Donald Sterling (Photo : Reuters)
Celebrity news website TMZ is being sued by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling after the former leaked an audio conversation between Sterling and his mistress V. Stiviano.
The audio conversation went viral after Sterling was heard making racist remarks towards African Americans. On the audio, Sterling told Stiviano that he does not want her to bring black people into the Clippers game.
The audio was posted by TMZ online and was instantly criticized not only by netizens but also by several organizations. When the audio conversation hit the mainstream media, NBA commissioner Adam Silver was forced to levy a lifetime ban to Sterling and his mistress. The NBA also imposed a $2.5 million fine to Sterling, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Due to the massive media backlash and repercussion, Sterling was forced to sell the Los Angeles Clippers, a team he owned for more than 30 years. The team was later bought by Steve Ballmer for $2 billion.
According to ESPN, Sterling is also suing Stiviano claiming that his privacy was violated which in turned damaged him on a "scale of unparalleled and unprecedented magnitude."
Aside from TMZ and Stiviano, Sterling is also suing the NBA, his wife Shelley and two doctors. Sterling claim that his wife along with the two doctors conspired together in order to form a medical opinion that forced him to sell the Clippers. Based on medical files, the doctors deemed that Sterling is mentally incapable of running the Clippers organization as well as maintaining his family trust.
