The 2024 NBA Finals are just around the corner, but FX is ready to take us back to a pivotal moment in the professional league’s history withClipped. Based on the ESPN30 for 30podcastThe Sterling Affairs,the upcoming limited series tells the story of the infamous tape in whichDonald Sterling, then-owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, made a number of racist remarks during a conversation with his mistress, V. Stiviano.The tape wasleaked to TMZand then releasedon June 27, 2025, while the Clippers were in the midst of a playoff series against the Golden State Warriors, and the players were forced to reckon with the blowback of Sterling’s horrific statements.
InClipped,Ed O’Neillplays Sterling, the Los Angeles attorney turned real estate mogul turned owner of the so-called “most cursed team in the NBA,” whileLaurence Fishburneplays formerClippers head coach Doc Rivers, who butts heads with Sterling while leading the team through this unprecedented situation.Coming to Hulu on June 4,Clippedexploresthis jaw-dropping scandal that shook the NBA just ten years ago, but would change the league forever.
“Clipped” is set against the backdrop of the Los Angeles Clippers' tumultuous 2013 season under Coach Doc Rivers. The story unravels when team owner Donald Sterling’s racist comments come to light, causing chaos both on and off the court. The series portrays the internal power struggle within the Clippers' organization, focusing on the conflict between Sterling, his wife Shelly, and his assistant V. Stiviano. As Rivers attempts to steer the team towards a championship, he faces the daunting task of maintaining morale and unity amidst the scandal.
The tape,in which Donald Sterling tells his mistress not to bring Black people to his games, turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg.The Sterling Affairspodcast details Sterling’s long history of racism,fromhousing discrimination lawsuitsto accusations that he hadthe mentality of a slave masteras owner of the LA Clippers. Players throughout the history of the franchise spoke out about his behavior, as didHall of FamerElgin Baylor, who served as the general manager of the Clippers for 22 years. In a 2014 CNN interview, after the tape was made public, Anderson Cooper asked Baylor if he thought Sterling was a racist, to which Baylor instantly replied, “Of course he is.”
Sterling was known throughout the organization for his erratic behavior and general disregard for the way an NBA team should be run, and he acted particularly inappropriately towards the Clippers players,who felt he objectified them and treated them like property. InThe Sterling Affairs, former Clippers, includingBlake Griffin,Ryan Hollins, andMatt Barnes, discussSterling’s frequent, uncomfortable visits to the locker room, often accompanied by an entourage of people, while most of the players were still in various states of undress. Sterling took a special interest in Griffin, who was drafted by the Clippers in 2009 as the first overall pick and poised to be the next face of the franchise, parading Griffin around at one of hisfamous “White Parties"upon his arrival in Los Angeles.
Griffin claimed Sterling treated the players like they were his race horses, often touching and squeezing their muscles in the locker room and encouraging his guests to do the same. He would marvel at their strength and stature to an uncomfortable extent, treating them more like objects than human beings. Former Clippers guardBaron Davis–whoSterling used to heckleduring home games – even compared the experience of playing for Sterling to Jordan Peele’s 2017 filmGet Out.
In his taped conversation with Stiviano, whichshe claimed was recorded with this permission, Sterlinginstructed her to not post pictures of herself with minorities on social media and also took aim atMagic Johnson,a five-time NBA Champion with theLos Angeles Lakersandbeloved figure in the NBA who Stiviano openly admired. In addition to his obvious racism, Sterling’sdegrading comments about Johnsonin the leaked tape also reflected his bitter grudge against the Lakers, the city’s premier basketball team that saw a level of success and fame he was unable to replicate with the Clippers.
The “Clippers Curse” Runs Deep
During his tenure as owner of the Clippers, which he purchased in 1981 for $12.5 million, Sterling played by his own rules, or at least tried to. Sterling had been causing issues for the league as far back as 1982, whenthe NBA fined him $10,000 for publicly discussingtanking (losing games intentionally)in order to finish the season in last place, which would allow them to draft a potential franchise player for the following season. That same year, the NBA denied Sterling’s request to move the team from San Diego to Los Angeles, but when they denied him once again two years later,he moved the team anyway,and the Clippers would forever live in the shadow of LA’s one true basketball team, the Lakers.
After the 2023-24 season, the title of “most cursed team in the NBA” might very well belong to the Detroit Pistons –who broke the record forlongest losing streak in NBA history– but historically,the LA Clippers have long been considered the laughingstock of the league. Theso-called “Clippers curse"goes back decades, and since the team was founded in 1970 (then the Buffalo Braves), the Clippers still have no league or Conference titles to their name, and their deepest playoff run was in the 2020-21 season, which ended with their loss in the Western Conference Finals. Not even duringthe Lob City erawith Griffin,Chris Paul, andDeandre Jordanwould the Clippers see a fraction of the success the Lakers did, which did not sit well with Sterling’s ego.
Donald Sterling’s Mistress Orchestrated His Downfall
Though Sterling was married to his wife Shelly (Jacki Weaver) for nearly 60 years, he had a long, open history of infidelity, and it would beone of his mistresseswho ultimately orchestrated his fall from grace.V. Stiviano, who then referred to herself as Sterling’s assistant, had ambitions of her own, and even bragged about owning the Clippers herself one day.
Shelly knew about Stiviano’s relationship with her husband – as did pretty much everyone in the Clippers organization – butStiviano had a habit of making her presence known wherever she went. She would actively stalk and antagonize Shelly, who thenfiled a lawsuit against her, forcing Stiviano to return the millions of dollars worth of gifts she received from Donald.
It was this lawsuit that wouldprompt retaliation from Stiviano, and in April 2014, TMZ made the leaked tape public, leading to widespread outrage and calls for Sterling’s resignation. We’ve only seen glimpses ofCleopatra Colemanas Stiviano thus far, butone teaserpromises a recreation of herbaffling interview with Barbara Walters, during which she claims Sterling isnota racist, and famously refers to herself as his “silly rabbit.”
The Donald Sterling Tape Shook the NBA
The Sterling tape was released at apivotal moment for both Clippers head coach Doc Rivers and the NBA’s newly appointed commissioner,Adam Silver.This was Rivers' first season with the Clippers, and he’d successfully led the team to a franchise-record 57-win season, earning them the 3rd seed in the Western Conference. After the scandal broke, Rivers sought to protect his players as they attempted to focus on their first-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors, and fought tooth and nail to prevent Sterling from attending Game 4.
After the tape was released, Sterling still planned to sit courtside at the Clippers' next playoff game in Oakland, butRivers made a phone callbegging one of Sterling’s representatives to stop him from doing so. Rumors circulated that the Clippers were going to boycott Game 4, but theystaged a silent protest instead. Before the game started, the whole team discarded their Clippers-branded warm-up gear at center court and proceeded to warm up wearing their long-sleeved red Clippers shirts turned inside out in order to hide the team name and logo.
Appointed in February 2014, Silver was just a few months into his tenure as the NBA Commissioner when the Sterling tape leaked, sparking outrage and protests across the league, and even prompting aresponse from President Obama himself. Silver acted fast, serving Donald Sterling ahefty punishment that included a $2.5 million fineanda lifetime ban from the NBA.Sterling was stripped of his authority over the Clippers and forced to sell the team, which was later purchased by former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for $2 billion.
The Donald Sterling tape was awatershed moment for the NBA, and sportswriterRamona Shelburne(who is also an executive producer forClipped)provides a thorough overview of the situation in her 2019 podcastThe Sterling Affairs, which is definitely worth a listen.
The first two episodes ofClippedwill premiere on Hulu on June 4.
