[SAEN] 这种行为会让你被 NBA 终身禁赛 ▶️

By Marc Duvoisin | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-06-09 15:58:32

上周,在2026年NBA总决赛首战期间冲入弗罗斯特银行中心 (Frost Bank Center) 球场的一名北德克萨斯州青少年被逮捕,并被指控非法侵入。

NBA也对他处以终身禁止进入所有NBA球馆的处罚。

这并非联盟或NBA球队首次宣布某人为不受欢迎的人

因涉赌或吸毒而被驱逐出联盟的球员屡见不鲜。甚至曾有一位球队老板因发表种族歧视言论而被永远放逐。

是什么赋予了NBA总裁施加此类处罚的权力?首先是联盟的球迷行为准则

该准则展示在NBA各球馆内和球队官网上,当你购买门票时,就意味着你签署了一份遵守其条款的约束性协议。准则白纸黑字地写着,球迷不得使用“辱骂性或冒犯性的言语或手势”,不得从事“无序或具有破坏性”的行为,不得干扰比赛或踏入球场。一旦违反,你将被驱逐出场。

此外,购买场边座位的球迷有时会收到一份纸质的“球迷行为劝告”,而那些依然行为不端的球迷则会收到警告——“这是你将收到的第一次也是唯一一次警告”——如果他们继续我行我素,将被驱逐出场。且不予退票。

(所有这些警示性语言,都为起诉像这名北德克萨斯州少年这样闯入球场的人犯有非法侵入罪奠定了基础。要根据《德克萨斯州刑法典》证实该罪行,地方检察官必须证明公众已被告知特定区域是禁止进入的。)

至于球员的不当行为,《NBA宪章与附则》则是管理依据。根据第35条,任何投注NBA比赛的球员都可能面临罚款、禁赛或开除的处罚;如果球员合谋以“非凭实力竞争的手段”影响比赛结果,处罚将极其严厉:“永久取消资格”。

若球队老板使联盟声誉受损,经NBA董事会三分之二投票通过,可强制其出售球队。

了解完这些法律条款后,让我们来看看NBA或各支球队开出终极罚单的一些著名案例。

JiDion

YouTube网红季迪恩·亚当斯 (JiDion Adams)土生土长于德克萨斯州克利尔莱克城,他因策划引人关注的恶作剧而名声大噪,这些恶作剧在网络上疯传,吸引了数百万次的视频播放量。

2022年9月,在纽约举行的美国网球公开赛(职业网球大满贯赛事之一)四分之一决赛期间,他因让理发师在看台上为他理发而被驱逐出美网赛场。就在两个月前,他因鸣放气喇叭、违反这项英国赛事的观众行为规范而被温网终身禁赛。

同年,季迪恩将他的行为艺术噱头带到了NBA。在明尼苏达森林狼与达拉斯独行侠的一场比赛中,他坐在场边席上现场理发。当时NBA对此付之一笑。

:joy: 随时都可以理个新发型! pic.twitter.com/2R7nRpvBWc

— NBA (@ NBA) 2022年3月26日

但当季迪恩将讽刺的矛头指向女子职业篮球联赛(WNBA)时,得到的却是完全不同的回应。2023年7月19日,在明尼阿波利斯举行的一场WNBA比赛中,他抢走了一个出界球,并没有将其交给裁判,而是尝试投篮。他随即被驱逐出场。

一天后,季迪恩身穿绿色条纹睡衣,抱着枕头和毯子出现在亚特兰大的一场WNBA比赛中。他横躺在四个场边座位上假装睡觉。安保人员迅速围了上来。“打个盹也犯法吗?”他在被带出球馆时质问道,“这是什么地方——朝鲜吗?”

