Donald Sterling's Wife Wants To Keep LAClippers; Shelly Sterling Fights For 50 Ownership, Says Sanctions 'Does Not Apply To Her And Her Family'

Donald Sterling's wifeShelly Sterling has demanded to keep her share of the LA Clippers as she expressed the intent to keep her 50 per cent of the team's ownership with the help of her legal counsel. Shelly even claimed that the sanction given to her husband should not apply to her and the rest of her family.

Last week, the NBA imposed a lifetime ban on Donald Sterling after a recording of himself airing out racist comments have surfaced. In the wake of this controversy, his wife, Shelly, already distanced herself from her husband, bringing their children along with her.

"Our family is devastated by the racist comments made by my estranged husband," Donald Sterling's wife said in an interview with TMZ. "My children and I do not share these despicable views or prejudices."

Pierce O'Donnell, Mrs. Donald Sterling's lawyer, was quick to defend his client, saying that Shelly "abhors" her husband's comments, and "that they only share the same last name, not their values on race."

''We abhor guilt by association in America. The sins of the husband cannot be imputed to the wife or children,'' O'Donnell said in a statement for the Associated Press.

But Donald Sterling's wife has also been accused of racism a number of times before. In 2006, the couple was involved in a dispute with some former tenants wherein one of the aforementioned quoted Shelly with the words "Who do you think you are, you black [expletive]?"

O'Donnell, however, immediately dismissed the accusations.

''The charges against her by former tenants are false, unfounded and were never ever determined to be valid in a court of law,'' O'Donnell said. "He said the case was settled without any admission of liability. She doesn't have a racist bone in her body."

LA Clippers head coach Doc Rivers believes that the involvement of Donald Sterling's wife with the NBA franchise will not sit well with the rest of the team members.

"I guarantee you every person wouldn't be on board with that. Whether I would or not, I'm not going to say," Rivers said.