Oprah Winfrey reportedly will make a bid to purchase the Los Angeles Clippers franchise if owner Donald Sterling is forced to sell the team. Clippers reserve Jamal Crawford, meanwhile, reportedly won the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award.
ESPN reports Winfrey, along with David Geffen and Larry Ellison, intend to make a bid for the Clippers team if it goes up for sale. While Winfrey would be an investor, she would not have a hands-on role in the team operations.
"Oprah is not interested in running the team," Geffen told ESPN on Wednesday. "She thinks it would be a great thing for an important black American to own [another] franchise. The team deserves a better group of owners, who want to win. Larry would sooner die than fail. I would sooner die than fail. Larry's a sportsman, we've talked about this for a long time.
"Between the three of us, we have a good shot."
Geffen is a music and film mogul, and Ellison is the co-founder and CEO of Oracle Corporation, a computer software company.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced on Tuesday Sterling would be banned for life from the NBA after a recording of the owner making racist comments went public. Silver also said he would urge the league's Board of Governors to force a sale of the Clippers franchise, which would require the agreement of three quarters of the owners.
If the franchise does become available, NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson also is expected to make a bid.
"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."
ESPN also reported Crawford is to be named the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year. Crawford, 34, averaged 18.6 points off the bench during the regular season.
