Donald Sterling
Encyclopedia
Donald T. Sterling is an American real estate
mogul
, attorney
, and the owner of the National Basketball Association
's Los Angeles Clippers
. Sterling acquired the Clippers in 1981 for $12.5 million, and as of the 2008 rankings, the team is valued at $297 million by Forbes magazine, ranking them twenty-fifth out of thirty teams.
, Illinois
, but he and his family moved to the Boyle Heights
area of Los Angeles
, when he was two years old. His parents, Susan and Mickey, were Jewish immigrants. He attended Theodore Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles, where he was on the school's gymnastics team and served as class president; he graduated in 1952. He next attended California State University, Los Angeles
(Class of 1956) and Southwestern University School of Law
(Class of 1960) in Los Angeles. Starting in 1961, he began to make his career as a divorce and personal injury attorney, but he made his biggest ventures in real estate, when he purchased a 26-unit apartment building in Beverly Hills
.
He married the former Rochelle "Shelly" Stein, in 1957. They have three children and several grandchildren.
majority owner Jerry Buss
were indirectly responsible for each owning their respective NBA franchises. The first instance came in 1979, in which Buss used the money he made from selling a portion of his apartment buildings to Sterling (worth $2.7 million), which covered the remaining balance in purchasing the Lakers, the Kings
hockey team, and the Los Angeles Forum
from Jack Kent Cooke
for $67 million. Two years later, Buss suggested to Sterling that he could purchase his own NBA franchise, and Sterling bought the struggling San Diego Clippers for $13.5 million. Unlike Buss' instant success with the Lakers (including winning an NBA championship in his first season as owner, 1979–80), Sterling and his Clippers struggled through many lackluster seasons, and they did not have their first winning season until the 1991-92 season, eleven years into his ownership.
Sterling has been widely criticized for his frugal operation of the Clippers, due in part to a consistent history of losing seasons. With the Clippers' move into Staples Center
in the 1999-2000 NBA season
, the team began to build a contender, winning 47 games in the 2005-06 season
. This was a record for the most victories in a single season since the franchise moved to California. It was also only the second winning season in Sterling's tenure as owner. The overall franchise record is 49 wins, accomplished by the 1974-75
Buffalo Braves. The Clippers have regressed in recent years, however; after finishing two games out of the playoffs a year later they have finished well out of contention in the last four years.
Sterling rebuffed numerous offers from other cities to relocate the Clippers, and has been steadfast in his refusal to move the team out of Los Angeles, let alone sell the team. While the team played a few games in Anaheim at what is now the Honda Center for a few years before the Staples Center opened, he has not been willing to move the team there permanently. In recent years, he has shown an increased willingness to spend. In 2003, Sterling signed Elton Brand
to a six-year, $82 million deal, the biggest contract in franchise history. He matched the contract the Utah Jazz
offered restricted free agent Corey Maggette
: a deal worth $45 million over six years. The Clippers have signed higher-priced veteran free agents, such as Cuttino Mobley
in 2005, Tim Thomas
in 2006, and Los Angeles native Baron Davis
in 2008. In another first during the Sterling tenure of Clippers ownership, the team gave a four-year contract extension to head coach Mike Dunleavy, Sr.
, as well as a five-year extension to center Chris Kaman
. Both extensions took effect starting in the 2007-08 NBA season
. Under Sterling's ownership, only Dunleavy and Bill Fitch (1994–1998) have lasted four seasons or more as Clipper head coach; as of the 2009-10 NBA season, Dunleavy entered his seventh season as Clipper head coach, by far the longest tenure in franchise history, but was relieved of his coaching duties on February 4, 2010.
