clock menu more-arrow no yes

Filed under:

Sterling v. Sterling 11: Donald Sterling Calls A Witness

New, comments

Today was apparently the second to last day of the trial, let's see what happened.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Hello, this is TwistNHook from SBN's Cal site, California Golden Blogs. We've been taking a ponder at the impending Sterling trial for the last few weeks. This is part 11 and here are the other first parts:

Part 1:  The Basics

Part 2:  Mental Capacity And The Law

Part 3:  Shelly Sterling's Filings

Part 4:  June 23 Trial Setting Conference

Part 5:  June 30 Trial Setting Conference

Part 6:  Day 1 of the Trial

Part 7:  Day 2 of the Trial

Part 8:  Day 3 of the Trial

Part 9:  Day 4 of the Trial

Part 10:  Day 5 of the Trial

So, today was apparently the second to last day of the trial.  The other week when the Judge was discussing this week, I feel as if he said today would be the last day.  Then again, they were supposed to have a full day yesterday and it was short.  So, today we had a few different witnesses.

First, we had Dick Parson, the interim CEO of the Clippers.  It appears that he was called by Shelly Sterling (or DTS' team sucks at calling witnesses), because his testimony was very favorable to her.  He basically testified as to what would happen to the Clippers if DTS stayed on as owner.  Again, this does not seem relevant to the two issues outlined by the Judge at the start of the trial.  It goes more to whether this sale is in the best interest of the Trust.  That is sort of relevant, because DTS has been arguing that he could get more money if he sold it in a few years.

However, I do not know if that is an issue the Judge really has questions about.  They already provided a significant amount of written evidence (even prior to Shelly's testimony on this) about how this is the best deal possible.  Does the Judge really think that the sale is not in the best interest of the Trust?  If he did, I doubt he does anymore.

First, Shelly testified as to the process of obtaining the 2 bil offer.  Now, Dick Parsons testified as to the shambles the Clippers would become if DTS stayed on.

Even players and coaches apparently would not want to be involved with the team.

And apparently Doc has said this more than once:

"He has told me he doesn't think if Mr. Sterling remains that he wants to continue as coach. He's told me that at least three times."

DTS' team say they may call Doc as a witness, but I could not quite imagine why.  The trial is supposed to end tomorrow and I don't think I've gotten to an actual DTS witness just yet.  DTS himself testified, but I think he technically was called by Shelly, not that it really matters.

Chris Paul might not want to play.

I think they made their potentially unnecessary point that the 2 billion offer is a great deal and not repeatable if DTS stays on as owner.  For you Clippers fans, there's more insecurities about the Lakers:

As an A's fan, I know what it is like to be in the shadow of a more successful local team.  I think I speak for us all when I say BOOO the Giants!  However, this testimony is relevant to the overall point here.

So, Tricky Dick Parson spoke about the potential problems with the Clippers if DTS stays on and a valuation that could exist at that point.  Then, another witness was called regarding the price:  Anwar Zakkour of Bank Of America.  Bank Of America was the giant evil corporate bank that crushes the souls of Americans with its potential $5 annual fees and whatnot.  Here, it was the tentacle laced corpuscle that managed the sale of the team.  This soul-less automaton, whose sole job is to ruin America one mortgage backed security at a time, had this to say:

More potentially unnecessary evidence about how great the deal was.  I guess the Judge does want to hear this testimony, otherwise he would stop it.

Finally, DTS actually called a witness!  How did that go?



Well, that's just how the world works.  People gotta get PAID. So, what did he actually testify about?

Sports marketing consultant Dean Bonham, testifying for Donald's side, said he thought the $2 billion can be matched later if the judge were to block the sale to Ballmer.

Bonham testified that if the NBA seizes the team and sells it at auction, "I think there's a chance it could actually increase the price."

Unfortunately, I cannot find any information on his justification for the auction actually increasing the price.  I'm not sure how much credence the Judge will put into his testimony insomuch as he doesn't have a high school or college degree and was the president of marketing for the Nuggets.

So, there you go.  DTS' first witness. Apparently, this will all end tomorrow:

Testimony is expected to conclude Wednesday, with perhaps another appearance on the stand from Shelly, and closing arguments are set for Monday.

I can tell by the amount of people tweeting (i.e. so much less this week) that people are generally less interested.  DTS is nowhere to be found.  It appears that Shelly is wiping the mat with Donald.  Will tomorrow change anything?  I doubt it, but who knows what the future holds?  Leave your thoughts in the comments and GO BEARS!