The Donald Sterling incident took another turn toward the "hard to believe" on Thursday night.

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Reuters reported that the lawyer for V. Stiviano, the woman talking to Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling in the infamous audio that earned him a lifetime ban from the NBA, said that Sterling consented to be recorded.

Los Angeles-based attorney Mac Nehoray also said that Stiviano was not romantically linked to Sterling, saying "there was no sexual relationship." Nehoray insisted that Stiviano was just a friend of the disgraced Clippers owner who served as an informal "archivist" for him personally and was in charge of his philanthropic foundations.

Obviously, the "no sexual relationship" claim never will be proven or denied, but the claim that she was just a friend is nearly impossible to fathom, especially when listening to the video. Plus, the whole conversation would seem to make absolutely no sense if Sterling were getting that upset over an employee posting photos of black people on her Instagram account.

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Nehoray added that Stiviano was not responsible for leaking the audio to TMZ or any other website and meant Sterling no ill will. Nehoray claimed to Reuters that a copy of the recording was leaked by an unspecified friend that supposedly was entrusted with the recording.

Stiviano's lawyer said that she gave the friend the recording for "safekeeping" but the friend "went rogue" for monetary gain.

That, too, seems difficult to believe, considering that Reuters reported Stiviano wrote cryptic messages on her Instagram account about "Skeletons in Closet" and "It's all coming out!"

Karrine Steffans, who called herself a friend of Stiviano, told Fox News that she thought one of Stiviano's friends may have taken the video without Stiviano's knowledge to create drama.

Nehoray told Reuters that Stiviano made the recording in September 2013 at her home with Sterling's knowledge and permission, and with a third person he did not name present in the room.

The lawyer would not indicate why Sterling gave his consent for the conversation to be taped but said the reason would likely be revealed in future litigation.

Reuters added that it contacted Stiviano at her Spanish-Style, two-story duplex that had a Ferrari and a Bentley parked in the driveway, but she politely refused comment.

Do you believe any of lawyer Mac Nehoray's account regarding Stiviano's explanation of events? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.