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Sterling on Stiviano: "I was Stupid"; Rams Introduce Michael Sam Today; Christopher Columbus' Ship May Have Been Found

Aired May 13, 2014 - 10:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me.

Donald Sterling said he was sorry -- if he had just stopped there, well it wouldn't have been a good thing, it would have been a better thing. Instead Sterling kept digging that hole.

In an exclusive interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Sterling bashed Magic Johnson, minorities and then blamed everything on the media and oh yes on falling in love with a much younger woman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, AC360: Did you say to somebody that you should have paid V. Stiviano off?

DONALD STERLING, LA CLIPPERS OWNER: No.

COOPER: Did she ask you for money? Would you believe she was trying to extort money from you in any way?

STERLING: You know forgive me for saying this, but she -- she is a good person. She is a beautiful person. There's 15 of her, 15 children, 15 Hispanic kids, sisters and brothers and she supports them all. Perhaps she's made some mistakes. I thought she cared for me.

I was stupid. How could a girl care for a man 51 years older? She didn't or she wouldn't have released those tapes. But she's not a bad person. You know, she has to survive. She's a street person. But inside she's a good person.

COOPER: You still think she's a good person?

STERLING: But she's not relevant to this conversation. I don't know why she did what she did. I wish God would tell me. But whatever she did, good or bad, I'm the guilty one for uttering those terrible, ugly words that I don't mean. I made such a mistake. I thought that woman really cared for me.

But thank God this has all come to the light because it could have been worse and she could have -- I don't know what she wants. I don't know how it happened.

COOPER: She told Barbara Walters that there are other tapes, there's other recordings out there.

STERLING: They say there are a hundred.

COOPER: Do you believe there are other things you said which you might regret?

STERLING: I don't know what she baited me to say.

COOPER: Do you have a sense that she was wanting money from you, more money than you have already given her?

STERLING: I used to think I understood women. I don't think I do anymore. I don't know. I don't know why she released it. She never said what you just said.

COOPER: She never directly asked for money?

STERLING: Pardon me?

COOPER: She never directly asked for money or extorted money?

STERLING: No, you know if I really can be honest, this girl, a hundred men could look at her and perhaps they wouldn't even think she's pretty. But she was something special. And the point that I'm making is she was a woman who really never asked for anything. She had a way of walking by Neiman Marcus and looking in the window and saying, sweetie, do you think that dress is beautiful? And if you're a man, you would want to go buy the dress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All right. So let's talk about V. Stiviano. Was she as pure as the driven snow as Donald Sterling seems to think? Well her friends talked with CNN about Stiviano's possible motives. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fame seeking, money seeking.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Attention seeking above all else.

RIKKI WISE, FRIEND OF V. STIVIANO: She's always said I'm going to be famous. She would walk around with bodyguards. And I personally heard her say, you know, "When I'm done with Donald Sterling, I'll own the Clippers." It's nothing that she was hiding. I feel like maybe it was something she was planning for a while and she made her move when she saw the opportunity.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So let's talk about this part of the story with CNN's Stephanie Elam, and criminal defense attorney and Clippers season ticket holder, Brian Claypool. It -- I don't even know what to ask it's so bizarre. I mean do you think that he really did love her, Stephanie?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think that he probably truly had feelings for her the way he was acting and perhaps he was deluded in this whole situation but what's interesting is he still sounds like he's defending her still saying that she's a good person while at the same time bashing her. He said a hundred men may look at her and not think she's attractive and obviously she didn't love me.

But even after these tapes came to light that first batch when we first heard about this, he was still seen with her. So he seems to me he could have asked these questions of her and why he didn't is also befuddling. It's a very bizarre relationship because in the same minute he also defends his wife and talked about how great of a woman she is.

So there's a lot of emotion here. How to pick it apart from what is real and what isn't, it's a lot. Because right now he could be playing the role of oh I'm just the old man that got taken advantage of.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: Maybe so.

ELAM: But at times he seems a little too savvy for that.

COSTELLO: Right and Brian I was going to say, you know, he says the one honest thing I think he said is that he doesn't understand women because when you make a comment, 100 other men could look at her and not think she's pretty but because I do she is. I validate her and she should be grateful that I think she's pretty. And to me, that's what it really meant. Brian, because I know you understand women.

BRIAN CLAYPOOL, CLIPPERS SEASON TICKET HOLDER: Well Carol -- that's why I'm still single. That's how much I understand women. But I need a 12-step program to find the right woman. But here's the thing. Donald Sterling only loves one thing. He doesn't love V. Stiviano, he doesn't love Shelly Sterling. He loves one thing, power -- two things power and money. That's what he loves.

The good news for Donald Sterling is once -- one he is forced to sell the Clippers, he may have a shot at a leading role on "Days of our Lives" because that was the best acting I have ever seen. Let me remind your viewers I lived out here with this man --

COSTELLO: You think those are crocodile tears?

CLAYPOOL: Hey those were not tears. Those are not tears -- those were tears of fear not tears of remorse. He is realizing that he's going to lose his team. But here is the thing, Carol. Donald Sterling used this bait defense. Oh she forced me to say this.

