By Associated Press Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has pulled his support from a deal to sell the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and will pursue his $1billion federal lawsuit against the NBA, his attorney said Monday. 'We have been instructed to prosecute the lawsuit,' said attorney Maxwell Blecher. He said co-owner Donald Sterling would not be signing off on the deal to sell. Donald Sterling issued a one-page statement dated Monday titled 'The Team is not for Sale' and said that 'from the onset, I did not want to sell the Los Angeles Clippers.' Scroll down for video
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Donald Sterling has backed out of a deal to sell the Los Angles Clippers basketball team to ex-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for $2billion
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Instead, he will be pursuing a lawsuit against the league for $1billion, arguing they violated his constitutional rights
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Sterling was banned from the league for life last month after recordings were released of him making racist statements to then-girlfriend V. Stiviano
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NBA Commissioner Adam Silver asked the league's Board of Governors to force him to sell the team, but they cancelled the vote after it appeared a deal had been struck
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Sterling issued a statement Monday saying: 'From the onset, I did not want to sell the Los Angeles Clippers'
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The deal was brokered by his estranged wife Shelly Sterling, who would have kept 10 per cent of the team
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NBA
The $2billion sale was negotiated by his wife Shelly Sterling after Donald Sterling's racist remarks to a girlfriend were publicized and the @placeholder moved to oust him as owner.