Steve Ballmer May Not Be Buying the Clippers, After All

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This file photo taken Nov. 19, 2013, shows then Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer during the company's annual shareholders meeting in Bellevue, Wash.

Image: Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

By Todd Wasserman2014-06-10 12:25:33 UTC

Disgraced Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling blocked former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's $2 billion bid to buy the basketball team on Monday. The sale of the team would need Sterling's signature to go through.

Instead, Sterling is pursuing a $1 billion lawsuit against the NBA. He issued a statement on Monday saying "the team is not for sale," adding "from the onset, I did not want to sell the Los Angeles Clippers." In late May, Ballmer won a bidding war for the team. The deal needed the support of the NBA's other 29 team owners, but that was expected to happen as long as Ballmer vowed to keep the team in Los Angeles rather than move it to Seattle, where Microsoft is based.

See also: Wait, 8% of Americans Are Still Cool With Donald Sterling?

After an audio recording in which Sterling makes a string of racist comments was leaked to the press in late April, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling from the league, forced him to sell his team and fined him $2.5 million.

Sterling had originally agreed to sell the team, but reversed course on Monday. His lawsuit alleges the league infringed on his Constitutional rights by relying on information from a recording he deems "illegal."

"I have decided that I must fight to protect my rights," Donald Sterling's statement reads. "While my position may not be popular, I believe that my rights to privacy and the preservation of my rights to due process should not be trampled. I love the team and have dedicated 33 years of my life to the organization. I intend to fight to keep the team."

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Topics: Business, clippers, donald sterling, Sports, Steve Ballmer