Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Oprah Winfrey interested in buying the Los Angeles Clippers

[ SOURCE ] Oprah Winfrey, David Geffen and Larry Ellison will join together in a bid to buy the Los

Angeles Clippers if the NBA's board of governors votes to force Donald Sterling to sell the team, Geffen told ESPN's Jeremy Schaap on Wednesday.

Geffen said he and Ellison would run the team, while Winfrey would be an investor.

"Oprah is not interested in running the team," Geffen told Schaap. "She thinks it would be a great thing for an important black American to own [another] franchise.

"The team deserves a better group of owners who want to win. Larry would sooner die than fail. I would sooner die than fail. Larry's a sportsman. We've talked about this for a long time. Between the three of us, we have a good shot."

Winfrey's spokesperson, Nicole Nichols, issued a statement later Wednesday, confirming Geffen's claim. "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.

Silver was asked Tuesday whether the league was considering more minority ownership in response to the sanctions against Sterling.

"As you know, we have an African-American primary owner in the league right now," Silver said. "Shaquille O'Neal just became a small owner of the Sacramento Kings. David Robinson is an owner of the San Antonio Spurs. Vivek Ranadive, a person of color born in Mumbai, India, just became the primary owner of the Sacramento Kings. So I believe we have a very diverse league, but I'd always like to see it become more diverse."

No comments: