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Sterling's Wife is Handling Clippers Sale; Senate Race Turns Ugly

Aired May 23, 2014 - 14:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good afternoon, everyone. Top of the hour. Don Lemon in for Brooke today. Thank you so much for joining me.

A private conversation with Donald Sterling's girlfriend got him into this mess. Now it looks like the NBA owner is going to have to go to his wife to clean all of this up. A source familiar with the situation is telling CNN that Shelly Sterling is in talks with the NBA to sell the Los Angeles Clippers. Now, Shelly Sterling is estranged from her husband, that's what she says. He has been under pressure to sell his team after recordings came to light nearly a month ago in which Donald Sterling told his girlfriend not to bring black people to his games.

So I want to turn straight now to CNN's Stephanie Elam. Stephanie in out in Los Angeles.

What does this leave room for? Does it leave room for a quick resolution here?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Obviously that's what a lot of people involved with this would like to see, Don, the players, the NBA association would like to see this as well, as well as, I'm sure, Clippers fans. What this does mean, though, is that if she is now the full owner of the Clippers, does this mean she can dig in her heals and fight this, or does this mean that she can just now negotiate for the best price. And that's what is on the table now, people trying to figure out what her stance is going to be on this. After all, she has been married to Donald for 50 some years. She said in her interviews that she was part of building up this franchise and she very much enjoys going.

It's changed in recent weeks since this scandal broke. She was previously sitting courtside, now she's been sitting up in the box during these last few games while they were still playoff contenders. So she has said she wanted to stay, but now this may make room that perhaps she will sell it but just wants to make sure that she gets the best value for it.

LEMON: All right. Well, let's go back to actually what she has said on record, because we saw in that interview I believe that Shelly Sterling said she wanted to keep the team, Stephanie.

ELAM: Yes, she has said that she wanted to keep the team. She says that she cares about the players very much. You remember when it first broke and after the first scandal she said that she had called -- or actually Doc Rivers said that he had gotten a call from Shelly Sterling asking if she could come to the game and just being respectful. That was early on. And then as more things came to light, it seemed like there wasn't as much communication between maybe the players and Shelly Sterling. But she has said that she wanted to keep her place here.

What does still need to be figured out is, since this team is owned by the family trust, how will that all be broken down.

LEMON: Right.

ELAM: And, if they get divorced, in California, 50 percent of what's his is hers and 50 percent of what's hers is his. So it's still probably not a very clear delineation at this point.

LEMON: All right, Stephanie Elam, stand by. We'll be getting back to you throughout the afternoon here on CNN.

You know, this move by Donald Sterling to defer to his wife may not be a surprise to those who heard Sterling speak exclusively on camera to Anderson Cooper. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD STERLING, CLIPPERS OWNER: She's worked with me for 58 years, my wife. One wife, 58 years. And she loved the team. And always helped me with everything. If for some reason I can't have the team, I think that she should have her interest. I mean she didn't do anything. I brought all this on her, the poor girl. I don't know how she can live and deal with this. Thank God she has wonderful attorneys, wonderful, and they will protect her.

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, CNN'S "AC 360": But you (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: There is certainly a lot to discuss right here. So I want to bring in now CNN commentator and attorney Mel Robbins, sports agent and attorney Drew Rosenhaus, and also CNN's legal analyst, Sunny Hostin.

So, first, before I get to all of you, I want to talk about this because this is just in from the NBA, their response. They have responded to Donald Sterling surrendering control of ownership to the L.A. Clippers. The NBA spokesman, Mike Bass, stated this just moments ago. "We continue to follow the process set forth in the NBA constitution regarding termination of the current ownership interest in the Los Angeles Clippers and are proceeding toward a hearing on this matter on June 3." Does this even matter that he's giving control to Shelly Sterling?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Look, I think it does matter and certainly we're sort of in this weird place. This has never happened before. I've spoken to so many sports attorneys and they're telling me, we're in a weird place because there's no precedent for this.

But, of course it matters that Donald Sterling is now really not the owner because he's -- I think it's being reported that he has transferred his ownership interest to Shelly Sterling, who, by the way, Don, as you know I've always said, was sort of the wildcard here. That has to matter because --

LEMON: I know, but the NBA is saying it doesn't matter. We are continuing.

