Diego to los angeles in the early 80s. Were hearing if thats going to happen right now, adam silver is literally minutes away from making this announcement at a press conference in i believe its in new york. Yes, this is happening at nba headquarters in new york city. According to you, you believe that there will be an indefinite suspension and a 5 million fine. Its my understanding that Donald Sterling is worth 1. 9 billion. So this really wont hurt him, will it . Well, not really in his bank account. But his reputation has been obliterated. And the fact that the nba gets to keep him away from the league, some will say its a victory. Others say its not strong enough. But adam silver is acting with the most power he can. This is the fullest extent of his power to suspend him indefinite lit and try to pressure him out of the league, to leave the team and to sell it to somebody else. Were told that his family members immediately family members wont be affected by the suspension. They will continue to be allowed to work. His soninlaw is the director of basketball operations for the clippers. He will not be affected by the suspension to donald. But were going to see whats going to happen. Im expecting a lot of outrage from people on this. Why . Because i think people want him i dont think an indefinite suspension is going to be good enough. People want him to be disassociated with the clippers, with the league. Even though this is a harsh suspension, its not going to be good enough for a lot of people. You talk about his soninlaw who also works at the l. A. Clippers. Hes come out publicly and says he disagreed totally with what he deemed to be the racist rant by his fatherinlaw. Its my understanding that there are 100 hours of tape. Have you listened to all 100 hours . We have not. The only thing weve heard is the stuff posted on tmzsports. Com and the additional five minutes posted on deadspin. What the woman in the audiotape is saying is this 15minute snippet was from an hourlong recording. She said she had more than 109 hours of recordings between the two of them that have not been released. We know his people contacted her people and are trying to negotiate to make sure the tapes never see the light of day speaking of videotapes, i understand that you also got an interview with oprah winfrey. Lets listen to that. I dont have any advice. But all i have to say is, were all off the plantation. The plantation days are over. If he gets rid of the team, any chance youd buy the clippers . No, i wont be buying the clippers but i heard Magic Johnson might be. Oprah winfrey says she has no interest in buying the clippers. But she wanted everyone to know that black people are off the plantation, her quote. And also just breaking right now, its coming in that Magic Johnson says he does not want to buy the clippers. Your reaction . Right. We know that magic that name was floating around and how ironic would it be if Magic Johnson took over the team after Donald Sterling said he didnt even want them at the games. We spoke with rick caruso, a bigtime developer nor los angeles. He made a run at the dodgers a couple of years ago. Hes telling us if the team becomes available, he wants first crack at the clippers. We know theres at least another four or five serious billionaires looking to move in on this team. If they become available, theres going to be a dogfight to take ownership of this squad. Evan, thank you. We see activity going on at nba headquarters here in new york city. Its a packed room o waiting to see what mr. Silver is going to say. The new nba commissioner time to bring in jim gray, Sports Reporter, Fox News Contributor out of los angeles, covering sports for decades. What do you expect to hear . You just heard from tmz says is going to happen. Jim, what do you think . I think he will be suspended indefinitely and there will be a huge fine. I just spoke with Donald Sterling on the telephone moments ago. He is unaware of what is going to happen to him. Hes not been notified. He also said he really didnt want to comment on the record. However, the team is not for sale and he will not be selling the team. You were able to get him on the phone. Its my understanding other people have tried to get him on the phone with no luck. What else did he tell you, jim . Nothing else that he wanted to go on the record with. And im going to honor that because he did not want to take anything else on the record. But he is unaware of what adam silver, the commissioner, plans to do. In fact, he asked me and i read him the tmz report. And his reaction to that was . Well see what adam has to say here. So adam silver, only three months on the job as the nba commissioner after david stern was a longstanding commissioner, huge, huge responsibility and decision for mr. Silver today, right . Its a big responsibility and its going to go a long way toward his commissionership. The eyes of the world are watching adam. Adams prepared for a long time for this job as a Deputy Commissioner to david stern. Hes a brilliant man. And hes had the proper tutoring and upbringing in this job. Hes worked with all the owners, all the players, everybody who deals with adam comes away feeling very good about their dealings with the nba and with him as a person. Hes got a big responsibility here. He will take the necessary action, im told, by several League Owners who i have spoken to just prior to this announcement that this is going to be a very harsh penalty. And they think that adam has done his diligence. That hes given him due process and that he will come up with the proper decision for the league. Its very interesting because its only been four to five days since this incident came to light and the nba acting very swiftly on this with a press conference that is about to start. Jim, stand by, if you will, i want to bring in a