Danny Moloshok/Reuters
Well, Donald Sterling’s willingness to cooperate with the NBA was very short-lived. Last week, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer agreed to buy the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion in a deal negotiated by the embattled owner's estranged wife, Shelly. However, on Monday his attorney announced that Sterling had pulled support from the deal and will pursue a $1 billion federal lawsuit against the NBA. In the claim, he alleges the league violated antitrust laws by trying to force him to sell his team, as well as his constitutional rights by depending on information from an “illegal” recording. In a statement titled “The Team Is Not for Sale,” Sterling wrote “I have decided that I must fight to protect my rights. While my position may not be popular… I intend to fight to keep the team.” His protests may be for naught: The New York Times reports Tuesday that Shelly Sterling’s lawyers invoked “a Plan B” in their ownership contract that stripped her husband’s authority after a neurological exam found him to have cognitive impairments.