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NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced Tuesday that Donald Sterling is banned for life from the Clippers organization. As well, he has been fined $2.5 million. Finally, Silver will recommend to the Board of Governors that Sterling be forced to sell the team. Fine and Expulsion The fine of $2.5 million was not a surprise. The likely range was somewhere between $1 million and $5 million. However, the NBA went farther than expected by banning Sterling for life from the Clippers. That means that Sterling is not only permanently removed from the day-to-day operations of the league, but he cant be part of the franchise in any way. A suspension of 1 to 2 years was initially expected. Banning Sterling for life is a precedent setting punishment and appropriate under the circumstances. The comments were of course despicable and disturbing. As well, the majority of the NBA player population is of color. According to a 2013 report, 76.3 per cent of NBA players are African-American and 80.1 per cent are of color. So when the majority of the league workforce is African-American, the NBA has no choice but to ask as decisively as possible within its legal framework. Forcing the Sale of the Team This is where things get a bit messy. The NBA by-laws allow the league to remove an owner in limited circumstances, including if the team is in financial distress. We saw something similar in baseball when MLB took over the Dodgers when Frank McCourt made a mess of the team. The NBA by-laws, however, are unlikely to provide a reasonable basis for the league to terminate his ownership. Rather, the NBA will likely look to Article 35 of the NBA Constitution, which allows the commissioner to indefinitely suspend owners for "conduct prejudicial or detrimental to the association". The NBA needs three-quarters of owners to agree to the sale. This is broad language and does provide an arguable legal basis to remove Sterling. However, I emphasize "arguable." This language does not unequivocally give the NBA the authority to hand down the most dramatic and substantial of all penalties - forcing an owner to sell. So that means its possible that Sterling could fire back with a lawsuit if forced to sell alleging that the leagues owners have acted unlawfully. That type of lawsuit could be worth $100 million plus for Sterling. Thats why the NBA didnt announce Sterling is being forced to sell; rather they announced they would recommend that he be forced to sell and take it from there. As part of that same lawsuit, Sterling could allege that the NBA doesnt have the authority to ban him for life, and that the penalty is disproportionately high. Not only does Sterling have a history of racially insensitive comments, he also has a history of suing the NBA. After acquiring the San Diego Clippers in 1981, Sterling moved the team to Los Angeles without the leagues consent in 1984. David Stern, Commissioner of the NBA at the time, fined Sterling $25 million. What did Sterling do in response? He sued the NBA for $100 million. The fine was later reduced to $6 million. So depending on how Sterling takes Tuesdays news, this may not be done. Wholesale Sneakers Free Shipping . Maximilian Arnold put Wolfsburg ahead in the eighth minute, when the stationary Fallou Diagne allowed him to guide Patrick Ochs cross beyond the helpless Freiburg goalkeeper, and Ivica Olic doubled the lead three minutes later after Luiz Gustavo did well to set him up. Cheap Nike Sneakers . And rest hardly led to rust for the two-time defending NBA champions. http://www.cheapsneakers.us/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Sneakers Outlet . The Suns termed Fridays surgery by team doctor Thomas Carter a success. No timetable was given for Bledsoes return but the team said in a news release that he "will pursue a possible return to action during the second half" of the season. Cheap Sneakers China . -- David Price didnt think he would be in Port Charlotte this spring.LOS ANGELES -- Just as he has to wait to come into games, Jamal Crawford had to be patient about receiving the NBA Sixth Man Award. The 34-year-old guard was honoured on Thursday, a week later than usual. The delay was caused by the controversy involving team owner Donald Sterling, who was banned for life by the NBA after a recording surfaced in which he made racist comments. "Weve known it for a while, but obviously with all the stuff going on we decided to try to let it die down before we gave him the award or he would never be able to talk about the award," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "Im glad were finally able to do this." Crawford became the oldest recipient and the first to win with different teams. He also was honoured as the leagues best player off the bench while with the Atlanta Hawks in 2009-10. "Its pretty cool," he said during a presentation at the teams practice facility, with teammates including Chris Paul and Blake Griffin cheering him and poking fun of his suit and tie. "I didnt know what a family was on the court until I got with these guys," an emotional Crawford said. "Ive been on a lot of teams and usually guys, they go their own way. But with us, everybody is included, everybody is a part. They make everybody feel like family." Crawford led the leagues reserve players in scoring this season, averaging 18.6 points. He came off the bench in 45 of 69 games he played in, helping the Clippers to a 57-25 record, their best regular-season mark in franchise history. Crawford went so far as to say he hopes to spend the rest of his career with the Clippers, an organization roiled by Sterling telling his friend V. Stiviano that he didnt want her to bring black people to Clippers games. "As long as Im with this group of guys and with Doc leading us, everything else will work itself out," Crawford said. The Clippers had a 31-14 record when Crawford came off the bench this season. Crawford set the single-season franchise record for 3-pointers made witth 161.ddddddddddddThat surpassed his record from last season, his first in Los Angeles, when he was runner-up for the Sixth Man award. "He can score in his sleep," Rivers said. "Ive never seen a guy that can sit for 15 minutes and literally be on the floor for a half-second and they swing him the ball and hes ready to shoot and make some shots." Rivers even made an exception to his policy of not running a play for someone when they first enter the game. "Hes a lethal scorer, but he adds more value when he does other things," the coach said. Rivers was among those in the NBA who knew Crawford by reputation, a player who only wanted to score and not defend. But Crawford put that to rest this season, especially when Paul was injured. "This year hes ran the point guard position, hes been my best passer at times when C.P. was out," Rivers said. "Hes been our defender, hes in the right spots. Hes been a complete team guy, so Im really happy for him." Crawford received 57 first-place votes and 421 total points from a panel of 125 sports writers and broadcasters throughout the U.S. and Canada. He joined Kevin McHale, Ricky Pierce and Detlef Schrempf as two-time winners. Taj Gibson of Chicago finished second with 395 points and San Antonios Manu Ginobili was third with 138. Crawford had his best month in January, scoring in double figures in 15 of 16 games and helping the Clippers go 12-4 that month. On Jan. 25, he had 37 points and 11 assists in a win over Toronto -- the most points he scored off the bench in his career and his most with the Clippers. It was the second time this season he had that many points and assists; he totalled those numbers against Sacramento on Nov. 29. Crawford missed 13 games in March and April because of a sore Achilles tendon, but rallied to return in time for the playoffs. The Clippers and Thunder are tied 1-1 in their Western Conference semifinals series. The award sponsor Kia will donate a 2015 vehicle to a charity of Crawfords choice. ' ' '