MEL ROBBINS, CNN COMMENTATOR: No, it doesn't.

HOSTIN: It has to matter because Adam Silver made it very, very clear -

DREW ROSENHAUS, SPORTS AGENT & ATTORNEY: It's a good development. It is a good development.

LEMON: Drew, go ahead.

ROSENHAUS: At least Sterling - at least Sterling is saying now that the team's going to be sold. That's the important thing, OK? Everyone in the NBA wants Donald Sterling out of the NBA. He was going to fight it.

HOSTIN: And he's out of it.

ROSENHAUS: He wasn't going to sell the team. And now he's out. So that's great. But they're still going to want the wife to sell it because they don't want it to be a phony ownership where he's still involved through the wife. So this is huge. Donald Sterling is out of the NBA and that's a big deal.

ROBBINS: You know, but hold on. The NBA has already spoken on this. They've already spoken. Donald Sterling is the controlling owner.

LEMON: Right.

ROBBINS: She may have a beneficiary interest as a co-owner through her trust.

LEMON: Right.

HOSTIN: But he's no longer the controlling owner.

ROBBINS: And he can outside -- as the out - but he's not allowed, Sunny -

ROSENHAUS: I think as long as he -

ROBBINS: Under the contract to transfer his ownership without approval of the NBA.

LEMON: Wait. One at a time. Let Mel finish.

ROSENHAUS: Yes.

ROBBINS: He's not allowed to transfer his controlling ownership without approval of the NBA, end of story. ROSENHAUS: As long as he sells the team, that's what the players care about.

LEMON: Hold on. Both of you are talking at the same time. Hold on, Drew. Mel finish and then Drew can jump in.

ROSENHAUS: I was just going to say, you know, with all - with all the legal mumbo jumbo, sure, the key here is that Sterling has conceded that the team will be sold. That his wife is going to sell the team as soon as possible. That's great news. I think that's the news that everyone was hoping for. It's the best case scenario not to have to deal with this guy fighting it legally or arguing that the wife should get to keep the team as a suddo (ph) owner. I think this is a great scenario. And now players can move on with new ownership hopefully as soon as possible.

LEMON: Yes. OK. OK. OK. Hang on.

So then, why transfer ownership at the - I mean when the league is looking at -

ROBBINS: I'll tell you why.

LEMON: Him as a controlling owner, and I -- listen, the NBA still has to accept that (ph). They have not accepted it. So I -- when I heard this news, I doubted that the NBA was going to accept it all along because, look, what about this scenario. She says, OK, I have - I'm now the controlling owner of the - of the Clippers. And all of a sudden she says, I don't want to sell it. He doesn't own it any more. The NBA has said, this is (INAUDIBLE) Donald Sterling -

ROSENHAUS: That's a problem.

LEMON: Yes. Go ahead.

ROSENHAUS: They're still going to push her to sell the team.

ROBBINS: I - you know, I guess -

ROSENHAUS: There's no question. It's got to be out of the Sterling family. She has to sell the team. The NBA owners will be just as aggressive to force her. This doesn't count, in my estimation, as him selling the team to satisfy the other NBA owners, the players. This is only an opportunity for him to divest himself. But she's also going to have to sell this team to my estimation.

HOSTIN: But, look - look, Don.

LEMON: Go ahead, Sunny.

HOSTIN: Don, and I said from the very -

ROBBINS: He's already - Adam Silver already talked about this, Don.

HOSTIN: Wait a minute, Mel. Wait a minute, Mel. I - you know, we've said this from the very beginning. I think one of the mistakes that Adam Silver made was, in the initial press conference, he said this suspension, these fines, it only has to do with Donald Sterling. This is a masterful game of chess and this was a masterful move by the Sterlings. Donald Sterling is now allegedly not involved and now if you're the NBA, yes, you can say, I'm going to continue, you know, my process, but the bottom line is, the person who was supposed to be penalized is not part of it anymore.