Let me remind your viewers, this is a shrewd businessman. He is a billionaire with a "b" -- not an "m". He owns over 100 properties in West Los Angeles. Now, did V. Stiviano force him to buy all of those properties? Did V. Stiviano force him to buy the Clippers? Of course not. And for him to try to blame her, I think is just reprehensible.

And I have one offer to V. Stiviano by the way. If she has this much power Carol, I want to make an offer her. I've got two season tickets to the Clippers. I will offer V. Stiviano one of my seats if she can get back on the phone with Donald Sterling because she has that much power and convince him to sell the Clippers. She's got my ticket.

ELAM: She's used to going to the game in better seats, though Brian you've got to keep that in mind. She has a better seat than wherever yours is.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: And poses for pictures with much bigger stars. Stephanie just a last word about V. Stiviano because I find it strange that she has now adopted legally these two foster children, right and Donald Sterling in that interview says she's -- she's foster mom and Donald Sterling said she apparently supports her family. So I don't even know what to make of that.

(CROSSTALK)

ELAM: Is that cousins? Is that other siblings? Is that aunts and uncles? We don't know who that is. But what does seem to be ringing true for everyone that speaks about V. Stiviano is that seem to imply that she is about bettering her life from where she may have started. And doing the best for her any way she can get there.

And her friends in that same interview with our correspondent Kyung Lah who did that interview, they talk about how this is what she's been waiting for. This sort of reality TV moment where she can go out in front of her house and roller skate and do all these things when you know the media is going to be out there and put on this crazy visor and all of this about getting that attention and making this moment last as long as possible. I would have imagine based on her behavior V. Stiviano is eating this up.

COSTELLO: Stephanie Elam, Brian Claypool thanks as always.

Tonight Magic Johnson will sit down with Anderson Cooper for an exclusive interview. You can see it at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, few NFL rookies have a spotlight larger than Michael Sam and for the first time Sam will talk to the media as a professional football player. What should he say? We'll talk about that next.

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COSTELLO: His NFL career is already well-documented and he hasn't really started yet. Now for the first time since his famous kiss, Michael Sam will step forward as a member of the St. Louis Rams. This afternoon Sam and the rest of the Rams rookie class will meet the media and no doubt Sam will face questions about the kiss. The kiss he shared with his boyfriend on national television just moments after he became the first openly gay player selected in the NFL draft.

Esera Tuaolo is a former NFL player who came out after his nine-year career and Michelangelo Signorile is a Sirius XM host and editor-at- large for the Huffington Post gay voices. Good morning to both of you.

MICHAEL ANGELO SIGNORILE, SIRIUS XM RADIO HOST: Good morning Carol.

ESERA TUAOLO, FORMER NFL DEFENSIVE TACKLE: Aloha good morning. Good morning Carol.

COSTELLO: Good morning thank you so much for being with me. So I'll start with you Esera. What does Michael Sam need to say?

ESERA TUAOLO, FORMER NFL PLAYER: You know, I just think he needs to say -- I mean his whole life has been out there right now. I think what Michael Sam needs to say is that, you know, that he's happy that he's in the NFL and he can't wait to get to work I mean and prove himself. I think that's what everybody is kind of expecting him to say.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: Michelangelo -- Michelangelo, I was going to say should he mention the kiss? Should he talk about it? Should he talk about being gay?

SIGNORILE: I see no reason why he needs to talk about the kiss. Everybody saw the kiss just like they see all of the players who are heterosexual kiss their girlfriends and they don't talk about it. They talk about how happy they are. I think he needs to talk about football and wanting to play football.

TUAOLO: Right.

SIGNORILE: I think that's why he's doing this. Certainly there's a lot of media attention on this because it is monumental and it is important. He's breaking stereotypes about masculinity and homosexuality. I think America needed to see that kiss though because, you know, some people think they're pro-gay and then they are just kind of queasy though when they see it.

Sort of like maybe many years ago people thought, yes sure, blacks and whites who are heterosexual should marry but they didn't like seeing them kiss. I think the more people see gay men kissing and lesbians kissing, the more accepting they are.

COSTELLO: Yes, but I want to put on rose colored glasses -- Esera because I want to ask you this question. Because at some point Michael Sam will have to go into that's locker room and relate to players who might not be all that open to a gay player. And let's face it. There are some players who feel that way. And what do you think that he needs to say to his fellow players and did seeing the kiss make that more difficult?

TUAOLO: You know, I don't think he has anything to say to any of the players or prove anything to anyone other than to himself. I mean, you know, the kiss was so funny that the kiss is something that blew up and it was very much appropriate. In America today or anywhere when you celebrate something, right, you show your emotions and you celebrate with the person that you love.

When I saw the kiss, it was an appropriate thing to do. For me, it's surprising that everybody thought, you know -- everybody had such negative comments about it when it was something everyone should have expected.

