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https://scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1501461/job-evict-sterling-not-yet-done-says-lebron-james
Sport/ Other Sport

Job to evict Sterling not yet done, says Lebron James

LeBron James says the owners still need to do their part. Photo: AFP

LeBron James, the face of the National Basketball Association, on Wednesday urged league owners to follow through on the lifetime ban imposed on Donald Sterling by forcing him to sell the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Miami Heat forward and two-time reigning Most Valuable Player praised NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s decision to ban Sterling on Tuesday along with a US$2.5 million fine in response to racist remarks made by the owner.

It’s a monumental day and it’s going to be remembered in NBA history LeBron James

Silver also vowed to force Sterling, the NBA’s longest-tenured owner, to sell the team, but he must win votes from three-quarters of the league owners to achieve that.

“It’s a monumental day and it’s going to be remembered in NBA history,” James said. “But the job is stiill not done. It’s a win, but we still need the owners to do their part.”

No timetable is yet in place, with the NBA’s 10-member owners’ advisory and finance committee meeting on Thursday to go over the next steps in the process.

“We still have to wait on the owners’ decision, which I believe will be in favour of what we all believe in,” said James.

Every NBA team issued a statement on Tuesday in support of Silver’s ruling, while the owners of the Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves both expressed confidence there would be sufficient votes to force Sterling to sell.

“We run a colour blind league and this should not be tolerated,” Kings owner Vivek Ranadive told ESPN Radio. “I would be surprised if this was not a unanimous vote.”

James, one of several players who had suggested there was a chance of a players boycott during the play-offs if Sterling was not suitably punished, was preparing for Miami’s second-round series versus either Toronto or Brooklyn.