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Report: Sterling Says Clippers 'Not For Sale'

(CBS) Just before it was announced that he's been banned from the NBA for life and will be forced to sell his franchise following the revelation of his racially insensitive remarks, Clippers owner Donald Sterling said his team is "not for sale," Fox News reported.

Fox News contributor and veteran sportscaster Jim Gray said he spoke with Sterling by phone, and while Sterling offered little comment, he did make one belief clear.

"He ... said he didn't want to comment on the record, however, the team is not for sale," Gray said on TV. "And he will not be selling the team."

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league will take every necessary measure to force the sale of the Clippers to a new owner. To do so, three-fourths of the NBA's owners will have to support such a move. As of mid-afternoon Tuesday, every owner on record had expressed support for Silver.

If a sale is forced, it sounds like Silver and the NBA would run point, according to Grantland's Zach Lowe.

[tweet https://twitter.com/ZachLowe_NBA/status/461224195091755010]

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