在手机拍摄的事件视频中,可以听到一名安保官员对季迪恩说:“你被禁止……参加所有与NBA相关的活动。”

在WNBA比赛中躺在场边睡觉后,季迪恩已被无限期禁止参加所有与NBA相关的活动。 pic.twitter.com/8hCxENMf5S

— Daily Loud (@ DailyLoud) 2023年7月20日

威斯布鲁克事件

2019年3月11日,在犹他爵士主场盐湖城达美航空中心举行的一场比赛中,常年入选NBA全明星的拉塞尔·威斯布鲁克 (Russell Westbrook) 与两名球迷发生了激烈争吵。当时,威斯布鲁克效力于俄克拉荷马城雷霆。

威斯布鲁克表示,当他坐在场边等待重新上场时,那一男一女对他大声进行种族主义侮辱。他们坐在雷霆队替补席后方第三排。在视频中可以听到威斯布鲁克用粗俗的语言威胁要揍那个男人——“你和你老婆”。

时年45岁的谢恩·凯塞尔 (Shane Keisel)在赛后告诉ESPN,他和女友并没有辱骂威斯布鲁克,也没有说任何不当的话。凯塞尔称,这次交流“一开始很有趣”,当时他向这位雷霆球星喊道:“给膝盖敷点冰块吧!”据凯塞尔说,威斯布鲁克回答说他是在热敷而不是冰敷,凯塞尔则回应道:“你确实需要热敷。”

在爵士负于雷霆的比赛中,与拉塞尔·威斯布鲁克发生言语冲突的爵士球迷谢恩·凯塞尔解释了他对事发经过的说法。 @ KSL5TV @ kslsports #nba pic.twitter.com/ScCSRttTCg

— Jeremiah Jensen (@ JeremiahJensen) 2019年3月12日

第二天,爵士队宣布终身禁止凯塞尔观看未来的爵士队比赛。球队表示,对视频画面和目击者采访的审查表明,凯塞尔对球员进行了“过度的、贬低性的言语辱骂”。

NBA因威斯布鲁克“向球迷使用脏话和威胁性语言”对其罚款25,000美元。

据凯塞尔称,他才是受害最深的人。他说,在一家汽车经销店收到威胁电话后,他失去了在那里的工作,而他的女友(后来的妻子)也失去了房屋清洁和家具翻新工作。这对夫妇起诉了威斯布鲁克和爵士队,指控他们诽谤、造成精神伤害等。2023年,犹他州上诉法院维持了下级法院驳回该诉讼的判决。

奥本山宫殿斗殴事件

2004年11月19日,在密歇根州奥本山宫殿球馆举行的一场印第安纳步行者与卫冕冠军底特律活塞的比赛中,爆发了NBA历史上最严重的斗殴事件之一。

事件结束后,五名球迷被永久禁止进入该球馆。

混乱始于比赛的最后一分钟,当时活塞队中锋本·华莱士 (Ben Wallace) 遭到步行者队前锋罗恩·阿泰斯特 (Ron Artest) 的背后犯规。华莱士推了阿泰斯特,两队球员随即加入混战。但冲突很快平息,裁判正在决定该判罚哪些犯规,这时一名球迷向球场扔了一个装有健怡可乐的塑料杯,正好砸在阿泰斯特的胸口。

愤怒的阿泰斯特冲上看台,误抓住了另一名球迷,而不是扔饮料的那个人。其他球员也跟着他冲进人群,混战迅速席卷了双方的球员和球迷。观众向球场投掷饮料、爆米花和至少一把折叠椅。拳头挥舞,一片混乱。

“我觉得我当时是在为生命而战,”时任步行者队主教练里克·卡莱尔 (Rick Carlisle) 事后说道。

步行者队助理教练查克·珀森 (Chuck Person) 称其为“角斗士般的场景,球迷是狮子,而我们只想逃命。当时的感觉就是这样,根本没有出口。”

ESPN对奥本山宫殿斗殴事件的现场直播 pic.twitter.com/hZVNQQPNkp https://t.co/NRvqZICJps

Ballislife.com (@ Ballislife) 2024年11月19日

警方出动了大量警力才恢复秩序,比赛在还剩45.9秒时被提前终止。

NBA对阿泰斯特、华莱士、步行者队的杰梅因·奥尼尔 (Jermaine O’Neal) 以及其他六名球员总共禁赛146场,导致这些运动员损失了总计1100万美元的薪水。阿泰斯特、奥尼尔和其他三名球员还被刑事指控犯有袭击罪。他们选择不抗辩,被判处缓刑、社区服务和愤怒管理课程。

五名球迷也被指控犯有袭击罪。此外,他们被禁止进入奥本山宫殿球馆观看NBA比赛。

针对“奥本山宫殿斗殴事件”,NBA加强了球馆的安保措施,并对比赛期间的酒精销售做出了限制。

约翰·格林 (John Green) 是通过向阿泰斯特投掷健怡可乐煽动这场混战的球迷,他被判犯有轻度袭击罪,处以30天监禁和两年缓刑。他还被勒令参加戒酒互助会和愤怒管理咨询。

