Former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has been the primary character of several controversial stories. In another scandalous event, recently revealed by Cuttino Mobley on “Podcast P with Paul George”, the former Clippers player mentioned how the owner used to walk into the locker room while players were naked after games.
Mobley was asked whether he had any run-ins with Sterling. He responded to this by saying:
“What was weird to me, and I just let it go, is that as soon as we finish playing and we go to the locker room, he was coming in there with people. You know you take your clothes off and you’re b**t naked, like, what you doing?”
“We were like art, or like the zoo,” Mobley added, implying that Sterling viewed the players as property or decorations for display. “Like, “Look at this specimen, you see this one? Look how tall that one is. This one’s got dreads.’ You felt like that.”
Paul George acknowledged the racist connotations of this behavior, adding that it was like being at “that auction”. Mobley only attested to it by adding how the players would be gauged in the same manner.
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Former Clippers guard Shaun Livingston also shared a similar story involving Sterling. During his three seasons with the team, Livingston shared that Sterling would often be in the locker room and lingering around near the showers.
Donald Sterling has unilaterally been portrayed in a negative light by former NBA players, and rightfully so. Former Clippers guard Baron Davis also mentioned how uncomfortable he felt being a part of the organization under Sterling’s reign.
While mentioning that it was like a “bad soap opera in prison“, Davis claimed that Sterling used the team as a PR front, adding that the former Clippers owner was weird in a rather spiteful way.
Sterling also rubbed other NBA players the wrong way. Dominique Wilkins, who played 25 games for the team, shared a story from a party with the Clippers’ owner.
Wilkins recalled being at a kid’s birthday party, and as they rolled the cake out, a naked woman jumped out. The legend was in awe of the display, referring to Sterling as “crazy”.
Sterling was a controversial individual who held his place as owner of the Clippers from 1981 to 2014. After a series of off-court scandals drew greater media attention, he was forced to sell the team and withdraw from ownership.
The team was eventually bought by Steve Ballmer, who was a fresh change of pace for the franchise. Ballmer is one of the most involved and animated owners in the NBA.
His constant support for the team and his investment in their development have seen the cultivation of a new identity that has made the Clippers the well-oiled machine they are today.
