Sterling refuses to pay fine and threatens to sue the league.
Los Angeles Clippers star Blake Griffin doesn’t anticipate Donald Sterling still being the franchise owner next season but wants a speedy resolution.
The 25-year-old expects a decision to be made before plans for next season get underway, but has conceded that he would have to consider his future with the franchise if nothing is resolved by then.
Sterling was banned for life and fined $2.5m by the league for his racist remarks made in an audio recording leaked to TMZ, although his lawyer has informed the NBA this week that he wouldn’t be paying the fine and threatened to sue the league if Sterling was not afforded due process.
As a result, it is expected that a prolonged legal battle will now ensue which could drag on into next season and that is something Griffin believes is not in the best interests of anyone concerned, except for perhaps Sterling.
“I don’t anticipate that being how it’s going to be,” Griffin said, as reported by ESPN, when asked whether he could continue to play for the team if Sterling were owner at the start of next season.
“If it still is, I’ll make a decision then. It’s not something that’s ideal. Personally, I don’t know all the ins and outs of everything. I hear stuff just like everybody else does, but I don’t know what’s really true or not. It’s up to [the league], but I don’t think that’s an ideal situation for us, to start next season with that still going on.”
Both J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford echoed the sentiments of their team-mate, while the latter insisted that he couldn’t give an honest answer about the situation as he was still trying to deal with the emotion of seeing the Clippers’ season end.
Meanwhile, Griffin insisted that he learned a lot this year under coach Doc Rivers and came third in voting for the MVP award after a career season. He will now begin preparations for next season by participating in the FIBA Basketball World Cup this summer in Spain for Team USA.
COMMENTS