格林在2009年接受ESPN采访时表示:“你知道,我后来意识到,那天晚上我惹下的麻烦基本上都是因为酒精。如果我清醒的话,我是不会那么做的。”

格林和阿泰斯特后来达成了和解,阿泰斯特(现名梅塔·桑迪福德-阿泰斯特 (Metta Sandiford-Artest))随后效力于其他四支NBA球队,包括洛杉矶湖人、休斯敦火箭和纽约尼克斯。他于2010年随湖人队夺得总冠军。

杰克·莫利纳斯

杰克·莫利纳斯 (Jack Molinas) 曾是纽约哥伦比亚大学的全美最佳阵容前锋,在1953年NBA选秀中被韦恩堡活塞队(印第安纳州)以探花签选中。他以穿着华丽、开豪车和挥霍大笔现金而闻名。1954年,他入选了NBA全明星赛,但在参赛前就被禁赛。原因何在?赌博。

联盟最终因他因他投注涉及自己球队的比赛而将其终身禁赛。莫利纳斯承认曾投注活塞队,但坚称自己只买他们赢。被开除后,他获得了布鲁克林法学院的法律学位,并起诉要求重返NBA,索赔300万美元。法院判决他败诉。

他后来被指控策划了一场席卷全美的操纵比分分差阴谋,以此来操纵大学篮球比赛。该计划涉及27所学校的50名球员。1963年,莫利纳斯因参与该阴谋被判处10至15年监禁,但在服刑五年后获假释。

1973年,他因跨州运输淫秽电影而被捕并受到指控。1975年8月,在取保候审等待审判期间,他在洛杉矶好莱坞山的自家后院被枪杀,这显然是因未偿债务而遭到的黑帮仇杀。他终年43岁。

乔泰·波特

乔泰·波特 (Jontay Porter) 曾是密苏里大学的大学球星,但他很难在NBA站稳脚跟,在多支球队之间颠沛流离。

2024年,当他担任多伦多猛龙队前锋时,联盟开始调查围绕波特的异常投注活动。问题的焦点在于特设投注(简称球员数据投注,即prop bets),即博彩者对比赛中的特定事件或场景进行投注,而不是对比赛结果进行投注。此类投注通常聚焦于单个球员的数据。

NBA的注意力被吸引到了针对波特相关数据的异常投注兴趣上,例如他在一场比赛中会投中多少个三分球,或者他是否会上场。

2024年4月,在调查发现波特向博彩者提供机密信息并投注比赛(甚至投注猛龙队输球)后,联盟宣布对其终身禁赛。

在其中一个案例中,一名掌握波特意图内幕信息的博彩者在2024年3月20日对阵萨克拉门托国王的比赛中下注了80,000美元。该博彩者通过在线体育博彩网站投注,赌波特无法达到为他设定的数据指标。

果不其然,波特在出场不到三分钟后就以生病为由主动退出了比赛。这笔80,000美元的投注本可获得110万美元的回报,但由于情况看起来十分可疑,该注单被冻结,博彩者未能拿到钱。

波特还面临刑事指控。2024年7月,他在联邦法院承认,为了让博彩者赢得球员数据投注,他曾主动退出两场猛龙队的比赛。他对共谋实施电汇欺诈的指控表示认罪,目前正在等待宣判。他面临最高20年的监禁,但检察官建议判处3.5至4年监禁。

现年26岁的波特表示,他这样做是“为了摆脱巨额赌债”。

唐纳德·斯特林

唐纳德·斯特林 (Donald Sterling) 是一名律师,也是一位极其成功的房地产投资人。他于1981年以1250万美元收购了圣地亚哥快船队。三年后,他将球队迁至洛杉矶。在斯特林执掌的大部分时间里,快船队都是一个笑柄。他曾因在场边席上对自己球队的球员巴朗·戴维斯 (Baron Davis) 进行冷嘲热讽而臭名昭著。2009年,《ESPN杂志》将快船队评为职业体育界最差的特许经营球队。