Sterling spent $50 million to build a state-of-the-art practice facility and team headquarters in Los Angeles' Playa Vista mixed-use development neighborhood. This followed the lead of several other NBA franchises, including the Lakers
, Sacramento Kings
, Cleveland Cavaliers
, and Detroit Pistons
, in having their own facility dedicated exclusively for team use. The facility was completed and opened in September 2008, in time for the start of the team's training camp. The team previously practiced at a local health club in suburban El Segundo
, and before that at Los Angeles Southwest College
.
reported that Sterling had been ordered by U.S. District Judge Dale Fisher to pay $5 million in fees to plaintiff's attorneys in a case accusing him of trying to drive out non-Korean tenants, particularly blacks and Latinos, at apartments he owned in Los Angeles' Koreatown
neighborhood.
In February 2009, Sterling was sued by former longtime Clippers executive Elgin Baylor
for employment discrimination
on the basis of age and race. The lawsuit alleges Sterling told Baylor that he wanted to fill his team with "poor black boys from the South and a white head coach." The suit alleges that during negotiations for Danny Manning
, Sterling said "I'm offering a lot of money for a poor black kid." The suit noted those comments while alleging "the Caucasian head coach
was given a four-year, $22-million contract," but Baylor's salary had "been frozen at a comparatively paltry $350,000 since 2003."
On August 8, 2009, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Sterling for housing discrimination in using race as a factor in filling some of his apartment buildings. The government's ongoing case alleges Sterling refused to rent to non-Koreans in the Koreatown
neighborhood and to African American
s in Beverly Hills. The suit alleges Sterling once said he did not like to rent to Hispanics because they "smoke, drink and just hang around the building," and that "Black tenants smell and attract vermin."
in the 1960s, according to the Los Angeles Times. Sterling changed the name to Sterling Towers, and began to run regular ads in the Los Angeles Times highlighting that Sterling Towers was developed by Donald Sterling, not Louis Lesser.
article, detailing the Donald T. Sterling Charitable Foundation's pledge to spend $50 million on a site on the eastern end of Downtown Los Angeles
to provide services for Los Angeles' homeless population, nothing has been built. According to an LA Weekly
article from February 19, 2008, critics were skeptical that the homeless center would ever be built, and surmised that Sterling bought the property purely for its real-estate value. A follow up article from the LA Weekly states that the foundation has yet to even start attempting to deliver on its promises but continues to run full-page ads trumpeting its pledge in the LA Times. It is generally thought that he has not been taken to task by the LA Times because he is a significant revenue generator for the newspaper's advertising department.
, Sterling refused to pay for an out-of-network procedure, leading Yahoo Sports blogger Kelly Dwyer to brand him the "worst person in the world.". The bill of $70,000 was paid by some current and former Clippers players, Corey Maggette
, Marko Jaric
, Chris Kaman
, and Elton Brand
.
. His verbal barbs at the time included, "Why are you in the game?", "Why did you take that shot?", and "You're out of shape!".
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
mogul
Business magnate
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
, attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, and the owner of the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
's Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
. Sterling acquired the Clippers in 1981 for $12.5 million, and as of the 2008 rankings, the team is valued at $297 million by Forbes magazine, ranking them twenty-fifth out of thirty teams.
Personal life and business career
Donald Tokowitz (legally added Sterling as his last name as an adult) was born in 1933 in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, but he and his family moved to the Boyle Heights
Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California
Boyle Heights is a neighborhood east of Downtown Los Angeles on the East Side of Los Angeles. For much of the twentieth century, Boyle Heights was a gateway for new immigrants. This resulted in diverse demographics, including Jewish American, Japanese American and Mexican American populations,...
area of Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, when he was two years old. His parents, Susan and Mickey, were Jewish immigrants. He attended Theodore Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles, where he was on the school's gymnastics team and served as class president; he graduated in 1952. He next attended California State University, Los Angeles
California State University, Los Angeles
California State University, Los Angeles is a public comprehensive university, part of the California State University system...
(Class of 1956) and Southwestern University School of Law
Southwestern University School of Law
Southwestern Law School is a private ABA-accredited law school located in Los Angeles, California , with about 1,000 students. Its campus includes the Bullocks Wilshire building, an admired art deco National Register of Historic Places landmark built in 1929...
