After Donald Sterling's wife, Shelly Sterling, announced that she would keep her share as an owner of the Clippers, Magic Johnson has stated that the team will more than likely refuse to play.
According to USA Today, Magic Johnson says that the team doesn't want to play for anyone named Sterling. Although Shelly wasn't heard in the audio that backfired on her husband, she is known for allegedly being prejudiced against people of color.
"Those guys are not going to play for anybody (named) Sterling," Johnson said."It's just how it is. It's hard to separate the two. ... It's going to be hard for them to sell that to the fans and definitely to the players."
When asked if he was ready to buy the Clippers, the NBA great stated that a lot of time will have to into the decision.
"First of all, we have to all remember that that is a long way away," Johnson said. "The board of governors first has to vote him out. Donald Sterling is going to fight it. You know that. It is going to be a long time.
"I have other things to do before I just say my level of interest. The team has to be up for sale. And I think that is going to be eight months to a year. Once it's official, that it's really up for sale, we'll take a look at it."
Last week, Shelly Sterling told reporters that she wants to keep her 50% share in the company, but doesn't want to run the team. Johnson says that her past as a landlord with her husband proves that she can be just as toxic as Sterling. Shelly and Donald were accused of creating terrible environments for African Americans and Latinos.
"When they accused them of (being) slumlord, that was both, it wasn't one person," Johnson said. "It was both of them. ... They will never recover from this. All the sponsors pulling out, they will pull out for good if she owns it. It's not going to be the same."
Source: usatoday.com Photos: Splash
