Clipped: What happened to Donald Sterling in reality? Exploring the great fall of the LA Clippers owner

The first two episodes of the NBA-centric FX series Clipped were released on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, and have served as an instant reminder of the 2014 media frenzy and scandal surrounding Donald Sterling, ex-owner of the LA Clippers team.

Sterling was the co-owner of the Clippers with his wife Shelley when a leaked tape of a conversation with his mistress V. Stiviano surfaced. Sterling was heard making racist comments about the players while talking to Stiviano, which erupted to become one of the biggest scandals in NBA history, forcing him to sell the team.

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What happened to Donald Sterling from Clipped in reality?

Donald and Rochelle 'Shelly' Sterling at a Clippers game in 2013 (Image via Noah Graham/Getty Images)

Donald Sterling is the ex-owner of the NBA LA Clippers team, who faced a lifetime ban from the basketball league and had to sell his team after his racist comments about the players were released on a leaked tape in April 2014.

However, Sterling had a history of racism long before his scandalous and shocking comments. In 2006, he faced a lawsuit by the US Department of Justice because he would not rent apartments to tenants of color. In 2009, Elgin Baylor, the Clippers' general manager, sued him for mistreating the Black team players and not paying them adequately.

The last straw was with the infamous leaked tape in 2014, recorded after Sterling's mistress V. Stiviano posted an Instagram picture with NBA player Magic Johnson at a game. In the tape, Sterling can be heard ranting about the incident to Stiviano. One of the things he said is included in the tape's transcript:

"It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with Black people. Do you have to? You can sleep with them. You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want. The little I ask you is not to promote it on that ... and not to bring them to my games."

He went on to warn her about who she associated with publicly, despite Stiviano's discomfort and her reminders that she identified as a person of mixed race descent too.

After the tape's release, all NBA players and teams became active advocates for racial justice and equality in the league. The NBA commissioner Adam Silver banned Donald Sterling from the league and fined him 2.5 million dollars, essentially forcing Sterling to sell off the Clippers. Though Sterling tried to sue the NBA, the case was dropped and his team was sold to Steve Ballmer.

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What is Clipped about?

The FX on Hulu series, created by Gina Welch, is a reenacted documentary series following the story of Donald Sterling and his downfall while the LA Clippers try to win their championship.

The first two episodes focus on the dynamic between Sterling, Shelly, and Stiviano, and how they handle their public image at NBA games. The show also portrays how the Clippers struggled under Sterling's regime, training to win the championship despite the harassment and favoritism they faced. Clipped Season 1 has six episodes, released weekly on Hulu.

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Who are the cast members of Clipped?

The cast of Clipped at an event for the series (Image via Instagram/@fxnetworks)

The cast of Clipped includes many prominent actors like Ed O'Neill (Modern Family), Laurence Fishburn (History's Greatest Mysteries), and Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook). The list of the main cast and their corresponding characters includes:

• Ed O'Neill as Donald Sterling, ex-owner of the LA Clippers
• Jacki Weaver as Shelly Sterling, Donald's wife and former co-owner of the Clippers
• Cleopatra Coleman as V. Stiviano, Donald's mistress
• Laurence Fishburn as Doc Rivers, Clippers coach
• Kelly AuCoin as Andy Roeser, former LA Clippers manager
• J. Alphonse Nicholson as Chris Paul, Clippers player
• Rich Sommer as Seth Burton, public relations head for the Clippers
• Corbin Bensen as Pierce O'Donnell, Donald's lawyer

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Season 1 of Clipped is streaming now on Hulu.