斯特林的覆灭发生在2014年,当时TMZ网站曝光了一段泄露的录音。在录音中,可以听到他告诉情妇,他对她在Instagram上发布与NBA传奇球星埃尔文·“魔术师”·约翰逊 (Magic Johnson) 的合影感到失望。斯特林说:“你非要宣扬自己和黑人交往,这让我非常困扰。”

NBA球员们要求将斯特林驱逐出联盟。快船队球员通过反穿球衣以隐藏快船队标志的方式来表达他们的愤怒。贝拉克·奥巴马 (Barack Obama) 总统谴责了斯特林“令人极其反感的种族主义言论”,各大赞助商也纷纷与球队切断了联系。

2014年4月30日,就在TMZ录音泄露仅五天后,NBA总裁亚当·肖华 (Adam Silver) 宣布对斯特林处以终身禁赛,原因是他“发表了具有攻击性和伤害性的观点”,违反了联盟规则。斯特林的妻子兼共同所有人谢莉将球队以20亿美元的价格卖给了前微软首席执行官史蒂夫·鲍尔默 (Steve Ballmer)。斯特林发起了一场漫长的法律斗争试图阻止这笔交易,但最终以失败告终。

Yousif Alsahli, 16, center, prepares to take a selfie with Spurs star Victor Wembanyama after running onto the court during Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center.
Russell Westbrook, center, then with the Los Angeles Lakers, competes against the Spurs in March 2022. In 2019, when he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Westbrook accused a fan of directing racial taunts at him. The fan was banned for life from NBA arenas.

由生成式 AI 翻译,译文内容可能不准确或不完整,以原文为准。

点击查看原文:This kind of behavior will get you banned for life by the NBA

This kind of behavior will get you banned for life by the NBA

The North Texas teenager who dashed onto the court at Frost Bank Center during Game 1 of the 2026 NBA finals last week was arrested and charged with criminal trespassing.

The NBA also banned him from all its arenas for life.

It wasn’t the first time the league or an NBA team had pronounced someone persona non grata.

Players who bet on games or use drugs have been kicked out of the league. In one case, an owner was banished over racist remarks.

What gives the NBA commissioner the right to impose such penalties? For starters, the league’s Fan Code of Conduct.

It’s displayed in NBA arenas and on team websites, and when you buy a ticket you enter into a binding agreement to abide by its provisions. The code says in black and white that fans can’t use “abusive or offensive language or gestures," engage in “unruly or disruptive” behavior, interrupt the game or set foot on the court. If you do, you’ll be gone.

For good measure, fans with courtside seats are sometimes given a printed “Fan Conduct Advisory”, and those who misbehave anyway are issued a warning — “the first and only warning you will receive” — that they’ll be ejected if they keep it up. Without a refund.

(All that cautionary language lays the foundation for a court-crasher like the North Texas teen to be prosecuted for trespassing. To prove the offense under the Texas Penal Code, the DA has to show the public was on notice that a particular place was off-limits.)

As for player misconduct, the NBA Constitution and Bylaws is the governing text. Under Article 35, any player who bets on an NBA game can be fined, suspended or expelled, and if a player conspires to influence the outcome of a game “otherwise than on its merits,” the penalty is severe: “perpetual disqualification.”

An owner who brings the league into disrepute can forced to sell their team by a two-thirds vote of the NBA board of governors.

Now that we have the legalities out of the way, let’s look at some notable cases where the NBA or individual teams imposed the ultimate penalty.

JiDion

YouTube star JiDion Adams, a native of Clear Lake City, Texas, made a name for himself by staging attention-getting pranks that have gone viral, generating millions of video views.

He was kicked out of the U.S. Open in New York, part of professional tennis’ Grand Slam of major tournaments, for having a barber cut his hair in the stands during a quarterfinal match in September 2022. Two months earlier, he was banned from Wimbledon for life for sounding an air horn, breaching the British tournament’s protocols on spectator conduct.

JiDion brought his performance art schtick to the NBA the same year, staging a haircut while sitting courtside at a game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Dallas Mavericks. The NBA made light of it.

:joy: Never a bad time for a fresh cut! pic.twitter.com/2R7nRpvBWc

— NBA (@ NBA) March 26, 2022

But JiDion got a different response when he aimed his satire at the NBA women’s league. At a WNBA game in Minneapolis on July 19, 2023, he grabbed an out-of-bound ball and, instead of handing it to a referee, attempted a shot. He was kicked out.