(Class of 1960) in Los Angeles. Starting in 1961, he began to make his career as a divorce and personal injury attorney, but he made his biggest ventures in real estate, when he purchased a 26-unit apartment building in Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
.
He married the former Rochelle "Shelly" Stein, in 1957. They have three children and several grandchildren.
Los Angeles Clippers
Sterling and Los Angeles LakersLos Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
majority owner Jerry Buss
Jerry Buss
Gerald Hatten "Jerry" Buss Ph.D., M.S. is an American businessman, real estate investor, and a former chemist. He is the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers professional basketball team along with other professional sports franchises in Southern California...
were indirectly responsible for each owning their respective NBA franchises. The first instance came in 1979, in which Buss used the money he made from selling a portion of his apartment buildings to Sterling (worth $2.7 million), which covered the remaining balance in purchasing the Lakers, the Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
hockey team, and the Los Angeles Forum
The Forum (Inglewood, California)
The Forum is an indoor arena, in Inglewood, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. From 2000 to 2010, it was owned by the Faithful Central Bible Church, which occasionally used it for church services, while also leasing the building for sporting events, concerts and other events.Along with Madison...
from Jack Kent Cooke
Jack Kent Cooke
Jack Kent Cooke was a Canadian entrepreneur and former owner of the Washington Redskins , the Los Angeles Lakers , and the Los Angeles Kings , and built The Forum in Inglewood, California and FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.-Early career:Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Cooke moved with his family to...
for $67 million. Two years later, Buss suggested to Sterling that he could purchase his own NBA franchise, and Sterling bought the struggling San Diego Clippers for $13.5 million. Unlike Buss' instant success with the Lakers (including winning an NBA championship in his first season as owner, 1979–80), Sterling and his Clippers struggled through many lackluster seasons, and they did not have their first winning season until the 1991-92 season, eleven years into his ownership.
Sterling has been widely criticized for his frugal operation of the Clippers, due in part to a consistent history of losing seasons. With the Clippers' move into Staples Center
Staples Center
Staples Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. Opening on October 17, 1999, it is one of the major sporting facilities in the Greater Los Angeles...
in the 1999-2000 NBA season
1999-2000 NBA season
-Statistics leaders:-NBA awards:*Most Valuable Player: Shaquille O'Neal, Los Angeles Lakers*Co-Rookies of the Year: Elton Brand, Chicago Bulls; Steve Francis, Houston Rockets*Defensive Player of the Year: Alonzo Mourning, Miami Heat...
, the team began to build a contender, winning 47 games in the 2005-06 season
2005-06 NBA season
The 2005–06 NBA season was the 60th season of the National Basketball Association. It began on November 1, 2005 and ran through April 19, 2006...
. This was a record for the most victories in a single season since the franchise moved to California. It was also only the second winning season in Sterling's tenure as owner. The overall franchise record is 49 wins, accomplished by the 1974-75
1974-75 NBA season
The 1974–75 NBA season was the 29th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Golden State Warriors winning the NBA Championship, sweeping the Washington Bullets 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals.-Notable occurrences:...
Buffalo Braves. The Clippers have regressed in recent years, however; after finishing two games out of the playoffs a year later they have finished well out of contention in the last four years.
Sterling rebuffed numerous offers from other cities to relocate the Clippers, and has been steadfast in his refusal to move the team out of Los Angeles, let alone sell the team. While the team played a few games in Anaheim at what is now the Honda Center for a few years before the Staples Center opened, he has not been willing to move the team there permanently. In recent years, he has shown an increased willingness to spend. In 2003, Sterling signed Elton Brand
Elton Brand
Elton Tyron Brand is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association...
to a six-year, $82 million deal, the biggest contract in franchise history. He matched the contract the Utah Jazz
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently a part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
offered restricted free agent Corey Maggette
Corey Maggette
Corey Antoine Maggette is an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association, for the Charlotte Bobcats. He excelled at Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois, where he was an All-American in basketball and also an Illinois high school state track finalist in long...
