Oprah Winfrey to Buy Los Angeles Clippers With David Geffen, Larry Ellison? 'We Have a Good Shot'
Oprah Winfrey has expressed interest in owning the Los Angeles Clippers.
Donald Sterling, the 80-year-old Jewish lawyer, real estate investor and current owner of the Clippers, was banned for life from NBA proceedings by NBA commissioner Adam Silver Tuesday. After TMZ released audio of Sterling telling his former mistress V. Stiviano not to associate with black people, Silver fined him $2.5 million and said he was working to overthrow his position with a 75 percent vote from other NBA team owners.
Nicole Nichols,Winfrey's spokesperson, issued a statement confirming Winfrey's desire to become a partial owner of the Clippers Wednesday.
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"Oprah Winfrey is in discussions with David Geffen and Larry Ellison to make a bid for the Los Angeles Clippers should the team become available," Nichols said in the statement obtained by ESPN.
Geffen is a music and film mogul with a net worth at an estimated $6.2 billion, according to Forbes reports. Ellison is the CEO of business software and technology giant Oracle.
Winfrey, the 60-year-old media maven who owns the OWN network, is reportedly not interested in running team operations for the Clippers. Instead she wants to make a statement about the buying power of black Americans, according to ESPN.
"Oprah is not interested in running the team," Geffen told ESPN's Jeremy Schaap. "She thinks it would be a great thing for an important black American to own [another] franchise."
However, Geffen is passionate about being a part of the possible deal as an NBA fan.
"I'm a fan. I bring something to the table, it's fun and I can afford it," Geffen told Schaap. "I live in L.A., that's one thing that makes it attractive."
Geffen told ESPN's Schaap that he believes the trio worth a reported $58.9 billion have a good chance of owning the team.
"The team deserves a better group of owners who want to win. Larry would sooner die than fail. I would sooner die than fail," he told ESPN. "Larry's a sportsman. We've talked about this for a long time. Between the three of us, we have a good shot."
However, the trio are not the only ones interested in owning the Clippers. ESPN is reporting that boxing champion Floyd Mayweather has also expressed interest in making a bid for the team.
Sean "Diddy" Combs, the rap mogul who could be on his way to becoming the first hip-hop billionaire, has also reportedly expressed serious interest in bidding for the team.
"I will always be a Knicks fan, but I am a business man. #DiddyBuyTheClippers #NameYourPrice," Diddy tweeted. "Seriously….I applaud Commissioner Silver and the @NBA for quick and decisive action. #BiggerThanBasketball."
