Donald Sterling

Lore & Background

Sterling was born in Chicago and moved to Los Angeles at age two. He attended Theodore Roosevelt High School, California State University, Los Angeles, and Southwestern University School of Law. He started his career as a divorce and personal injury attorney and built a real estate empire, owning 162 properties in Los Angeles as of April 2014. He purchased the San Diego Clippers in 1981 for $12.5 million. In April 2014, he was banned for life and fined $2.5 million by the NBA after private recordings of racist comments were made public. The team was sold to Steve Ballmer for $2 billion in August 2014. Sterling settled his lawsuit against the NBA in November 2016.

Reader's Guide

Sterling's ownership is often criticized; many consider him one of the worst owners in American sports history. The Clippers had only two winning seasons in his first 33 years, lost 50+ games 22 times, and were long considered the laughingstock of the NBA. He was fined $10,000 in 1982 for tanking comments, and $25 million (later reduced to $6 million) for moving the team to Los Angeles without league approval in 1984.

Did You Know?

• Sterling changed his surname from Tokowitz to Sterling at age 25, filing a formal petition on December 9, 1959.
• Sterling and Lakers owner Jerry Buss were each indirectly responsible for the other owning his respective NBA franchise.