“I’m a good member who made a mistake and I’m apologizing and I’m asking for forgiveness,” Sterling told CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “Am I entitled to one mistake, am I after 35 years? I mean, I love my league, I love my partners. Am I entitled to one mistake? It’s a terrible mistake, and I’ll never do it again.”
Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and V. Stiviano (right) watch the Clippers play the Sacramento Kings during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles on Oct. 25, 2013.
The Associated Press
On Sunday, the disgraced billionaire and owner of the Clippers Donald Sterling said he is sorry in an interview nearly two weeks after being banned from the NBA over racist comments. The show is set to air on CNN on Monday.
"I'm a good member who made a mistake and I'm apologizing and I'm asking for forgiveness," Sterling told CNN's Anderson Cooper. "Am I entitled to one mistake, am I after 35 years? I mean, I love my league, I love my partners. Am I entitled to one mistake? It's a terrible mistake, and I'll never do it again."
Before the latest scandal started, Sterling was sued several times for racially discriminatory practices. Notably Sterling settled a case with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2005 for a record $2.73 million, the largest ever obtained by the government in a discrimination case involving apartment rentals.
"I'm not a racist," Sterling told Cooper. "I made a terrible mistake. I'm here to apologize." In the interview, Sterling said he waited so long to come forward because he was "emotionally distraught."
"The reason it's hard for me, very hard for me, is that I'm wrong. I caused the problem. I don't know how to correct it," he said.
Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling with his wife Shelly and actor George Segal attend the NBA basketball game between the Toronto Raptors and the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Dec. 22, 2008.
© Danny Moloshok / Reuters / Reuters
Also Sunday, Shelly Sterling, the wife of disgraced billionaire Donald Sterling, suggested in an interview with Barbara Walters that her husband is suffering from dementia, which might explain his racist comments.
The estranged wife also owns half the team through a family trust. Her husband owns the other half, and Shelly said she wants to keep her share of the Clippers. Donald Sterling was banned from the NBA for life. He still owns the Clippers, but may be forced by the NBA to sell the team.
"I was shocked by what he said. And — well, I guess whatever their decision is — we have to live with it," she told Walters. "But I don't know why I should be punished for what his actions were."
She also said the couple has been estranged for more than a year, and she has been considering a divorce for many years.
"For the last 20 years, I've been seeing attorneys for a divorce," she said and laughed. "I signed the petition for a divorce. And it came to almost being filed. And then, my financial adviser and my attorney said to me, 'Not now.'"
"I have never heard him say racial things," the wife said when Walters asked if Donald Sterling is a racist.