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Shelly Sterling is still showing up to Clippers games, but someone might need to take away her tickets. She, too, like her husband Donald Sterling, was accused in a discrimination suit of saying some pretty vile things about blacks and Latinos.
Tenant Darrell Rhodes filed a federal lawsuit against the Sterlings in 2007, claiming that as landlords they discriminated against blacks and Latinos. Rhodes said in a 2009 deposition that Shelly Sterling called him a "black motherfucker," according to the L.A. Times:
"I asked her again, I asked her, ‘would you reduce the rent?’” Darrell Rhodes said in the deposition. "And she said, 'who do you think you are, you black m—f—.' "The way in which she said m—f— was more lower voiced, under her breath. She said black loud enough for me to hear, she said mother loud enough for me to hear. F— part was a little lower. I had to look at her lips to hear her say it. And I did."
Oliva: “She said, ‘Oh, my God. This is so filthy. I can’t remodel my apartments the way that I want because Latinos are so filthy." Attorney: “Did she say those exact words, ‘Latinos are so filthy’?”
Oliva: “I can’t remodel my building the way I want and that the building was filthy because of the Latinos."
That wasn't the only case. In a 2004 deposition, a property supervisor said that Shelly Sterling discriminated against "certain ethnic groups." Summer Davenport said that Shelly Sterling didn't want certain children that "didn't fit the image" to be playing in the hallway or hang out in front of the building (which sounds a little bit like Sterling's concerns about the optics of having a black man Magic Johnson on his mistress' Instagram). Davenport had originally filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Donald Sterling in 2003, but lost in the trial.
Shelly Sterling has tried distancing herself from her husband's comments, by issuing the following statement on Sunday:
"Our family is devastated by the racist comments made by my estranged husband. My children and I do not share these despicable views or prejudices. We will not let one man's small mindedness poison the spirit of the fans and accomplishments of the team in the city we love. We are doing everything in our power to stand by and support our Clippers team."
However, just hours after she put out the statement, Shelly Sterling was seen exiting Fleming's steakhouse in downtown L.A. with Donald Sterling. She defended her husband and yelled at TMZ Sports camera men that he was not racist.
After the NBA announcement that Sterling was banned from the NBA for life, Shelly Sterling attended the Clippers game on Tuesday with encouragement from head coach Doc Rivers.
"She's been through as much as anyone," Rivers told the NY Daily News. "She asked if she could come. I thought it was a very nice gesture. She just wanted the players to know she loved them. I thought why not?"
