quote:
It does appear he is SOL on the lifetime ban though
Yeah, I think the lifetime ban will definitely stick no matter what, as it's clearly within the bounds of either law he can be punished with.
Financially, the fine isn't a big deal either way, I think that it comes down to which rule he is punished under. The defined "detrimental conduct" rule that comes with the $1M fine is basically a lesser rule, and all punishments are defined within it, I think making the course to forced sale harder. If it is upheld that he's punished under the "Commissioner's discretion" rule, with the $2.5M fine, I think the course to forced sale becomes easier, though still a tough battle.
He stands to be forced to sell either by "failure to uphold contract" or "willfully breaking the by-laws".
The failure to uphold the contract will most likely be based on discrimination, which by definition has to involve prejudiced treatment, and while what he said is prejudiced, he has not been proven to have treated anyone within the organization with this known prejudice (Elgin Baylor sued him for discrimination, but lost).
On the other hand, a case can be made that he did NOT willfully break the by-laws, his statements coming in a private conversation. Especially if he makes it to court, he can air all of the dirty laundry he knows about in pre-trial discovery, probably outing at least one other member of the NBA.
In any case, Sterling keeping the team until his death is financially beneficial to his family, because of all the laws surrounding capital gains taxes and such. He'll have to pay 33% of sale price minus $12.5M if he's forced to sell now, whereas if he dies and his family sells the capital gains tax will be on the difference between market value and actual sale price.
