Interim Clippers CEO Richard Parsons said that Doc Rivers, coach of the Los Angeles Clippers, will leave the team if Donald Sterling remains the owner.
Parsons made his testimony during a court case to decide whether Donald Sterling's wife, Shelly Sterling, had the right to sell the Clippers to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for $2 billion.
"Doc is troubled by this maybe more so than anybody else," Parsons said. "If Mr. Sterling continues as owner, he does not want to continue as coach."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Rivers, who is black, has coached the Clippers for more than a year. Donald Sterling faces a lifetime ban from the NBA after making racist comments in April. Sterling filed a new lawsuit Tuesday against his wife as well as NBA commissioner Adam Silver for defrauding him and attempting to sell the Clippers.
"If Doc were to leave, that would be a disaster," said Parsons. "Doc is the father figure, the one who leads."
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.