League to appoint CEO to supervise Clippers

(Reuters) – The National Basketball Association said it will appoint a chief executive officer to supervise the daily running of the Los Angeles Clippers while plans are drawn up to sell the franchise.

The NBA has already said it wanted Clippers owner Donald Sterling to sell the team after he was banned for life from the league and fined $2.5 million for racist remarks.

The NBA said the decision to appoint a CEO had been made with the approval of the Clippers but the league did not say who would be given the job or when the appointment would be made.

“The best way to ensure the stability of the team during this difficult situation is to move quickly and install a CEO to oversee the Clippers organization. The process of identifying that individual is underway,” Mike Bass, the NBA’s Executive Vice President, Communications, said in a statement yesterday.

Sterling was banned from any further ties with his team or professional basketball and stripped of his seat on the NBA governing board days after two websites released audio recordings in which a voice said to be Sterling’s is heard criticizing a female friend for “associating with black people”.

The scandal has angered fans and players, with numerous commercial sponsors pulling their support for the team.