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NBA Picks Dick Parsons As Interim CEO Of Los Angeles Clippers

The National Basketball Association has named a new interim CEO for the Los Angeles Clippers: It's Richard Parsons, the former Time Warner CEO who was also a chairman of Citigroup.

David Aldridge of NBA.com first reported on the appointment.

And if you're just catching up with this story, here's some background: A recording of Clippers owner Donald Sterling making racist comments was released last month. The league hit Sterling with a lifetime ban and a $2.5 million fine. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said at the time that he was urging the league's board of governors to force a sale of the team. Sterling has said the Clippers aren't for sale.

Friday's move comes after the NBA announced that Clippers President Andy Roeser was taking an indefinite leave of absence. Roeser, one of the longest-tenured executives, was the first to publicly defend Sterling in the wake of the scandal that erupted last month.

In a statement, NBA chief Silver said, "I believe the hiring of Dick Parsons will bring extraordinary leadership and immediate stability to the Clippers organization."

Parsons said that he was "deeply troubled by the pain" endured by the Clippers and their fans, and that he would defend the NBA's values.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Krishnadev Calamur is NPR's deputy Washington editor. In this role, he helps oversee planning of the Washington desk's news coverage. He also edits NPR's Supreme Court coverage. Previously, Calamur was an editor and staff writer at The Atlantic. This is his second stint at NPR, having previously worked on NPR's website from 2008-15. Calamur received an M.A. in journalism from the University of Missouri.