A day later, JiDion showed up at a WNBA contest in Atlanta wearing striped, green pajamas and carrying a pillow and blanket. He reclined across four courtside seats and pretended to sleep. Security personnel descended. “Is it against the law to take naps?” he asked as he was led out of the arena. “What is this — North Korea?”

In smartphone video of the incident, a security official can be heard telling JiDion: “You are banned … from all NBA-related events.”

JiDion has been banned indefinitely from all NBA related events after falling asleep courtside at a WNBA game. pic.twitter.com/8hCxENMf5S

— Daily Loud (@ DailyLoud) July 20, 2023

Russell Westbrook incident

Westbrook, a perennial NBA all-star, got into a heated argument with a pair of fans during a March 11, 2019, game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, home of the Utah Jazz. At the time, Westbrook was playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Westbrook said the man and woman shouted racial taunts at him as he sat on the sideline, waiting to re-enter the game. They were seated three rows behind the Thunder bench. Westbrook can be heard on video threatening, in crude language, to beat the man up — “you and your wife.”

Shane Keisel, then 45, told ESPN after the game that he and his girlfriend did not curse at Westbrook or say anything inappropriate. Keisel said the exchange “started off as fun” when he shouted to the Thunder star: “Ice those knees up!” According to Keisel, Westbrook replied that he was applying heat, not ice, to his knees, and Keisel said, “You’re going to need it.”

Shane Keisel, the Jazz fan who was involved in a verbal altercation with Russell Westbrook during the Jazz loss to the Thunder, explains his side of what happened. @ KSL5TV @ kslsports #nba pic.twitter.com/ScCSRttTCg

— Jeremiah Jensen (@ JeremiahJensen) March 12, 2019

The next day, the Jazz announced that Keisel was barred from future Jazz games for life. The team said a review of video footage and interviews with witnesses showed that Keisel engaged in “excessive and derogatory verbal abuse directed at a player.”

The NBA fined Westbrook $25,000 for “directing profanity and threatening language to a fan.”

By his account, Keisel got the worst of it. He said he lost his job at a car dealership after it received threatening calls, and that his girlfriend (later his wife) lost work as a house cleaner and furniture refinisher. The couple sued Westbook and the Jazz for defamation, infliction of emotional distress and other claims. In 2023, the Utah Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s dismissal of the case.

Malice at the Palace

One of the worst brawls in NBA history happened Nov. 19, 2004, during a game between the Indiana Pacers and the defending champion Detroit Pistons at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich.

After it was over, five fans were forbidden ever to return to the arena.

The mayhem began in the final minute of the game, when Pistons center Ben Wallace was fouled from behind by Pacers forward Ron Artest. Wallace shoved Artest, and players from both teams joined the fray. But the fight soon subsided, and the referees were deciding what fouls should be assessed when a fan threw a plastic cup of Diet Coke toward the court. It hit Artest in the chest.

Enraged, Artest charged into the stands and mistakenly grabbed a different fan, not the one who had thrown the drink. Other players followed him into the crowd, and the melee quickly engulfed players and fans of both teams. Spectators hurled drinks, popcorn and at least one folding chair onto the court. Fists flew.

"I felt like I was fighting for my life out there,” then-Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said afterward.

A Pacers assistant coach, Chuck Person, called it “a gladiator-type scene where the fans were the lions and we were just trying to escape with our lives. That’s how it felt. That there was no exit."

Live ESPN broadcast of The Malice At The Palace pic.twitter.com/hZVNQQPNkp https://t.co/NRvqZICJps

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A massive police deployment was required to restore order, and the game was called off with 45.9 seconds left on the clock.

The NBA suspended Artest, Wallace, the Pacers’ Jermaine O’Neal and six other players for a combined 146 games, costing the athletes a total of $11 million in salary. Artest, O’Neal and three other players also were criminally charged with assault. They pleaded no contest and were sentenced to probation, community service and anger management classes.

Five fans also were charged with assault. On top of that, they were banned from attending NBA games at The Palace.

The NBA responded to “Malice at the Palace” by tightening security in its arenas and putting limits on alcohol sales during games.

