NBA: American judge authorises sale of Los Angeles Clippers for €1.49bn

The Los Angeles superior court (California, USA) on 28/07/2014 authorised the sale of the Los Angeles Clippers, an NBA (National Basketball Association, North America) franchise, for $2bn (€1.49bn).

Donald Sterling, the owner of the Clippers, had gone to court to prevent the sale of his team by his wife Shelly Sterling to Steve Ballmer, the former CEO of the American software company Microsoft.

Shelly Sterling had negotiated the sale of the Californian franchise after the NBA banned her husband for life on 29/04/2014. Donald Sterling had made racist comments about Magic Johnson, a black former player for the Los Angeles Lakers; these were leaked online by the society news website TMZ on 25/04/2014.

Donald Sterling's attorneys have not yet appealed this decision. The final decision of the Californian court is expected to be announced on 13/08/2014, according to American media, whilst the sale of the team should be made official before 15/08/2014, according to Shelly Sterling and her attorneys.

The decision of the Los Angeles superior court put an end to several months of uncertainty…