But as Rivers once learned, Ballmer’s investments extend far beyond basketball. Nonprofit leaders say Ballmer has proven to be just as passionate about fighting economic and racial inequity — a stance they say he and his wife, Connie, took long before sports leagues, schools and businesses rushed to address racism and align themselves with the Black Lives Matter movement after George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.
Tag: Steve Ballmer
Paul George talked about his …
Paul George talked about his appreciation for Steve Ballmer on the Knuckleheads podcast with Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles. “He about it,” George said. “It’s not a show. It’s not attention-seeking. That’s him, he’s 100% energy.”
“It’s about the culture that he wants …
“It’s about the culture that he wants to build here,” George said. “He tells us multiple times that ‘whatever that we need, or whatever is not in the locker room that y’all want, come to me. At the end of the day, I want this to be the destination for every player to want to come to. I want to build a history here.’ He understood the owner that was here before him, and he wants to separate himself from him. Honestly, it’s been a blessing.”
“The goal is to be safer than almost …
“The goal is to be safer than almost any other environment a player could put themselves in,” Ballmer says. “So, safer than the world at large.” “With lots of testing and other appropriate quarantining and masks, and the league is working hard on that,” he adds. “Hopefully that part works out.”
Ballmer addressed the concerns of …
Ballmer addressed the concerns of players such as Kyrie Irving, who questioned if the restart would take away from players focussing their efforts on the movement for racial justice by saying that participating in the return of NBA action could actually have the opposite effect and increase the visibility of their message. “The league and the NBA Players Association are also in discussions about how to elevate those to focus on those, and not take our players away from the voices they can have, but to allow them to have maybe even more voice through restarting the season,” Ballmer said.
Clippers officially acquire Forum arena
Ownership of the Forum arena formally changed hands Monday after the sale from Madison Square Garden Co. to a group controlled by Clippers owner Steve Ballmer became complete — a purchase that officially removes an obstacle in the way of the Clippers constructing their own arena nearby.
CAPSS LLC will continue to operate the …
CAPSS LLC will continue to operate the Forum for music and entertainment only, using a new entity, Forum Entertainment LLC. According to the new ownership, Geni Lincoln and Mike Fallon, who ran the building’s operations under MSG, will continue in those roles while reporting to Gillian Zucker, the Clippers’ president of business operations.
By resolving those suits, the Clippers …
By resolving those suits, the Clippers hope to begin construction on their new complex by mid-2021. The team’s lease at Staples Center, where they have played since 1999, ends in 2024. Inglewood’s City Council will vote Tuesday on an agreement to retain a company to appraise 65 city-controlled parcels and 10 privately-owned parcels that could be used for the arena and related development. Murphy’s Bowl LLC, the Clippers-controlled company behind the project, will pay for the appraisal and eventually acquire the land.
Clippers to lose at least $10 million
In an interview with Bloomberg, L.A. Clippers Chairman Steve Ballmer claimed his team will lose at least $10 million. “It’ll be eight digits,” he said. “Now you’ve got to start with what we were either going to make or lose before the season started, but net, it’ll certainly be an eight-digit loss for us.”
Ballmer also talked about some of the …
Ballmer also talked about some of the efforts the Clippers have made to help out arena employees that have been impacted by the stoppage of play. “We’re being diligent about continuing to pay our employees,” he said. “We’re trying to take care of our smaller vendors. We had a t-shirt vendor we had $100,000 committed to for playoff t-shirts. I think it’s important that we pay that money, put it down now, and see what can happen over time since we are in a better position.”