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With reports surfacing that the NBA has no actual power to remove Donald Sterling from his post as Los Angeles Clippers owner in the wake of racist comments attributed to him by TMZ Sports, Lester Munson of ESPN.com says the "constitution" which "governs the 30 owners of NBA teams and establishes the authority of the owners' commissioner" proves otherwise.
"Under the terms of Paragraph 13 of the constitution, the owners can terminate another owner's franchise with a vote of three-fourths of the NBA Board of Governors, which is composed of all 30 owners. The power to terminate is limited to things like gambling and fraud in the application for ownership, but it also includes a provision for termination when an owner "fails to fulfill" a "contractual obligation" in "such a way as to affect the [NBA] or its members adversely," writes Munson in an article posted on Monday afternoon.
"Silver and the owners could assert that Sterling's statements violated the constitution's requirements to conduct business on a "reasonable" and "ethical" level."
Munson went on to assert that "any owner or Silver can initiate the termination procedure with a written charge describing the violation," and Donald Sterling would have five days to respond to the charges via writing.
Munson admits that to "terminate" the Los Angeles Clippers may be a last resort, but it could give the NBA a solid amount of leverage if they decide they want to oust the embattled owner in the wake of their investigation.
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