, Fred, L.Z. is exactly right.

I'm going to extend something he just said. The reason this is a distraction, contrary to popular belief, is not because the players are upset with what he said. It's a distraction because people like you and I and out there, we are constantly asking them about that. That's creating the distraction for them out there on the court.

They have got to deal with this, and they have got talk about this. As far as dealing with Donald Sterling, we knew what he was. It walks like a duck, it talks like a duck, it's a duck. He's been quacking since 1981, when he first bought the Clippers. This is no breaking news, no offense to CNN. But what it is, is just the distraction around the players is getting to them, which is what we're seeing right there on the court as we speak.

WHITFIELD: All right, Terence Moore, L.Z. Granderson, and Dan Simon also, to all of you gentlemen, thanks so much. It's a compelling conversation. It's shocking.

I think it's still resonating in so many different ways no, matter how many times you try to digest the conversation. I think it still stings an awful lot of people.

All right, coming up, we will hear more from Magic Johnson. He's speaking out about the tape controversy and he says it point-blank. He wants Donald Sterling out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, more now on the response to those alleged racist comments from L.A. Clippers owner Don Sterling.

NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson says Sterling must go. In a phone recording, we allegedly hear Sterling urging his girlfriend not to be seen in public with black people, and criticizing her for a picture that she took with Magic Johnson.

This is that picture from TMZ sports. All of this could threaten Sterling's future as an owner perhaps.

Here is Magic Johnson talking today on ESPN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EARVIN "MAGIC" JOHNSON, FORMER NBA PLAYER: I talked to Doc Rivers yesterday, and I wanted him to understand this.

This is not his fight or the Clipper players' fight. This is our fight. We will fight the battle for them. Their focus should be on the game. They got a tough series with Golden State. Focus in on, how do we win game four today?

And then what's really crazy, Doug, is, I have been in a similar situation. When I was a rookie, we played your 76ers -- and I'm glad he was hurt, because we...

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

JOHNSON: Because Doug could shoot the lights out.

Spencer Haywood, our sixth man, got suspended in game one. We kicked him off the team.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

JOHNSON: We had to deal with that and still find a way to beat your Sixers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

JOHNSON: Then Kareem gets hurt in game five and we had to find a way to win again.

So, we understood that our sanctuary is that basketball court. The Clippers understand. Chris, get your guys ready to play game four. Look, when you hit that court, you don't worry what's going on at home, what people have said about Donald Sterling.

All you want to do is focus in on that game. As a matter of fact, it's going to be good for the Clipper players to hit the floor today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Finally, Magic, as we have said since this all began really yesterday, it's not going away; it's not going away any time soon, and new recordings are coming out as we speak.

JOHNSON: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Therefore, since your name was brought in by the man believed to be Donald Sterling in those recordings, what do you plan to do? How do you plan to handle this going forward?

JOHNSON: Well, it's really not me.

It's now Adam Silver and the owners of the league. I'm going to say what I have been saying all along. He has got to give up the team. If he doesn't like African-Americans, and you're in a league that's over 70 percent African-Americans...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Magic, you know him. Do you honestly believe he will give up the team, as you suggest?

JOHNSON: When you have got the president of the United States saying that this is bad, you got all the fans around the country, different races of people, saying it's bad, it's time for him to exit. And so I don't know if he will, because he's been -- Bill, and you know this -- he's been used to fighting every battle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's gotten away with it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was going to say, you know, I agree with you, but you also know that this is probably the most stubborn owner in any sport, and somebody who loves going into courtrooms and fighting battles.

He has fought -- he paid Mike Dunleavy. He paid Elgin Baylor. He fought to not pay those guys, even though he had a contract with them. Don't you think, knowing him the last 35 years and being in this city, that he will fight to the death to keep this team over giving it up?

JOHNSON: He probably will. And that's who he's been. And so -- but the fans will have a say-so. And the Clipper fans will have a big say-so if he does come back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, Magic Johnson on ESPN today. We thought it was so extraordinary, his comments earlier today, that we just had to give it another run. Yesterday, he was very candid in his tweets, even more so today live on television earlier.

