Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling will also be fined $2.5 million, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced Tuesday.
Kirby Lee / Reuters
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Tuesday announced unprecedented sanctions against Clippers owner Donald Sterling — banning Sterling for life and fining him $2.5 million.
Silver called the racist comments by Sterling "deeply offensive" and "hateful."
Silver also announced that he will urge the league's Board of Governors to exercise its authority to force a sale of the team.
Silver said he fully expects to get the support needed from other owners to remove Sterling as Clippers owner.
"I believe the players will be satisfied with the decision," Silver said.
The NBA conducted a three-day investigation following the leak of a recording of him telling his former mistress, V. Stiviano, that he doesn't want her bringing black people to games, among other racist statements.
Silver announced Tuesday that forensic experts determined the voice on the tape is Sterling's and it was not altered in any way.
After the tape was made public, the backlash against Sterling's remarks led more than ten corporate team sponsors including Red Bull, Adidas, CarMax and State Farm to announce they are suspending or ending their relationship with the Clippers.
Clippers coach Doc Rivers also reportedly said Tuesday that if Sterling remained team owner he would not be back for the 2014-15 season.
Sterling bought the team in 1981 and his more than 32-year tenure as owner is the longest in the NBA. During that time, the Clippers have had the worst winning percentage of any team in the league, but recently have rose to prominence (number three playoff seed in the Western Conference this year) with the addition of stars such as Blake Griffin and Chris Paul.
The Clippers are scheduled to take on the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday in Game 5 of the teams' first round playoff series at the Staples Arena — the first Clippers game in Los Angeles since the news of the Sterling's racist remarks broke on Saturday