sports attorney, xavier pope, whos been following this story for us as well. Hes also an entertainment attorney. Unprecedented from a legal point of view, is it not . Absolutely unprecedented from a legal point of view. But youve seen it in major league baseball. March schock was suspended from the Cincinnati Reds for comments. She was suspended in 1996 through 1998. The nba does have a precedent for the actions of Donald Sterling. The other thing the difference, though, is that marge schock was a partner in the ownership of that team. In this case, Donald Sterling is a 100 owner. So from a legal point of view, is there a difference in your mind . Absolute difference because in major league baseball, when marge schock was suspended from 1996 to 1998, the league was pretty much waiting for a Partnership Agreement to expire. Then she sold her team in 1999. Donald sterling is a lone wolf, going to do whatever he wants to do. Heres what the league can potentially do. 75 of owners are required to boot out an owner. But the issue is this is not a gambling situation. This is not a financial situation. This is not a fraud situation. So the league would have to look at best interest of the sport if its protecting the financial interest of the other owners. Weve seen many sponsors pull out for the clippers. Now, if other sponsors see the nba as not acting swift enough, fast enough or hard enough or going far enough, maybe theyll pull out a sponsorship from the National Basketball association or other teams. Thats when the bylaws come into effect. That they can boot Donald Sterling out. They can look at his past actions to give a more thorough ruling as to what should happen to Donald Sterling. I think thats key, the fact that the nba has reacted so swiftly. But if they come out and say its an indefinite suspension, i think youre on the mark that they may buy themselves some time. Stand by for a minute. I want to go through a list of the sponsors dropping like flies. Carmax, virgin america, chumash, mercedesbenz. State state farm, red bull. A quote was released saying, we are deeply troubled by these disturbing remarks which go against everything we believe in as a organization. We support the players, the coaches, the rest of the team and the fans and we are committed to providing a safe, secure and welcoming environment for everyone. Lets say there is a suspension. Does that mean that sterling cannot go to the basketball games in your mind . Yes, daytoday operations would include him not going to the games. Marge schock was allowed to come to the games if she purchased her own ticket. I doubt Donald Sterling does Something Like that. I think he will be out of the spotlight. I think its best from his standpoint to stay out of the spotlight and let the league do its job. Lets go back to a point you brought up a few moments ago, which was in regard to the other team owners. Because the big question thats been asked since friday night when the tapes were released is this does the league or do the owners have the power to actually take a team away from a person who individually owns it . What about the league first and then what about the owners from a legal point of view . Well, from the leagues standpoint, adam silver has been granted significant powers to make decisions in regards to any of the team owners. So thats from the leagues standpoint. From the owners standpoint, you have guys like mark cuban who has spoken out and said, this may be a dangerous precedent. If you got some guys into a room and say, vote Donald Sterling out, i think maybe think twice about how it may impact them in the future as far as the Business Decisions they make. From a legal standpoint, you cant necessarily boot Donald Sterling out. But if sponsors drop like flies and their own financial interests become damaged and then they may get into a room and say, we want to get rid of this guy but the owners, you would need 75 of them to vote 75 . On that . Yes. And a couple of more procedures must take place for Donald Sterling to leave. But he bought the team in 1981 for 12. 5 million. According to forbes, worth 575 million. The Milwaukee Bucks were sold recently for 550 million. The Sacramento Kings bought for 534 million. That value in a market like los angeles where the sharks are circling right now to buy this team may go in excess of 700 million, maybe 800 million. So Donald Sterling stands to benefit from potentially selling the team. Etch thouxavier stand by. Well tell people who Donald Sterlings lady friend is. Shes apparently the one sterling was speaking to on the recordings. She faces a lawsuit from his wife, richelle. Vanessa happened to be in court yesterday. Check out the headgear she had on. What do you think about all this . Are you and donald mrs. Sterling, not vanessa pictured there, reportedly suing for the return of 1. 8 million dupl duplex, a ferrari, range rover and two bentleys she says her husband bought for vanessa while still married to her. Lets bring back in exavier poe here. Twists and turns in this whole case, some of the details lost because of the basic headline of what sterling said on the recordings. Does it make any difference with regard to what he has said on these recordings which 100 of the people deem as racist does that make a difference with how he may have treated his players in the way in which he conducted his business on the day to day . And is that what the other owners and the commissioner might take into account or are they only listening to the recordings . Thats a great question, gretchen. I think theyre looking at the recording in light of some in the past transgressions of mr. Sterling. We saw in the past, 2006, the department of justice sued Donald Sterling for actions of Racial Discrimination against africanamericans and hispanics. And we saw the elgin baylor suit that