COSTELLO: I know but I don't know. I hope that you both are right. I do. I just think it's going to be a little more difficult for Michael Sam than you're leading us to believe. Because I mean think -- Michelangelo, think about just the pressure because he still has make the team.

St. Louis has a good defense and it won't be easy. There's all this pressure on him.

(CROSSTALK)

SIGNORILE: Well, I mean they knew he was gay. They knew he was gay coming into this. And now they see that he has a boyfriend. They see that he's in love. They see that he's actually very happy. What else could people want?

I would hope that other members of the team will say, hey, this guy is somebody who is as happy as we are in our relationships, more power to him. I mean if the kiss is going to be the deal breaker, we really have a lot of problems. I think in fact we need to see more gay people kissing on TV.

COSTELLO: OK. There is one good sign Esera and I just want to get this out because Michael Sam's jersey, the number two selling jersey besides Johnny Manziel. That's a good sign, right?

TUAOLO: That's definitely a good sign.

You know, the thing about this, gosh, you know, we're talking about -- everybody is talking about his football ability and everything else but for me, I'm just happy that he's going to be able to go into the NFL and just be himself and not have to deal with any of the pressure that basically I or players before me had to deal with and that's the depression and all these things that we had -- this crippling secret that we had to face.

He's going to be able to play his best to his potential but also he's just -- you know, we're talking about his relationship, which has nothing to do to tell you the truth with his football ability. Google the guy, he's an amazing player. And he's going to do a fantastic job in the NFL.

COSTELLO: I know one thing, we'll be watching. Esera Tuaolo, Michelangelo Signorile, thanks so much. I appreciate you being here.

SIGNORILE: Thank you, Carol.

TUAOLO: Right. Aloha.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the newsroom, a 500-year-old mystery solved. An explorer says he has discovered the long lost remains of the Santa Maria. You know, Christopher Columbus' Santa Maria? That's right, the ship Columbus used back in 1492 on his first voyage to the new world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking top stories at 53 minutes past the hour.

In North Carolina, Clay Aiken's political rival has died after falling in his home. Keith Crisco, a 71-year-old businessman was locked in a close primary race with the former "American Idol" star for a Democratic congressional seat. Just 300 votes had separated the candidate. Aiken will now face a Republican incumbent, Renee Ellmers.

And unbelievable feat (ph) in New Hampshire. A house explodes in a fireball on live television. It started with a domestic dispute between father and son. Police arrived and then something went horribly wrong. An officer was shot and killed at the home and in this video you can see what came next -- that massive fire and then a massive explosion. The shooter, the 42-year-old son died in the fire. Investigators don't know how exactly the blaze started or what caused the explosion.

Hip-hop power couple Jay-Z and Beyonce caught in the middle of a surveillance video scandal. The video obtained by TMZ shows the couple entering an elevator with Beyonce's sister Solange. For some unknown reason, Solange starts kicking and punching Jay-Z all while Beyonce appears to simply watch with no reaction toward Jay-Z or her sister. The hotel, where this all happened, is investigating who leaked that footage.

An underwater research team may have just found one of the most famous ships in history -- Christopher Columbus' Santa Maria. Wreckage of the ship used on the explorer's first trip to the Americas was found stuck in a reef off Haiti's northern coast. CNN's Miguel Marquez joins us now with more on this -- fascinating.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is an amazing sort of Indiana Jones-esque story. And I can't help but point out that we're doing this from Columbus Circle here in New York with who right over my right shoulder? Christopher Columbus himself.

COSTELLO: Christopher Columbus.

MARQUEZ: This is a guy named Barry Clifford who has found lots of shipwrecks over the years. He discovered this thing back in 2000 -- didn't think much of it, wasn't quite sure. And over the years as he put little pieces together, he realized just a couple of years ago that this might just be the Santa Maria. And here's how he described his a-ha moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARRY CLIFFORD, UNDERWATER EXPLORER: -- water. We're looking under in 20 feet of clear water for a big pile of stones that's about 40 feet long and 20 feet wide, which would be the fingerprint of the Santa Maria.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: So literally it's a fingerprint. He's talking about the ballast pile of this ship, this 100-ton ship about 80 feet long or so. Pretty small even for the day, a yacht these days would be probably bigger than the Santa Maria was. But this was the flagship for Columbus. So he found these stones that appeared to be the same ballast stones that were cut from the same area in northern Spain where the Santa Maria was made.

Big thing though he found though was literally a smoking gun. It's a Lombard, an old gun with two open ends that they found near the ship wreck as well. That was the point where he said two years ago, "Ah my God, this may be the Santa Maria" and all of this kicked off. He has a long to go to prove rove it though. He thinks it could take as long as -- if everything went perfectly and he found a few million bucks in order to get into this wreck, he would be able to verify it and get under that ballast pile and see what's there -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I hope he does. Miguel Marquez reporting live.

Thanks so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello. "NEWSROOM WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA" after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN HOST: It is the interview that has thrown lighter fluid on the Donald Sterling controversy. His mea culpa morphed into an attack on Magic Johnson.