John Green, the fan who helped instigate the donnybrook by throwing his Diet Coke at Artest, was convicted of misdemeanor assault and sentenced to 30 days in jail and two years’ probation. He also was ordered to enroll in Alcoholics Anonymous and anger management counseling.

“You know, I realized then the trouble I got in that night pretty much stemmed from alcohol," Green told ESPN in 2009. "I wouldn’t have done that sober.”

Green and Artest later reconciled, and Artest (now known as Metta Sandiford-Artest) went on to play for four other NBA teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers, the Houston Rockets and the New York Knicks. He won a championship with the Lakers in 2010.

Jack Molinas

Molinas, an all-American forward at Columbia University in New York, was chosen with the third pick in the 1953 NBA draft by the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Pistons. He was known as a flashy dresser who drove big cars and flaunted wads of cash. In 1954, he was selected for the NBA all-star game but was suspended before he could play in it. The reason? Gambling.

The league ultimately banned him for life for betting on games involving his own team. Molinas admitted wagering on the Pistons but insisted he only bet on them to win. After his expulsion, he obtained a law degree from Brooklyn Law School and sued for reinstatement to the NBA, asking for $3 million in damages. Courts ruled against him.

He was later accused of masterminding a nationwide point-shaving operation that rigged college basketball games. The scheme involved 50 players from 27 schools. In 1963, Molinas was sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison for his part in the conspiracy but was paroled after five years.

In 1973, he was arrested and charged with shipping pornographic films from state to state. He was free on bail and awaiting trial in August 1975 when he was shot dead in the backyard of his Hollywood Hills home in Los Angeles in an apparent mob hit over unpaid debts. He was 43.

Jontay Porter

Porter was a college star at the University of Missouri who struggled to establish himself in the NBA and bounced from team to team.

In 2024, when he was a forward for the Toronto Raptors, the league began investigating suspicious betting activity surrounding Porter. At issue were proposition bets — prop bets for short — in which a gambler wagers on a specific occurrence or scenario within a game rather than on the outcome. Prop bets often focus on a single player.

The NBA’s attention was drawn to unusual interest in prop bets concerning Porter, such as how many 3-point shots he would make in a game or whether he would even play.

In April 2024, the league banned Porter for life after its investigation found that he gave confidential information to bettors and wagered on games, even betting on the Raptors to lose.

In one case, a gambler who had inside information about Porter’s intentions placed an $80,000 bet on a March 20, 2024, game against the Sacramento Kings. The bettor wagered that Porter would not hit the numbers set for him in bets placed through an online sports book.

Sure enough, Porter took himself out of the game after less than three minutes, claiming to be sick. The $80,000 bet would have returned $1.1 million, but because the circumstances appeared suspicious, the wager was frozen, and the bettor did not collect.

Porter faced criminal charges on top of the NBA ban, and in July 2024 he admitted in federal court to pulling himself out of two Raptors games so gamblers could win prop bets. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and is awaiting sentencing. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, but prosecutors have proposed a term of 3.5 to 4 years.

Porter, now 26, said he did it “to get out from under large gambling debts.”

Donald Sterling

Sterling, a lawyer and a hugely successful real estate investor, bought the San Diego Clippers in 1981 for $12.5 million. Three years later, he moved the team to Los Angeles. The Clippers were a laughingstock for much of Sterling’s tenure. He once notoriously heckled one of his own players, Baron Davis, from his courtside seat, and in 2009, ESPN The Magazine named the Clippers the worst franchise in pro sports.

Sterling’s undoing came in 2014, when TMZ published a leaked recording in which he was heard telling a mistress that he was disappointed she had posted on Instagram a photo of herself posing with NBA great Magic Johnson. “It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with Black people,” Sterling said.

NBA players demanded that Sterling be exiled from the league. Clippers players registered their disgust by wearing their jerseys inside-out to hide the Clippers logo. President Barack Obama condemned Sterling’s “incredibly offensive racist statements,” and major advertisers cut ties with the team.

On April 30, 2014, just five days after the TMZ leak, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced that Sterling had been banned for life for violating league rules “through his expressions of offensive and hurtful views.” Sterling’s wife and co-owner, Shirley, sold the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for $2 billion. Sterling mounted a lengthy legal battle to block the sale but was unsuccessful.

By Marc Duvoisin, via San Antonio Express-News