was eventually thrown out. But it was a Racial Discrimination suit for him being treated unfairly by Donald Sterling. Taking these words and maybe illuminating the department of justice suit, they may take that together and say, your actions showed a pattern of discrimination. But theres no proof that Donald Sterling has discriminated against anyone entering his stadium or anyone trying to buy tickets or season tickets. And thats the troubling part. Its words heres the commissioner, adam silver, at the microphone. Shortly after the release of an audio recording this past saturday morning of a conversation that allegedly included clippers owner Donald Sterling, the nba commenced in an investigation which among other things included an interview of mr. Sterling. That investigation is now complete. The central findings of the investigation are that the man whose voice is heard on the recording and on a second recording from the same conversation that was released on sunday is mr. Sterling and that the hateful opinions voiced by that man are those of mr. Sterling. The views expressed by mr. Sterling are deeply offensive and harmful. That they came from an nba owner only heightens the damage and my personal outrage. Se sentiments of this kind are contrary to the principles of inclusion and respect that form the foundation of our diverse, multicultural and multiethnic league. I am personally distraught that the views expressed by mr. Sterling came from within, an institution that has historically taken such a leadership role in matters of Race Relations and caused current and former players, coaches, fans and partners of the nba to question their very association with the league. To them and pioneers of the game like earl lloyd, chuck cooper, sweetwater clifton, the great bill russell and particularly Magic Johnson, i apologize. According accordingly, effective immediately, i am banning mr. Sterling for life from any association with the Clippers Organization or the nba. Mr. Sterling may not attend any nba games or practices. He may not be present at any clippers facility and he may not participate in any business or player personnel decisions involving the team. He will also be barred from attending nba board of governors meetings or participating in any other league activity. I am also fining mr. Sterling 2. 5 million, the maximum amount allowed under the nba constitution. These funds will be donated to organizations dedicated to an antidiscrimination and tolerance efforts that will be jointly selected by the nba and its Players Association. As for mr. Sterlings ownership interest in the clippers, i will urge the board of governors to exercise its authority to force a sale of the team and will do everything in my power to ensure that that happens. This has been a painful moment for all members of the nba family. I appreciate the support and understanding of our players during this process. And i am particularly grateful for the leadership shown by coach doc rivers, Union President chris paul and mayor Kevin Johnson of sacramento who has been acting as the players representative in this matter. We stand together in condemning mr. Sterlings views. They simply have no place in the nba. Thank you. And ill take any questions. Take questions now. Start with scott in the back right. Do you or any of your emissaries have any clue as to whether mr. Sterling will acquiesce your wishes to sell the team or do you expect a fight . I have no idea. The next question right here, rachel . From polling the owners youve spoken to, what support do you think you have to sell the team . I didnt poll the owners. I spoke to several owners and i have their full support. On the right, brian . What kind of authority do they have to force a sale . The owners have the authority subject to threequarters vote of the ownership groups of the partners two remove him as an owner. Fifth row in the middle. Lisa guerrero. You said you were personally outraged. Yet many people believe that they are outraged that for years people have known that this man is a racist slumlord and the nba hasnt done anything until today. Can you please answer why . I cant speak to past actions other than to say that when specific evidence was brought to the nba, we acted. Over here, second row on the left. Should someone lose their team for remarks shared in private . Is this a slippery slope . Whether or not these remarks were initially shared in private, they are now public and they represent his views. Fifth row in the middle, tim . Get a microphone there, please. Adam, what was the process to come to this decision over the last couple of days and when did you decide that this was the appropriate action to take . I ultimately decided this morning that this was the appropriate action. And the process beginning saturday morning when this tape was first released was to a point to an investigator, it was david anders. He conducted a series of interviews, some by phone, some in person. He concluded his investigation late last night. Seventh row on the left, jeff . Give the microphone to jeff, please. Adam, you said you would encourage owners to force the sale of the clippers. When will that action take place . The process will begin immediately. We will most likely use a Standing Committee of the nba. The equivalent of our executive committee is our advisory finance committee. Ive had several discussions with glen taylor, who is our chairman of the board and also the leader of the advisory finance committee. We will begin that process immediately. Third row on the end, howard . Sterling, did he own up to ons this immediately . Was it only after you guys came up with some sort of proof and what if anything has he expressed as far as reproach, sentiment . Mr. Sterling acknowledged it was his voice on the tape and he has not expressed to me directly a