Magic Johnson on Donald Sterling: ‘He’s Living in the Stone Ages’ (VIDEO)

In a followup to Donald Sterling’s disastrous and embarrassing CNN interview, the broadcaster gave Magic Johnson a chance to respond Tuesday. Like most people, Magic thinks Sterling is basically a crazy old man. Per the AP:

“He’s living in the stone ages,” Johnson said, a day after Sterling made his first public comments since racist recordings emerged last month and earned him a lifetime NBA ban. “You can’t make those comments about African-Americans and Latinos. You just can’t do it.”

 

“Here’s a man who you would think would be educated, and a man who is smart enough to build this type of wealth and own a team and have an incredible platform to change the world,” Johnson said. “But he’s doing it in a negative way.”

 

Johnson, who said he has known Sterling since he first came to LA to play for the Lakers more than 30 years ago, said he didn’t know how he got stuck in the middle of a situation that should have been a personal dispute between Sterling and V. Stiviano. Stiviano recorded Sterling making racist comments about a photo of herself and Johnson on Instagram.

 

“He’s trying to find something to grab on to help him save his team,” Johnson said, “and it’s not going to happen.”

 

Sterling’s comments won him a quick and stinging rebuke from NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who said owners were working quickly to force Sterling out of the league.

 

On Tuesday his fellow owners in the league’s advisory/finance committee met via conference call, discussed the CNN interview and reviewed the status of the charge for termination of the Clippers’ ownership.

 

Silver or an owner has to formally charge Sterling in writing with violating Article 13 of the NBA’s constitution. A hearing would then be held and require a three-fourths vote of the board of governors to force Sterling to sell the team he has owned since 1981.