Attorney: Shelly Sterling wants to keep Clippers

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Shelley Sterling said her husband Donald Sterling insisted he does not remember making the remarks heard on the tapes made public
She believes his failure to recall those conversations is an early sign his mind is fading in his old age
She also said she will eventually divorce him but fight for her 50 per cent ownership stake in the team if he is forced to sell

By Ryan Gorman and Associated Press Reporter

Published: 19:42 EST, 8 May 2014 | Updated: 22:09 EST, 11 May 2014

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The estranged wife of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling says that she believes her disgraced husband's erratic behavior is an early sign of dementia.

Shelley Sterling revealed that she does not believe her husband is racist - and hasn't ever heard him speak in such a manner - but that his mind is starting to fail him in his old age.

'I - in my opinion, I think he - it's the onset of dementia,' she said during a Sunday interview with ABC News in which she also confirmed earlier reports that she plans to divorce him and fight to keep her 50 per cent ownership of the team even if he is forced to sell.

Shocked: Shelley Sterling says she could not believe what she was hearing the first time she listened to the recordings

'I don't remember saying that. I don't remember ever saying those things,' she recalled him saying after hearing the now-infamous tapes.

'I said, 'Well, this is the tape.' And he says, 'Hmm. I don't remember it,' she told Barbara Walters. 'That's when I thought he had dementia.

The wide-ranging interview touched on many subjects, including Shelley Sterling's decades-long deliberating over whether to divorce her philandering hubby.

'For the last 20 years, I've been seeing attorneys for a divorce,' she told Barbara Walters. 'In fact, I have here, I just filed, I was going to file the petition. I signed the petition for a divorce.'

Shelley Sterling says the decision to wait on making the request official was made by her financial advisor.

'Not now,' she recalled him saying before admitting that 'eventually I am going to [divorce him].'

She'll split with her husband, but not the team: Shelley Sterling has admitted she plans to divorce husband Donald Sterling but will fight to keep her half of the team

The interview came almost two weeks after NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced he had banned Donald Sterling from the league for life after recordings of his racist ranting at presumed mistress V Stiviano were made public.

Silver urged owners to move quickly to force Donald Sterling to sell the team, and the league has since even installed a former General Motors executive to oversee the team's operations - but it was soon revealed that Shelley Sterling legally owns half of the team.

And she has repeatedly said she will fight to retain her stake, adding an unwanted twist to the NBA's plan to force new ownership on the franchise.

'I will fight that decision,' she said, adding the team is her 'passion,' and 'a legacy to my family.

'I've been with the team for 33 years, through the good times and the bad times,' said Shelley Sterling.

Sit down: Shelley Sterling (left) made the revelations in a Sunday interview with ABC's Barbara Walters (right)

Shelley Sterling also asked if there had even been an instance where an owner was forced to sell his stake in a sports franchise after his wife had spoken inappropriately.

She then suggested she 'would love him to' transfer his ownership stake in the team to her, but said she hadn't yet broached the possibility with him or his attorneys.

Her steadfast refusal to part with her stake in the Clippers was first reported earlier this week when her attorney Pierce O'Donnell, said his client 'will not agree to a forced or involuntary seizure of her interest.

'As her lawyers, we will fight vigorously to defend her property rights,' he said.

O'Donnell said Mrs. Sterling has no interest in managing the Clippers and wants a new investor group to come in with a professional management team.

O'Donnell also said that Shelly Sterling has been separated from her husband for the last year and is considering divorce. There is no record of legal separation documents being filed, though O'Donnell said the couple is living apart.

Splitsville: Shelley Sterling (left) has admitted she will 'eventually' divorce disgraced husband Donald Sterling (right)

Last week, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned Donald Sterling from the NBA for life and urged league owners to force him to sell the team. The move came after a recording surfaced in which Sterling made racist comments, telling friend V. Stiviano that he didn't want her to bring black people to Clippers games.

At a news conference announcing the decision, Silver said no decision had been made regarding whether Mrs. Sterling or any other Sterling family member will be allowed to retain an ownership position.

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O'Donnell said he spoke with NBA officials Thursday morning but declined to elaborate. He said Mrs. Sterling has been working cooperatively with Silver and his staff and supported his announcement seeking a new chief executive officer for the team and the NBA's decision to place longtime team President Andy Roeser on leave.

NBA spokesman Mike Bass said the league wouldn't comment on its discussions.

O'Donnell said Mrs. Sterling 'abhors' her husband's comments and that 'the Sterlings may share the same last name, but she does not share his values on race.' The Sterlings have been married 57 years, O'Donnell said.

'We abhor guilt by association in America,' O'Donnell said. 'The sins of the husband cannot be imputed to the wife or children.'

The happy couple: Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, left, and his wife Rochelle watch during the second half in Game 3 of a the 2012 Western Conference semifinals against the San Antonio Spurs in Los Angeles

Shelly and Donald Sterling faced allegations that they discriminated against tenants based on race in Los Angeles according to a lawsuit filed by U.S. Department of Justice in 2006. The Sterlings, who at the time owned and managed about 119 apartment buildings or 5,000 apartments throughout Los Angeles County, agreed to settle the suit for $2.725 million.

The settlement also included two suits filed by former tenants at one of the properties, including an African-American family and an interracial married couple with biracial children, who alleged the Sterlings demolished their private yards among other actions because of their race, according to the Justice Department.

'The charges against her by former tenants are false, unfounded and were never ever determined to be valid in a court of law,' O'Donnell said. He said the case was settled without any admission of liability. 'She doesn't have a racist bone in her body,' O'Donnell said.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers said Thursday at the team's training facility that 'it would be a very hard situation' if Mrs. Sterling retained her portion of ownership in the team.

'I guarantee you every person wouldn't be on board with that,' Rivers said. 'Whether I would or not, I'm not going to say.'

Shelly Sterling: 'I'm Going to' File for Divorce

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CinqueIV, Birmingham, United States, 1 hour ago

What's next? The devil made him say those things?

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lizabet, Chicago, United States, 1 hour ago

Liar, Liar Pants on Fire! Do not use a medical condition to try and cover up an idiots lunacy. IF he had dementia, wouldnt the wife have stepped in before now and had him diagnosed, taken control of finances etc.... duh... pr people are so stupid as are these two

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Jennifer, Denver Colorado, United States, 1 hour ago

Interesting that when pressed into accountability, he suddenly doesn't remember anything. How convenient.

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andtototoo, over the rainbow cincy, 1 hour ago

Hmmmm dementia uh? Maybe the husband is ill, but he must not be dat ill 'bedding' young women, buying 'em Bentleys ( not one but 2 ) .That trio ( the wife,the husband and V for Visor ) all deserve each other ... like 3 peas in a pod.