ROSENHAUS: They can still force it, though. They can still force it. The owners have the ability to still force it under the same principles. All they have to do is take the vote and they can force her to sell it.

LEMON: Yes.

HOSTIN: We'll see.

ROSENHAUS: So, I view this as a positive development.

ROBBINS: You know, Don -

LEMON: Mel, go.

ROSENHAUS: It's a step in the right direction. It is the solution, no, but it is the step right.

ROBBINS: Don, Adam - Adam Silver - Adam Silver actually addressed this in his press conference on Tuesday and I have the transcript here. He said I understand the position of Mrs. Sterling's lawyer is, in essence, that she still owns the team. Our position is once under the constitution, based on his conduct, if the owners ultimately decide that it's appropriate to terminate his franchise, the interest of all owners are terminated. And him doing something outside of the NBA has no bearing on whether or not she's now the controlling owner because in the language of -

HOSTIN: Of course it has - of course it has bearing.

ROBBINS: No it doesn't. Sunny, you've read the contract and the bylaws require two-thirds ownership.

HOSTIN: And you'll - and we'll - and we'll see it in court. And we'll see it in - but we'll see it in court.

ROBBINS: And here's the other thing, Don -

ROSENHAUS: It's simple.

ROBBINS: I think they already knew that this was happening --

ROSENHAUS: She's going to have to sell the team.

ROBBINS: Because he also said on Tuesday that they still own the team and that it's their team to sell and that he would love to see them sell it instead of going through this process.

LEMON: OK, Drew, last word. Go ahead. ROSENHAUS: Don, I'll make it easy for you. I'll make it easy for you. She owns the team. Fine. That doesn't solve the problem. It's a step in the right direction. She's going to have to sell. Adam Silver and the owners will force her to sell this team and she will. I think we're moving in the right direction.

HOSTIN: We'll see. We'll see about that.

ROSENHAUS: He's out for now. She will have to sell.

LEMON: OK. I wish you guys were a little bit more passionate about this. You seem really calm and understated today. But I'm going to have you stick around because we're going to talk more. We're going to chat about who might buy the Clippers and at what price. From Oprah to Magic Johnson, everybody is weighing in. Oh, my gosh, who's going to buy it.

Plus, a woman escapes her alleged kidnapper 10 years after vanishing and another woman who also survived her own nightmare has a message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE KNIGHT, CLEVELAND KIDNAP SURVIVOR: You have absolutely no clue what she went through to say things and say that she was lying or she's doing this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We are back.

Believe it or not, there is another development in the Donald Sterling case. A source is telling CNN that Donald Sterling's wife, Shelly Sterling, wants to sell the Los Angeles Clippers and is in negotiations with the NBA. So that brings us really to the original question, when her husband was bounced from the NBA, who would buy this team? Who's going to do it?

Well, some of the potential cast of characters right here, the powerhouse trip of Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, entertainment moguls David Geffen and Oprah Winfrey. That's interesting, right? An investor and two boxers, Chris Hansen, Floyd Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya. And then, of course, there's the money machine behind the NBA great, Earvin Magic Johnson. There are others, too, including a report by Entertainment Weekly that comedian Arsenio Hall is trying to jump into the mix.

But realistically, I want to know who is a player here, OK. So let's bring back Mel Robbins, Drew Rosenhaus and also Sunny Hostin.

So how does it - what's the process here, Drew? What's the first step?

ROSENHAUS: Well, it's like anything else. It's going to boil down to money. And, you know, it's great if you're famous or you're an entertainer, you're in the industry, but it's going to come down to money. And the NBA and Sterling and company, they're going to want an ownership with the best deal. They're going to want the best money. Is there conflict right now with Magic Johnson? Maybe. But if he offers the best deal, he's going to get the team.

LEMON: So -

ROSENHAUS: So I'm going to say, on the record right now, the new owner is the one who makes the best offer.

LEMON: OK. Oh, wow, you're really going out on a limb there, Drew.

So it's get in line. So what's the first process? Do you have to put in a bid?

ROSENHAUS: Yes. I mean, you know, the way it works basically is that the people that want to buy the team will reach out to the NBA and the Sterlings. There will be negotiations. There are independent negotiations between the sides and it moves rather quickly.