All right, next in NEWSROOM: a CNN Hero who is helping kids overcome their grief.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mick Ebeling started Not Impossible Labs for one simple reason.

MICK EBELING, FOUNDER, NOT IMPOSSIBLE LABS: I can't stand the concept of no.

CUOMO: Where they identify a need, Not Impossible Labs will crowd source an affordable solution, gathering a team to create or adapt a technology. One of their first projects helped paralyzed graffiti artist Tempt One.

EBELING: He was struck with ALS. So he has been laying in the same bed for 10, 12 years. We created an ocular recognition device called the EyeWriter. It allowed him to draw with his eyes and he's doing incredible work. So that kind of really gave him his expression and his love and his art back.

CUOMO: More recently, Not Impossible found an affordable way to print 3-D limbs for a boy in the Sudan. Project Daniel has gone on to help many more.

EBELING: Yes!

Our device, you're looking at around $100. The really crucial part of what we did over there was to actually show Daniel, as well as the community, how to build them themselves.

CUOMO: In fact, Not Impossible wants to share their challenges and their solutions with anyone and everyone.

EBELING: Ultimately, everything we make will be online and open source. Our mantra is, "Help one, help many."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Today's CNN CNN Hero is spending her life helping communities in crisis. Growing up in a funeral home gave her a unique perspective.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chicken nuggets, French fries, mustard, and a milkshake. My daddy ordered the same thing as me. That is my daddy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son's father, he was murdered. They had a bond. It was just a bond that a lot of kids don't have with their father.

ANNETTE MARCH-GRIER, CNN HERO: A child's grief can be very different from adults. They can easily lose their identity and their security, and that shift can be very dangerous.

There you go. How are you feeling today? Our program provides that safe place for a child to recover after the death of someone close. Our volunteers help the children explore their feelings.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did you choose red?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was angry when my dad passed away.

MARCH-GRIER: And talk about healthy ways of coping.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get that anger out.

MARCH-GRIER: We teach our children that it's OK to cry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His father died, so he's feeling very sad.

MARCH-GRIER: Grief is truly a public health problem. We have got to begin to address it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Coping is how we deal with our feelings.

MARCH-GRIER: We're helping to heal wounds and bring families back together again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Wow. She's a remarkable woman, remarkable effort.

All right, also, we are tracking a possible severe weather right now. It crosses several states. And millions of people could be affected. We have got a live update next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We're following a developing weather story, potentially dangerous. Millions of people in several Central states are under a threat from a severe weather outbreak right now, and that includes the possibility of tornadoes.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

WHITFIELD: All right, that's going to do it for me.

We have had a lot going on today, and much more come up straight ahead in the NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Don Lemon is coming up next.

Don, I know you have got lots. You have got the storms in -- from the weather sort, and you have got the stormy situation involving the NBA. I know that's going to dominate your discussions tonight as well.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, everybody's talking about this, Fred. And it's...

WHITFIELD: It's extraordinary.

LEMON: It's extraordinary and it's unfathomable to many, that someone would actually say this.

We know that there are people who are feeling this, but then to say that to a woman who is -- allegedly say that to a woman who he is dating who happens to be a minority as well, it's just mind-blowing.

WHITFIELD: But that is what interesting. It's extraordinary. It's surprising. But then, in some circles, in some ways, it's not very surprising. And we have heard through our conversations today, in some ways, it may be a microcosm of what we're still dealing with as a nation in many different ways. You heard the president addressing it overseas.

LEMON: Right.

WHITFIELD: He underscored that racism, race problems, it has not gone away. It's still very much ingrained in, you know, the tapestry of America. And that's what's still very shameful and sad, isn't it?

LEMON: Absolutely. And you're absolutely right. And we're going to get through all of it, Fred.

Hey, thank you very much. Have a great evening.

WHITFIELD: All right. You, too.

LEMON: Hello, everyone, top of the hour, Don Lemon here. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.