Surprise: Racist Claims Hit Sterling's Wife, Too

Court papers also say she pretended to be a health inspector
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 30, 2014 11:44 AM CDT
Surprise: Racist Claims Hit Sterling's Wife, Too
Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, left, and his wife Rochelle look on during a game May 19, 2012, in Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Donald Sterling, court documents suggest, isn't the only racist in the family. A Sterling tenant said in a 2009 deposition that wife Rochelle Sterling called him a "black m—-f—-" when he asked if she'd reduce the rent, the Los Angeles Times reports. "Inflammatory remarks made directly by Shelley Sterling on several occasions indicate bias," said tenant Darrell Rhodes in a letter to the couple, per court records. He sued in 2007 over discrimination.

Also in 2009, a property manager said in a deposition that Rochelle Sterling had said she couldn't "remodel my apartments the way that I want because Latinos are so filthy." The Times reported the comments after Sterling—who attended last night's Clippers game—told ESPN she was "not a racist. Never have been, never will be." In other news from the court documents, apparently Sterling wasn't above pretending to be an official to get into tenants' places. In an earlier housing discrimination suit, a court order cited "sufficient" evidence "that Rochelle Sterling did tell (plaintiff Darrell) Williams she was a health inspector." (More Rochelle Sterling stories.)

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