LEMON: All right.

ROSENHAUS: And, you know, look, there's going to be very serious players when you talk about buying the Los Angeles Clippers. You can't just say you're interested.

LEMON: So how much? How much then?

ROSENHAUS: You've got to come to the table.

LEMON: How much is it going to go for, do you think?

HOSTIN: Well, everyone's saying about a billion dollars, right?

ROSENHAUS: I mean - yes, I agree.

HOSTIN: But I've got to tell you, there are going to be some serious tax consequences for Shelly Sterling because if she does indeed choose to sell the team, we're talking about if it goes for, you know, a billion, over $300 million in tax consequences.

LEMON: Oh.

HOSTIN: So I think that's going to be an issue. And I also think that there is the possibility that she sells part of the ownership but, again, perhaps retains a passive ownership, thus sort of alleviating this huge tax situation. So more is to come on this.

LEMON: Do you think a billion - do you think a billion dollars, Mel?

ROBBINS: Well, you know, Mark Cuban said he thought it was going to sell for far north of a billion dollars. And I mean I you just use common sense here, you've got multiple people bidding. I think one of the reasons why the Sterlings are doing this is because they know they're going to get a far better price if they sell it quickly and if people have to deal with Shelly and not with Donald.

ROSENHAUS: Exactly.

ROBBINS: And so I kind of tend to agree with Mark Cubin, that I think we're going to see something far north of a billion dollars. And the way that this will go down is when they have the deal, it then has to get approved by the NBA. So Shelly can try to hold on to a small interest, but she -- that deal might not get approved. Ultimately, they can agree whatever they want, but the NBA has to approve whatever transaction and they have to anoint the new owner. And then the new owner signs a franchise agreement and signs the ownership agreement and signs that constitution, Don. So it's not a done deal just for -

LEMON: Yes.

HOSTIN: And it could certainly be - it certainly could be several different owners.

ROSENHAUS: And, by the way, it's a very - it's a very attractive franchise. It is a very attractive franchise. It's in the second largest market. They happen to be a great team. They've got a lot of great stars. They've got a great coach. And it's going to be a sexy transaction.

HOSTIN: And they have the number one NBA draft pick.

LEMON: Yes. So - yes.

ROSENHAUS: You know, look, I mean at the -- it's going to be a record breaking deal in my estimation.

HOSTIN: Can I say that my vote is for Oprah, because for me she is the oracle and I would love to see Oprah Winfrey own this.

ROSENHAUS: That would be great.

LEMON: Oh, my God. It's going to be interesting to see Oprah, you know, possibly up against Magic. And, I mean, that would actually be really cool.

HOSTIN: I'm team Oprah.

LEMON: You're team - listen, I just want the team to go out and do better and put this - get this behind them where they can actually focus on basketball -

HOSTIN: Yes.

LEMON: Rather than dealing with an owner who made some racist - some racist statements.

ROSENHAUS: True (ph).

LEMON: OK, so let's - what do you think? Everyone thinks north of a billion. Raise your hand if you think north of a billion dollars.

HOSTIN: I'm not sure.

LEMON: Sunny's always a holdout.

ROSENHAUS: I think so.

HOSTIN: I'm such a contrarian, aren't I?

LEMON: You just - you just love to - I was just going to say, you love to be contrarian.

ROSENHAUS: Los Angeles. Los Angeles is such a hot market. Again, a great team. The popularity of the franchise has really gone skyward and I think also a name owner is going to help.

LEMON: Right. OK.

ROSENHAUS: And I think when you - when you add an owner perhaps like Oprah, that helps the franchise value, too.

LEMON: I've got to run.

ROBBINS: Well, you know what, Drew, you're really smart to point that out.

LEMON: I've got to run.

ROBBINS: Oh, sorry. Bye, Don. Bye, everybody.

LEMON: I've got to run. Have a great Memorial weekend.

HOSTIN: You too.

LEMON: All right, I'm already ready for the yacht. See you guys.

HOSTIN: Looking good.

ROSENHAUS: Take care.