: a deal worth $45 million over six years. The Clippers have signed higher-priced veteran free agents, such as Cuttino Mobley
Cuttino Mobley
Cuttino Rashawn Mobley is a former American professional basketball shooting guard who played from 1998 to 2008 in the National Basketball Association .-Biography:...
in 2005, Tim Thomas
Tim Thomas (basketball)
Timothy Mark "Tim" Thomas is an American professional basketball player, in the small forward position.-High school / College:...
in 2006, and Los Angeles native Baron Davis
Baron Davis
Baron Walter Louis Davis is an American professional basketball player with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA. Drafted as the third pick in the 1999 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets, Davis was a star at Crossroads School and UCLA....
in 2008. In another first during the Sterling tenure of Clippers ownership, the team gave a four-year contract extension to head coach Mike Dunleavy, Sr.
Mike Dunleavy, Sr.
Michael Joseph Dunleavy is a retired American professional basketball player, former head coach, and former general manager of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers. He is the father of Indiana Pacers player Mike Dunleavy, Jr.-Early life:...
, as well as a five-year extension to center Chris Kaman
Chris Kaman
Christopher Zane Kaman is an American-German basketball player for the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers. Kaman stands 7'0" and weighs 265 pounds...
. Both extensions took effect starting in the 2007-08 NBA season
2007-08 NBA season
The 2007–08 NBA season was the 62nd season of the National Basketball Association. The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 30, 2007, and ended on Wednesday, April 16, 2008...
. Under Sterling's ownership, only Dunleavy and Bill Fitch (1994–1998) have lasted four seasons or more as Clipper head coach; as of the 2009-10 NBA season, Dunleavy entered his seventh season as Clipper head coach, by far the longest tenure in franchise history, but was relieved of his coaching duties on February 4, 2010.
Sterling spent $50 million to build a state-of-the-art practice facility and team headquarters in Los Angeles' Playa Vista mixed-use development neighborhood. This followed the lead of several other NBA franchises, including the Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
, Sacramento Kings
Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. They are currently members of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
, Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...
, and Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...
, in having their own facility dedicated exclusively for team use. The facility was completed and opened in September 2008, in time for the start of the team's training camp. The team previously practiced at a local health club in suburban El Segundo
El Segundo, California
El Segundo is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located on the Santa Monica Bay, it was incorporated on January 18, 1917, and is one of the Beach Cities of Los Angeles County and part of the South Bay Cities Council of Governments...
, and before that at Los Angeles Southwest College
Los Angeles Southwest College
Los Angeles Southwest College is a community college located in an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County, California, United States, near the city of Los Angeles...
.
Accusations of racism and housing discrimination
On November 15, 2005, the Associated PressAssociated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
reported that Sterling had been ordered by U.S. District Judge Dale Fisher to pay $5 million in fees to plaintiff's attorneys in a case accusing him of trying to drive out non-Korean tenants, particularly blacks and Latinos, at apartments he owned in Los Angeles' Koreatown
Koreatown, Los Angeles, California
Koreatown is a neighborhood in the Mid-Wilshire district of the city of Los Angeles, California known for its concentration of Korean American people and institutions...
neighborhood.
In February 2009, Sterling was sued by former longtime Clippers executive Elgin Baylor
Elgin Baylor
Elgin Gay Baylor is a retired Hall of Fame American basketball player and former NBA general manager who played 13 seasons as a forward for the NBA's Minneapolis Lakers/Los Angeles Lakers....
for employment discrimination
Employment discrimination
Employment discrimination is discrimination in hiring, promotion, job assignment, termination, and compensation. It includes various types of harassment....
on the basis of age and race. The lawsuit alleges Sterling told Baylor that he wanted to fill his team with "poor black boys from the South and a white head coach." The suit alleges that during negotiations for Danny Manning
Danny Manning
Daniel Ricardo "Danny" Manning is a retired American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association. He is an assistant basketball coach at his alma mater, the University of Kansas Jayhawks. Manning won the National Championship with the Jayhawks in 1988 as a player, and...
