New NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will have no choice but to expel Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling from the league over racist remarks he reportedly said to his girlfriend in a tape recording, Donald Trump said.
"I don't know that [Silver] has much choice. I think he's going to probably have to do something where [Sterling] is expelled from the league in some form," the entertainment and real estate billionaire told "Fox & Friends" on Monday.
Trump predicted the NBA commissioner would "have to act very rapidly." He questioned Sterling's mental state to make such incendiary comments.
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"He could be out of it, frankly, based on his actions. He could be pretty much out of it in terms of his whole mentality," he said.
Trump said that if Sterling had been "with it" mentally, he would have recognized what his girlfriend was doing. It didn't matter though, he said, to the outcome of the situation.
"Whether he's out of it or not, what he said was despicable. And everybody, I think, agrees with that. I think probably very strong action is going to have to be taken by the commissioner," Trump said.
The audio conversation was posted online and reported by entertainment website TMZ on Friday. Trump said it was obvious Sterling was lured into the conversation by his girlfriend.
"He got set up by a very bad girlfriend. Let's face it," Trump said. "She was baiting him. And she's a terrible human being, and he gave horrible answers and disgusting answers."
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