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Donald Sterling vows to never sell the Los Angeles Clippers, calls his wife a 'pig' in court

Donald Sterling vows to never sell the Los Angeles Clippers, calls his wife a 'pig' in court

So, remember this?

Off the court record, likely banished from evidence that the judge can actually use, here’s what happened as the Los Angeles Clippers owner and Shelly Sterling warred in court on Wednesday in the former’s attempt to prove that he is mentally competent in his leadership over the Sterling family trust; and, by extension, the Clippers. A role that the trust’s bylaws can preclude him from continuing if it is proven that he cannot handle the role, as Shelly Sterling has attempted to document.

Via the Associated Press:

He was followed to the witness stand by Shelly Sterling, who declared her love for him, but says she was convinced he needed to be examined for Alzheimer's disease

As she was leaving the witness stand for the day, she tried to approach her husband in the audience. But he shouted "get away from me you pig!"

Deduce as you will. Most of those that have already made up their minds likely do not need to be pushed one way or the other, in this case. Those of you that are in Donald Sterling’s camp, kindly run your thoughts through a spell check before posting them online, or emailing away.

Donald went on:

''Make no mistake today,'' Sterling shouted toward the end of his second day of testimony in the trial to determine his wife's right to make a $2 billion deal to sell the Clippers, ''I will never, ever sell this team and until I die I will be suing the NBA for this terrible violation under antitrust.''

The Sterlings met again in probate court in Los Angeles on Wednesday for the second day in a row, in the third day of the trial. You’ll recall that Donald failed to show up for the first of these meetings despite knowing he’d be the lead witness, and the embattled Los Angeles Clippers owner was as nonsensical as he’s always been in such settings.

Donald Sterling initiated these probate hearings as a way to prove that he does not have a cognitive disorder or Alzheimer’s, and that he shouldn’t be removed from the Sterling family trust, a Shelly Sterling-led coalition that would like to sell the Los Angeles Clippers for the record-setting price of $2 billion in the wake of Donald’s racist and offensive rants against all manner of people.

The current Clippers owner was called to the stand for a second consecutive day to ask why he was fighting his wife as she attempted to sell the team, and why he had decided to go back on his word to allow Shelly Sterling to sell the team to former Microsoft chairman Steve Ballmer.

Donald Sterling, in a move most can relate to, appears to want to fight against such a sale because he is upset that the NBA decided to fine him $2.5 million and ban him from attending NBA games. This is, apparently, what is standing in the way of Sterling accepting $2 billion for the basketball team he paid just under $13 million for three decades ago. From USA Today:

Donald Sterling, on the stand, said he "probably would have" agreed to sell the club if the NBA had removed the penalties, which he thought they had initially.

"They indicated they would resolve all of the issues that remained, implying that if there was any punishment, which was the most serious punishment in the history of the Bar association and the history of sports," Donald testified. "To impose a $2.5 million fine. To bar somebody forever. There's something behind that, and we'll find out what it is."

It should be noted that at no point did the NBA indicate that they would remove the penalties listed above. If this was an easily removable stopping block between eradicating the NBA from their decades-long shame, in the form of Donald Sterling, the league would have done so months ago.

Sterling had his own take on the league that decided that it was time to use their collectively bargained right to attempt to legally move one owner out of its ranks, in order to ensure future profits. From USA Today:

And then he blasted the NBA: "This is the worst corporation in America, and everyone will find out how terrible and dishonest they are. ... I will never ever, ever sell this team. Until I die I will be suing the NBA."

You tell it, slugger.

Here are some more fantastic bits of Donald Sterling-ness for his supporters to try to answer for:

(Donald Sterling has been sued by ex-coaches, front office executives, and scouting personnel for lapsed payments, payments he was forced to settle over out of court or eventually pay after being leaned upon by the NBA to fulfill his contractually obligated charge.)

(Donald Sterling, for years, has flaunted an open marriage of sorts, with this particular mess stemming from a fight with a girlfriend that he repeatedly sat courtside with at Los Angeles Clippers games. Games that his wife attended just a few seats away from Donald and his admitted mistress.)

(Donald Sterling has long been criticized for taking out massive advertisements in Los Angeles papers triumphing his role in contributing in creating fictional charities he never sent a dime to.)

The court proceedings will continue and conclude on Thursday.

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Kelly Dwyer

is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!