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| Donald & Shelly Sterling |
If NBA owners ultimately vote to oust Donald Sterling and the embattled Clippers boss decides to fight back, the resulting litigation could drag on for years and set a precedent for American professional sports, legal experts said Wednesday.
While Sterling appears to face long odds in challenging his lifetime ban and $2.5-million fine, legal experts and lawyers who have faced the NBA in court see a more viable case when it comes to opposing a forced sale.
Sterling could seek an immediate injunction, then file suit raising breach of contract or antitrust claims.
If that happens, the courts will find little or no precedent for a team owner facing expulsion because of offensive comments about race.
"We're in a part of sports law where there isn't a playbook," said Michael McCann, a sports law professor at the University of New Hampshire School of Law. "We're in uncharted territory."
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced the fine and ban Tuesday and said he would encourage the other 29 owners to force the Clippers owner to sell. A three-quarters vote is needed to oust an owner.
The team is owned by the Sterling Trust, which includes Sterling, his estranged wife, Rochelle, and two living children. A Clippers spokesman did not provide percentages of voting rights or other details.
Banned from attending games or having any involvement as owner, Sterling could be motivated to hang on to the team if only for tax reasons. If he were to sell at an estimated $1billion, capital gains and state taxes could exceed $360 million, said Gary Slavett, a Beverly Hills tax attorney.
A large share of those taxes could be avoided if the owner bequeaths the franchise to his family upon death.
Sterling did not respond to a request for comment left at his Beverly Hills office. Two attorneys who have represented him in the past also did not respond to requests for comment.
Read the full story: www.latimes.com
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