Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling says he’s sorry, nearly two weeks after the NBA banned him for life and slammed him with a $2.5 million fine for making racist comments.
“I’m a good member who made a mistake and I’m apologizing and I’m asking for forgiveness,” he told CNN’s Anderson Cooper in an exclusive interview set to air on Monday. “Am I entitled to one mistake, am I after 35 years? I mean, I love my league, I love my partners. Am I entitled to one mistake? It’s a terrible mistake, and I’ll never do it again.”
Sterling, an 80-year-old married lawyer and billionaire real-estate investor, hasn’t spoken publicly about the accusations since celebrity gossip website TMZ posted a 10-minute audio recording of him that drew widespread condemnation from fans, players and the league.
In that audio clip, Sterling chastised a woman for posting pictures online of her posing with African-Americans, including basketball Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
The recording triggered a firestorm that led to Sterling’s lifetime ban from the NBA and a $2.5 million fine. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has asked the other 29 owners to force Sterling, the longest-tenured owner in the league, to sell the Clippers.
“I’m not a racist,” Sterling told Cooper. “I made a terrible mistake. I’m here to apologize.”
Asked by Cooper why he took so long to say he’s sorry, Sterling said he was “emotionally distraught.”
“The reason it’s hard for me, very hard for me, is that I’m wrong. I caused the problem. I don’t know how to correct it,” he said.
Sterling told CNN that his fate is in the NBA’s hands.
“If the owners feel I have another chance, then they’ll give it to me,” he said.
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SOURCE: CNN
Ismael Estrada and Catherine E. Shoichet
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