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Sterling Reveals Dementia in Open Court
by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700
Copyright
July 10, 2014
All Rights Reserved.
Since his racist tirade to his 32-year-old
“girlfriend” V. Stiviano went viral April 26 on Hollywood gossip site TMZ
Sports, Los Angeles 80-year-old Clippers owner Donald Sterling went incognito
until he appeared May 12 in an exclusive interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper.. During the interview, Cooper exposed
Sterling’s cognitive impairments, helping explain why one of LA’s most
successful real estate moguls and sports owners got involved with a skanky
thirty-something that took him to cleaners.
Sterling’s wife Shelly of 58 years was busy suing Stiviano to get back
the real estate, Bentleys, Ferrari and all the loot gifted by Donald to
Stiviano. Now in Los Angeles
Superior Court to settle the question of whether or not Shelly had Donald
declared mentally incompetent to complete the May 29 sale of the Los Angeles
Clippers to former Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer.
Sterling’s primary Attorney Maxwell Blecher insists that Shelly
manipulated Donald into neurological exams at UCLA Medical Center to force him
off the family trust so she could sell the team to Balmer. NBA officials, led by NBA
Commissioner Adam Silver, insist that if the sale doesn’t go through by Sept.
15, they will sell the team to the highest bidder. Sterling doesn’t accept the NBA’s right under its franchise agreement to reserve the
right to terminate ownership if owners damage the NBA brand. With Sterling telling Stivianon on a
secretly recorded tape broadcast on TMZ Sports to not associate or bring blacks
to Clippers games, the entire league and sports world was offended. With the NBA a predominantly African
American league, Sterling’s ugly words cut to the quick, prompting Silver to
fine Sterling $2.5 million and ban him from the NBA for life.
Sterling’s day in court revealed the extent of his cognitive impairments,
berating his wife and shouting in open court.
“Make no mistake,” said Sterling.
“I will never, ever sell this team and until I die I will be suing the
NBA for this terrible violation of antitrust,” referring to his lifetime ban. Probate Judge Michael Levanas must
determine whether or not it was appropriate for Shelly to have Donald removed
from the family trust as co-trustee due to mental incapacitation. “Get away from me you pig,” said
Donald to Shelly in court, prompting Judge Levanas to ask Sterling to show some
restraint. Sterling testified that
Shelly deceived him about undergoing cognitive testing in April before she sold
the team to Balmer for $2 billion.
“She deceived me. I trusted her,”
said Sterling. “I never thought a
wife wouldn’t stand for her husband,” referring to his neurological exam that
showed him disabled.
Sterling’s inability to figure out why his wife would want him to undergo
a neurological examination shows the extent of his cognitive impairments. When he tried to engage with CNN’s
Anderson Cooper on national TV, it was clear, no one in Sterling’s camp
protected him from the public embarrassment
Cooper and his CNN bosses should have never run with the interview
because of how off-the-wall Sterling sounded responding to easy questions. While trying to apologize for his
revolting comments on TMZ, Sterling went on to denounce NBA Hall of Fame Los
Angeles Lakers great Ervin “Magic” Johnson for sexual promiscuity getting him
AIDS. Sterling repeatedly
denounced Johnson, a successful entrepreneur in LA’s black community, for doing
nothing for African Americans.
Cooper’s interview revealed what’s become obvious to everyone in contact with
Sterling: His dementia.
Sterling’s lawyers led by Blecher and Bobby Samani are arguing to Judge
Levanas to dismiss UCLA’s neurological exams as Shirley’s “hired guns,” while,
simultaneously, watching Sterling in open court display the cognitive
impairments warranting removal as co-trustee.
Sterling’s attorneys have an uphill battle arguing that an independent
medical exam wouldn’t come to the exact same conclusions about Sterling’s mental
status. Shelly conceded in court
that she’s her husband’s caregiver, taking him to his doctors’ appointments and
giving him his meds. Shelly’s
attorney Pierce O’Donnell asked her, “Do you love your husband.” “Yes, I do,” Shelly replied, expressing sadness when she saw the extent of Donald’s
impairments when interviewed May 12 by CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “I couldn’t believe it, and I
started crying,” said Shelly, watching Donald make a fool of himself.
Watching Sterling respond to questions in open court, Judge Levanas has
plenty of evidence to uphold Shelly’s rights under the Sterling Family Trust to
remove her husband as co-trustee.
If Levanas wants to delay the inevitable, he could order an independent medical
exam to confirm UCLA’s results.
Acting erratically in court impeaches Sterling’s arguments trying to show the
judge that honest professionals would come up with opposite conclusions. “My wife was terrified. She’s frightened to death. She thinks the NBA will take away
everything she worked for. She was cared
out of her mind,” insisted Sterling in court, making no sense. Shelly knew that Balmer paid her
more than market value for Clippers.
If she has any misgivings, it’s that she still wants to be part of the
NBA. When her husband ran his
mouth, it prevented the Sterling family from having that privilege.
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