, Sterling said "I'm offering a lot of money for a poor black kid." The suit noted those comments while alleging "the Caucasian head coach
Mike Dunleavy, Sr.
Michael Joseph Dunleavy is a retired American professional basketball player, former head coach, and former general manager of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers. He is the father of Indiana Pacers player Mike Dunleavy, Jr.-Early life:...
was given a four-year, $22-million contract," but Baylor's salary had "been frozen at a comparatively paltry $350,000 since 2003."
On August 8, 2009, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Sterling for housing discrimination in using race as a factor in filling some of his apartment buildings. The government's ongoing case alleges Sterling refused to rent to non-Koreans in the Koreatown
Koreatown, Los Angeles, California
Koreatown is a neighborhood in the Mid-Wilshire district of the city of Los Angeles, California known for its concentration of Korean American people and institutions...
neighborhood and to African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s in Beverly Hills. The suit alleges Sterling once said he did not like to rent to Hispanics because they "smoke, drink and just hang around the building," and that "Black tenants smell and attract vermin."
Sterling Towers
Sterling purchased Lesser Towers, developed by Louis LesserLouis Lesser
Louis Lesser is an American business magnate. He received frequent press coverage in the 1950s and 1960s for his ability to earn money and for his various business operations. He sold the Taj Mahal to New York real estate developer Donald Trump...
in the 1960s, according to the Los Angeles Times. Sterling changed the name to Sterling Towers, and began to run regular ads in the Los Angeles Times highlighting that Sterling Towers was developed by Donald Sterling, not Louis Lesser.
Skid Row homeless assistance pledge
Despite a June 26, 2006 Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
article, detailing the Donald T. Sterling Charitable Foundation's pledge to spend $50 million on a site on the eastern end of Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
to provide services for Los Angeles' homeless population, nothing has been built. According to an LA Weekly
LA Weekly
LA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
article from February 19, 2008, critics were skeptical that the homeless center would ever be built, and surmised that Sterling bought the property purely for its real-estate value. A follow up article from the LA Weekly states that the foundation has yet to even start attempting to deliver on its promises but continues to run full-page ads trumpeting its pledge in the LA Times. It is generally thought that he has not been taken to task by the LA Times because he is a significant revenue generator for the newspaper's advertising department.
Kim Hughes's cancer treatment
When Clippers' head coach Kim Hughes needed surgery for prostate cancerProstate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
, Sterling refused to pay for an out-of-network procedure, leading Yahoo Sports blogger Kelly Dwyer to brand him the "worst person in the world.". The bill of $70,000 was paid by some current and former Clippers players, Corey Maggette
Corey Maggette
Corey Antoine Maggette is an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association, for the Charlotte Bobcats. He excelled at Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois, where he was an All-American in basketball and also an Illinois high school state track finalist in long...
, Marko Jaric
Marko Jaric
Marko Jarić is a Serbian professional basketball player. He is married to Brazilian model Adriana Lima.-Pro career:...
, Chris Kaman
Chris Kaman
Christopher Zane Kaman is an American-German basketball player for the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers. Kaman stands 7'0" and weighs 265 pounds...
, and Elton Brand
Elton Brand
Elton Tyron Brand is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association...
.
Heckling Clippers players
In December 2010, it was revealed that Sterling had been heckling his own players from his courtside seats, specifically focusing on point guard Baron DavisBaron Davis
Baron Walter Louis Davis is an American professional basketball player with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA. Drafted as the third pick in the 1999 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets, Davis was a star at Crossroads School and UCLA....
. His verbal barbs at the time included, "Why are you in the game?", "Why did you take that shot?", and "You're out of shape!".
External links
- Theodore Roosevelt High School (Los Angeles) Alumni Foundation profile on Donald (Tokowitz) Sterling, Class of 1952
- L.A. Clippers & Bad Management--An AskMen.com profile on Sterling
- Donald T. Sterling's Skid Row Mirage, LA Weekly, Feb. 19, 2008
- Peter Keating: Uncontested: The life of Donald Sterling, ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com, June 1, 2009