The NBA has yet to complete its investigation into racist remarks allegedly made by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, but the blowback has already hit the team's bottom line.
A host of sponsors announced Monday plans to drop or suspend deals with the Clippers in light of the controversy that detonated this weekend after an audio recording was leaked to the press.
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The following companies released statements on Monday saying they will terminate their sponsorship deals with the Clippers because of Sterling:
Virgin America
CarMax
The statements attributed to the Clippers’ owner directly conflict with our culture of respect. @CarMax is ending its sponsorship.
— CarMax (@CarMax) April 28, 2014
The following companies said Monday that they plan to suspend their sponsorships while the NBA investigation continues:
Sprint
Kia
Red Bull
AQUAhydrate
In the wake of Sterling’s alleged intolerable comments we are suspending our Clippers sponsorship until the NBA completes its investigation.
— AQUAhydrate (@AQUAhydrate) April 28, 2014
State Farm, which runs a massive national campaign centered around Clippers' star Chris Paul, will also suspend its Clippers sponsorship.
"The remarks attributed to the Clippers’ owner are offensive," reads a statement issued by State Farm on Monday. "While those involved sort out the facts, we will be taking a pause in our relationship with the organization. We are monitoring the situation and we’ll continually assess our options. We have a great relationship with Chris Paul and will continue supporting the Born to Assist advertising campaign involving Chris and now other NBA players."
Sterling drew fire this weekend after an audio tape emerged in which a voice attributed to him harangues his reported girlfriend, named V. Stiviano, about "broadcasting" her "associations" with black people, including NBA legend Magic Johnson. The voice attributed to Sterling also tells Stiviano "not to bring them to my games."
Sterling has been known as an alleged racist and general scumbag owner for years among NBA fans, but the audio recording leaked Friday went viral and pushed him into mainstream consciousness in a major way. The NBA announced that it will hold a press conference Tuesday regarding its investigation.
Backlash against Sterling's comments was swift and widespread. Clippers players wore their warmups inside-out before Sunday's NBA playoff game against the Warriors and many, including NBA megastar Kobe Bryant, say Sterling should no longer be allowed to own an NBA team:
No. He should not continue owning the clippers. #nochance #noway #nohow
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 28, 2014
Actually forcing Sterling to sell the Clippers looks difficult if not impossible to pull off from the NBA's side, according to sports attorney Michael McCann. McCann says this is both because of language in the NBA's constitution, which is confidential, as well as concerns other owners have about the precedent that would be set by a forced sale -- something that's never happened in NBA history.
But if enough sponsors and consumers jump on the boycott bandwagon and make Sterling's ownership of the Clippers economically untenable? It's possible he could be pushed into a sale by less direct means.