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Sat Nov 30, 2019 2:02 am
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A cadre of attorneys and a flurry of lawsuits could certainly slow down the NBAs plan to force Donald Sterling to sell the Los Angeles Clippers over his recent racist comments, but legal experts say the league would likely prevail in the end. Jordan 1 Outlet . And that goes for Sterlings wife, Shelly, who has said shed like to keep her stake in the team even if her husband is ousted. The NBAs constitution, which Donald Sterling signed as controlling owner of the Clippers, gives its board of governors broad latitude in league decisions including who owns the teams. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is pushing for a swift vote against Sterling, which requires a minimum of three-fourths of the other 29 controlling owners to agree. Silver also has imposed a lifetime ban on Sterling and a $2.5 million fine. The ban does not apply to Shelly Sterling. SI.com and ESPN.com, citing unidentified sources, reported Thursday that Sterlings lawyer, antitrust litigator Maxwell Blecher, wrote a letter to Rick Buchanan, the NBAs executive vice-president and general counsel, threatening to sue the league and saying Sterling will not pay the $2.5 million fine. "Sterlings own signature will come back to haunt him," said Michael McCann, founding director of the Sports and Entertainment Law Institute at the University of New Hampshire. "You agree to certain basic understandings. Thats what makes a sports league different from other businesses." The key to the NBAs authority, attorneys say, is Article 13(d) of the leagues constitution. That section says that, whether Sterling intended to or not, an owner cannot "fail or refuse to fulfil" contractual obligations to the NBA "in such a way to affect the Association or its members adversely." Theres plenty of evidence Sterlings comments, revealed in a recorded conversation with a female companion, affected the league adversely. They provoked threats of a player boycott, led sponsors to withdraw support and created a racially charged image problem in the midst of the NBA playoffs that even President Barack Obama remarked upon. If Article 13(d) was violated, the legal experts say the board of governors has solid grounds to force Sterling to sell the team along with any other owners, in this case his wife. As long as the NBA meticulously follows its own constitution and rules regarding the Clippers sale, it will be difficult for Sterling to find a legal theory that would stand up in court, said Daniel Lazaroff, director of the Sports Law Institute at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. "This is not an antitrust issue. This is not a First Amendment issue," Lazaroff said. "Its a question limited to the interpretation of the NBA constitution and bylaws, and whether those terms are met." Another question involves California family law. Its a community property state, meaning spouses jointly own property they acquired while married. The Sterlings were already married when he bought the Clippers in 1981. Although a potential divorce could complicate the Clippers sale, McCann said the couples joint ownership actually works to the NBAs favour because — legally speaking — they are a single entity. So if the NBA forced Donald Sterling to sell, even under a divorce scenario, Shelly Sterling would have to sell, too. They have been married since 1955. "The NBA is well positioned to ultimately prevail," McCann said. For his part, Donald Sterling has repeatedly said he does not want to sell the Clippers. In his recent interview with CNNs Anderson Cooper, he cast doubt on going to court if the NBA governors ultimately do vote to force him out. "People want me to hire a wall of lawyers and them to have to hire a wall of lawyers and go to war," Sterling said on CNN. "I dont think thats the answer." Sterlings longtime attorney, Robert Platt, declined to comment when contacted Wednesday. Shelly Sterlings attorney, Pierce ODonnell, did not respond to email requests for comment from The Associated Press. But he has previously said she wants to remain a passive owner of the Clippers even if her husband is no longer involved. For now, the NBA has installed former Time Warner and Citigroup chairman Dick Parsons to oversee the teams business operations. Parsons said this week that a prolonged legal battle "is in no ones interest." "I would hope we could avoid that," he said. If he is forced out, Sterling still stands to reap a huge financial windfall in a Clippers sale. He bought the team for $12.5 million in 1981, and Forbes magazine recently placed its 2014 value at $575 million, or No. 13 in the NBA. Of course, there would also be a sizable capital gains tax bill for that. _____ Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Miamicurt Retro Air Jordan 1 Banned Black Mens .com) - The Columbus Blue Jackets rewarded starting goaltender and pending restricted free agent Sergei Bobrovsky with a four-year contract extension on Friday. Wholesale Jordan 1 China . - The Detroit Lions have placed tight end Brandon Pettigrew on injured reserve, ending his season. http://www.bestfakejordan1.com/cheap-jordan-1-high-outlet.html .C. -- Kurt Busch put his chances at "70 per cent" at running the Indianapolis 500 this year because of recent developments that have pushed a potential program along.BRASILIA, Brazil -- When it was all over, it was the Netherlands receiving a standing ovation from the Brazilian crowd. Brazil walked off the field to boos, after another demoralizing loss to end its home World Cup. The Netherlands remarkable campaign ended on a high note after Robin van Persie and Daley Blind scored early goals to help give the team a 3-0 win over Brazil in the third-place game on Saturday. "We can look back at a very successful tournament," Dutch coach Louis Van Gaal said. "Im proud of my players." The Netherlands finishes a World Cup unbeaten in regular play for the first time, having lost to Argentina on penalties in the semifinals. After finishing runner-up in 2010, the third place is the best position for the Dutch squad since it lost the final in 1974 and 1978. The Brazilian fans loudly greeted the Dutch players after they received the third-place medals, applauding on their feet. "I would like to thank all people in Brazil for their great support," Arjen Robben said. "For us it was the best way to end this tournament. We fully deserved third place the way we played. Its a very big achievement." The loss added to Brazils frustration at the home tournament following the disastrous 7-1 defeat to Germany. After the final whistle, the team was loudly booed by the nearly 70,000 fans that attended the match at the National Stadium in Brasilia. Many had already left even before the late third goal by the Dutch. Its the first time since 1940 that Brazil lost two consecutive competitive games on home soil. "Its a terrible feeling, I dont know what to say," Oscar said. "After a huge loss to Germany, today we tried our best from the beginning to win third place but it wasnt our day. We have to see what went wrong so we can improve for the future." Brazil conceding 14 goals in the tournament, the most ever for the team. The previous worst had been 11 goals in the 1938 World Cup. Now it conceded 10 in its last two games. "It was supposed to be an even match but after the early goal things started going their way," Scolari said. "I dont think we played that bad. The players fought hard from the start. They created chances, so its difficult to lose 3-0. But they deserve all the credit in the end, they reached the semifinals." Van Persie converted a penalty kick three minutes into the match after Robben was brought down by Brazil captain Thiago Silva on the edge of the area. Blind added to the lead in the 17th with a shot fromm near the penalty spot after defender David Luiz made a mistake while trying to clear a cross in front of the goal. Jordan 1 White Outlet. Georginio Wijnaldum rounded off the win in injury time with a shot inside the near post. "The most beautiful was our resilience. We were knocked out but we came back and finished third," Wijnaldum said. "We wanted to close it out well." Brazil looked lost from the start, making many of the same defensive mistakes that marked the historic defeat to the Germans four days ago. The Netherlands took advantage with quick passes and speed in the attack. Silva had to foul Robben after being beaten on the run, leading to van Persies firm left-foot shot into the right upper corner to put the Dutch ahead. The Dutch wanted a red card for Silva for a professional foul, but Algerian referee Djamel Haimoudi only gave him a yellow. Silva had missed the semifinal against Germany because of a yellow card suspension. Blind added to the lead after Luiz failed to clear a cross, heading the ball right back to the Dutch defender for an easy goal. Wijnaldum closed the scoring in injury time with a goal from inside the area after a cross by Daryl Janmaat. "Its frustrating," Silva said. "We didnt deserve to have it end like this. But unfortunately its football. I have to apologize to our people. The fans supported us even during the 7-1 loss and again today. They booed in the end, but it was normal. They have feelings too." It was the fourth time Brazil played in a third-place match. It beat Sweden in 1938 and Italy in 1978, and the only other loss had come against Poland in 1974. The Netherlands had played in the third-place match one other time. It fell to Croatia 2-1 in 1998 after being beaten by Brazil in the semifinals. Van Gaal, in his final match with the Netherlands before joining Manchester United, had to play without midfielder Wesley Sneijder, who was injured while warming up for the game. Scolari made six changes from the team that started in the loss against Germany, the national teams worst defeat in its 100-year history. ------ Lineups: Brazil: Julio Cesar; Maicon, David Luiz, Thiago Silva, Maxwell; Luiz Gustavo (Fernandinho, 46), Paulinho (Hernanes, 57), Ramires (Hulk, 73), Willian, Oscar; Jo. Netherlands: Jasper Cillessen (Michel Vorm, 90); Dirk Kuyt, Ron Vlaar, Stefan de Vrij, Bruno Martins Indi, Jordy Clasie (Joel Veltman, 90), Daley Blind (Daryl Janmaat, 70); Georginio Wijnaldum, Jonathan de Guzman; Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie. ' ' ' |
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