Donald Sterling was apparently recorded in a recent conversation with a friend, declaring that he's not a racist. INSIDE EDITION has the latest.
We're hearing for the first time from embattled billionaire Donald Sterling and he's not apologizing.
"You think I'm a racist? You think I have anything in the world but love for everybody? You don't think that! You know I'm not a racist," declared Sterling.
The exclusive audio was obtained by the website radaronline.com. Sterling is speaking to an unidentified friend who apparently recorded the conversation and he's defiant, saying he will not sell the LA Clippers.
"You can't force someone to sell property in America. Well, I'm a lawyer, that's my opinion," said Sterling.
Sterling has been banned from the NBA for life for making those racist rants to his alleged ex-mistress V. Stiviano. He tells his friend he can't believe what's happened to him.
He continued, "How could you think I'm a racist knowing me all these years? How can you be in this business and be a racist? Do you think I tell the coach to get white players? Or to get the best player he can get?"
Sterling also speaks about Magic Johnson who was seen with Stiviano in that now-famous photo that triggered Sterling's racist rant where Sterling said, "Admire him, bring him here, feed him, (blank) him, I don't care. You can do anything. But don't put him on an Instagram so the world has to see it so they have to call me. And don't bring him into my games, OK?"
In the new radaronline.com tape, Sterling has this to say: "It breaks my heart that Magic Johnson, a guy that I respect so much, wouldn't stand up and say, 'Well, let's get the facts. Let's get him and talk to him.' Nobody tried."
The Clippers lost game two of the their playoff series with the Oklahoma City Thunder last night, just as Sterling's wife, Rochelle officially declared her intent to keep ownership of the team.
"I have been co-owner since 1981," she says in a statement. "During those 33 years, I have been a diehard fan even when the team was in the basement of the league. Now that all of our hard work is paying off, I want to celebrate the success that we are finally achieving."
And remember that Clippers fan who became an overnight sensation when she was caught on camera primping in the stands?
Rebecca Grant had yet another jaw-dropping TV moment when she was interviewed on Fox News and didn't realize she was on live, speaking to someone who was behind the camera. A moment of levity as the Donald Sterling scandal heats up again.
