Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling reportedly is trying to make more than 100 hours of "extremely damaging" recordings disappear. Sterling asked his mistress, V. Stiviano, how they can make the unreleased audiotapes "go away," TMZ reports.
TMZ said Stiviano has more than 100 hours of additional recordings of Sterling, some of which are so "extremely damaging" that the Clippers owner asked her on Sunday, "How can we make this go away?"
Stiviano opened the possibility of reaching a settlement by telling Sterling to contact her lawyer, according to TMZ.
TMZ also reported Stiviano told friends she recorded the conversations at the behest of Sterling, whom she claims wanted their discussions recorded because of his forgetfulness.
The NBA is scheduled to address the Sterling situation on Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET.
Many, including some NBA owners, want Sterling to relinquish ownership of the franchise. Because the NBA constitution is unavailable to the public, it's uncertain what disciplinary action the league can take against Sterling.
If Sterling decides to sell the franchise, or if the league somehow forces him to sell, one name emerging as a potential buyer is NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson.
"Magic Johnson and his billionaire backers, the Guggenheim Partners, want a chance to purchase the Los Angeles Clippers, league sources told Yahoo Sports," Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports wrote on Monday. "'Magic's absolutely interested,' one source closely connected to Johnson's business interests told Yahoo Sports on Sunday night."
A league official involved in the buying and selling of franchises confirmed Johnson's intent to purchase the team.
"This is 100 percent Magic's plan," the official told Wojnarowski.
Johnson, whose name came up in the released audiotape attributed to Sterling, is also the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
