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Arts & EntertainmentDonald Sterling

Donald Sterling Isn’t Getting the Clippers Back

By
Ben Geier
Ben Geier
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By
Ben Geier
Ben Geier
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 17, 2015, 11:21 AM ET
BASKET NBA RACISM CLIPPERS
Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling attends the NBA playoff game between the Clippers and the Golden State Warriors on April 21, 2014 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The NBA banned Sterling for life for "deeply offensive and harmful" racist comments that sparked a national firestorm. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver hit Sterling with every penalty at his disposal, fining him a maximum $2.5 million dollars and calling on other owners to force him to sell his team. AFP PHOTO / ROBYN BECK (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)Photograph by Robyn Beck — AFP/Getty Images

Steve Ballmer can rest easy.

A judge has ruled against former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling in his attempt to reverse the sale of the NBA franchise to Ballmer by Sterling’s estranged wife Shelly last year, according to the Associated Press. The ruling came down in the 2nd Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals, which heard the case after Sterling challenged the original sale in 2014 and lost.

Sterling got in trouble last year when recorded comments of him making disparaging comments about blacks and other minorities to his girlfriend were made public. NBA commissioner David Silver banned Sterling from the league for life. A judge determined that Sterling had signs of Alzheimer’s disease, allowing Shelly to take control and sell the team to former Microsoft CEO Ballmer for $2 billion.

Donald Sterling, though, has been trying to get his team back, claiming that he should not have had it taken away. The AP notes that appeals judges said Sterling didn’t show where the judge in the sale had made a mistake.

Sterling also has a suit pending against Shelly, from whom he filed for divorce last year, along with the NBA and the doctors who declared him incapacitated.

Fortune has reached out to Donald Sterling’s legal team and will update the story if they respond.

About the Author
By Ben Geier
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