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New NBA commissioner Adam Silver has been on the job for less than three months and he suddenly finds himself in the middle of the biggest crisis the league has seen in years. Over the weekend, a leaked tape exposed Los Angeles Clippersowner Donald Sterling for the racist and general scumbag that he is. And while it was already more or less common knowledge that Sterling was a racist, this time the issue struck a nerve and the outrage has overtaken the team and the league.
Silver promised to make a decision prior to Game 5 of the Clippers playoff series against the Golden State Warriors in Los Angeles tonight, and an announcement is scheduled for 11 AM PT today. The press conference will be covered live on NBA TV, ESPN and NBA.com (and probably a lot of other places as well -- that's how big this story has gotten).
One of the early questions of the league's investigation appears to be complete -- while there was never much doubt as to authenticity of the tape, the league's lawyers have apparently determined that it is indeed Sterling on the tape and that it has not been doctored. Silver will no doubt have more information on that when he makes his announcement.