The NBA's Board of Governors is expected to approve the $2 billion purchase of the Los Angeles Clippers by former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer after the league reached an agreement with Shelly Sterling, wife of former owner Donald Sterling.
The league office announced on Friday evening that it has reached an amicable settlement with Shelly Sterling, wife of Donald Sterling. Part of the agreement calls for the Sterlings to stop any plans of suing the NBA, and to "indemnify the NBA against lawsuits from others, including from Donald Sterling" as per reports of Yahoo! Sports.
The announcement came hours after Donald Sterling filed a $1 billion case against the league office. By indemnifying the NBA against lawsuits, Shelly Sterling will be protecting the NBA from any financial losses it could incur in dealing with the lawsuit filed by her partner.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports also adds that one source privy to the sales process said that this means Donald Sterling no longer has any legal means to prevent Ballmer from wresting control of the Clippers.
It was reported late Thursday that Shelly Sterling agreed to sell the franchise for a record $2 billion to Ballmer. But Donald Sterling's lawyer, Max Blecher, also told Yahoo Sports on Friday that his client was looking, separately at possible legal means to stop the impending sale of the team to Ballmer. Blecher added that the $1 billion lawsuit was for the damages brought by the lifetime ban and termination of ownership of Sterling. Blecher also disputed reports that his client is mentally incapacitated and unable to make a decision on whether to unload his ownership of the franchise he has owned for 33 years.
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