Former Citigroup Chairman and Time-Warner chief Richard Parsons was named interim CEO of the Los Angeles Clippers, the NBA announced on May 9.
“I believe the hiring of Dick Parsons will bring extraordinary leadership and immediate stability to the Clippers,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. “Dick’s credentials as a proven chief executive speak for themselves and I am extremely grateful he accepted this responsibility.”
Parsons, 66, said he recognized the challenge facing him and the Clippers’ franchise.
“Like most Americans, I have been deeply troubled by the pain the Clippers’ team, fans and partners have endured,” Parsons said. “A lifelong fan of the NBA, I am firmly committed to the values and principles it is defending.
“The Clippers are a resilient organization with a brilliant coach and equally talented and dedicated athletes and staff who have demonstrated great strength of character during a time of adversity,” he said. “I am honored to be asked to work with them.”
Parsons, who played basketball at the University of Hawaii, earned a law degree in 1971 and went to work as a staff lawyer for then-New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and followed him to Washington, D.C., when Rockefeller was appointed as the country’s vice president.
In 1988, Parsons left his law firm to become president and CEO of Dime Bancorp, Inc. He went to Time-Warner in 1995 and was CEO there in 2002-08. After retiring from Time-Warner, he was chairman of banking giant Citigroup until stepping down from that position in 2012.
On May 6, the NBA announced that Clippers President Andy Roeser was taking an indefinite leave of absence following 30 years with the team.
Roeser’s departure and Parsons’ arrival comes in the wake of the NBA’s lifetime ban of team owner Donald Sterling for racially tinged comments he made a frequent courtside guest that were taped and recently made public on a pair of websites.
Silver also fined Sterling $2.5 million, the maximum fined allowed under NBA by-laws.
Members of the NBA owners’ 10-member advisory/finance committee subsequently agreed to move forward with the process of forcing Sterling to sell the Clippers.
Silver has said he would take whatever steps were necessary to force Sterling to sell the team. The league’s Board of Governors can force a sale, if three-quarters of the league’s team owners vote in favor.
Sterling, however, has gone on record saying he will resist pressure to put the Clippers on the market.
The 80-year-old billionaire’s wife, Shelly, issued a statement saying she endorsed Parsons’ hire.
“I conferred with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver this morning and endorsed the league’s choice of Richard Parsons as interim chief executive officer of the Los Angeles Clippers,” she said. “Mr. Parsons has impressive management credentials in the important fields of the media, finance and professional sports. He is an ideal choice to run the franchise until the ownership issues are clarified.”
Shelly Sterling said on May 8 she believes she is legally entitled to maintain her half-ownership of the Clippers while allowing a new co-owner – who would replace her husband – to control the operations of the team.