LEMON: Mel Robbins, Drew Rosenhaus and also Sunny Hostin, thanks.

Coming up here on CNN, another NBA owner calling himself prejudice and says everyone is bigoted. Mark Cuban not only standing by his comments but we're going to show you the video that you haven't seen.

Plus this, next (ph), a contentious race for the U.S. Senate gets downright nasty after an illicit photo of the incumbent's wife is posted online. Dirty politics.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, POLITICAL AD (voice-over): Spend 41 years in Washington and even good men can lose touch with their conservative roots. Sadly, Thad Cochran voted for billions in wasteful spending.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, POLITICAL AD (voice-over): The results? Ninety- three percent drop in meth labs. Drug endangered children, protected. But State Senator Chris McDaniel voted against the anti-meth legislation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, that is the most respectful ads in Mississippi in the state senate primary battle between sitting Senator Thad Cochran and Tea Party Candidate Chris McDaniel. Campaign tactics really got ugly when pro-McDaniel blogger Clayton Kelly was arrested for allegedly breaking into a nursing home and taking pictures of Cochran's wife, Rose, who is battling dementia. Can you imagine that? Those pictures were briefly posted on Kelly's website attacking Senator Cochran. Three more people were arrested yesterday in connection with those pictures. Our Athena Jones is following this story for us.

So, Athena, do any of those people who are charged have links to the McDaniel campaign?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don.

Well, I just want to say, this is a weird story and it seems to be getting weirder with these three additional arrests. We know, as you mentioned, that blogger Clayton Kelly is a McDaniel supporter. He was the first person arrested for taking these pictures over the weekend. But now three more arrests. We know that one of those folks is a lawyer, a local Tea Party leader. We know that the McDaniel campaign has gotten a lot of Tea Party support and so at least one of the men arrested was involved with the Tea Party there in Mississippi. We don't know too much about the other two men. I've reached out to authorities down there and we're waiting to hear back to get more information on this case.

But I should tell you that even though that blogger is a supporter of McDaniel's campaign, the campaign says he's not a volunteer, he's not a staffer. We're not involved. They also put out a statement last night after these three most recent arrests and here's what they said. They said, "as we have said since day one, the violation of privacy of Mrs. Cochran is out of bounds for politics and is reprehensible. Any individuals who were involved in this crime should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." And so that's the statement from Senate Senator Chris McDaniel, the Tea Party supported candidate who's running against this incumbent Senator Thad Cochran.

Now, Thad Cochran's campaign also put out a statement not too long ago. They says the McDaniel campaign has changed its story virtually every day, sometimes multiple times per day. These latest arrests raise more questions that that campaign now has to answer. So it's definitely gotten ugly, Don.

LEMON: All right. So they're saying no one has official ties to the campaign, even though they're just supporters. No official ties.

All right, listen, this raises a battle between the more conservative Tea Party side of the GOP and the old guard, which is considered more moderate. How close has this race been and has this scandal had any impact on this race?

JONES: Well, it's certainly been a close race. We don't have - we haven't seen any polls in the last few days since this scandal broke, so it's hard to tell how it's playing out in terms of actual poll numbers. But we know this was one of the races that the Tea Party was really hoping to make an impact on. They wanted to show that they could get rid of not only an incumbent senator, a senator that they say has grown out of touch with his conservative roots, as you saw in that ad. If they could get rid of an incumbent senator, someone who's served six terms, they would really, really make an impression. And so that's why this race has gotten so much attention. We're going to be watching very, very closely. The primary day is less than two weeks away. It's June 3rd. And so we'll see just how close this ends up being. But it's definitely looking like it's not going to be pretty towards these final days.

Don.

LEMON: Athena Jones, thank you. Appreciate that.

JONES: Thanks.

LEMON: Coming up, Cleveland kidnapping victim Michelle Knight's emotional response to a California woman who says she was kidnapped 10 years ago. You have to hear this one.

And next, in my opinion, my humble opinion, the backlash against Mark Cuban over his comments about race, ridiculous. But my next guest, she disagrees with me. Is everyone prejudice? A bigot? We're going to discuss that right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)