Donald Sterling has had a change of heart and will now prosecute his $1 billion lawsuit against the NBA a week after saying he would drop the suit and approve the sale of the Clippers to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
Sterling apparently changed his mind after learning the NBA would not rescind its $2.5 million fine and lifetime ban of the former owner.
According to the AP, Sterling is alleging in his suit that the league violated his rights by relying on information obtained from an illegal recording made by V. Stiviano. The suit also says the “league committed a breach of contract by fining Sterling $2.5 million and that it violated antitrust laws by trying to force a sale.”
Shelly Sterling was able to negotiate a sale of the Clippers because Donald was declared mentally incapacitated, which allowed her to become the sole controller of The Sterling Family Trust, which owns the Clippers.
Shelly Sterling has already agreed to indemnify the NBA against all lawsuits, so Donald would just be paying himself for whatever damages a court awards him if he wins, which really means the suit is about the principle of the matter, or basically whatever Donald feels.
There have been suggestions that Sterling is showing signs of dementia or other age-related issues. His inconsistent behavior certainly would be explained by that.
Based on the circumstances for the situation, I was surprised that he even agreed to the sale in the first place. He had legal grounds from the start because the Stiviano recording was likely obtained illegally.
