Los Angeles Clippers

L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling told his GF he does NOT want her bringing black people to his games ... including Magic Johnson ... and it's ALL on tape.

TMZ Sports has obtained audio of Sterling making the racist declaration during a heated argument on April 9th with V. Stiviano ... after she posted a photo on Instagram posing with Magic.

Sterling rails on Stiviano -- who ironically is black and Mexican -- for putting herself out in public with a black person (she has since taken the pic down). But it doesn't end there. You have to listen to the audio to fully grasp the magnitude of Sterling's racist worldview. Among the comments:

-- "It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people. Do you have to?" (3:30)

-- "You can sleep with [black people]. You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want. The little I ask you is not to promote it on that ... and not to bring them to my games." (5:15)

-- "I’m just saying, in your lousy f******* Instagrams, you don’t have to have yourself with, walking with black people." (7:45)

-- "...Don't put him [Magic] on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me. And don't bring him to my games." (9:13)

Sterling has a documented history of allegedly racist behavior -- he's been sued twice by the federal government for allegedly refusing to rent apartments to Blacks and Latinos.

He was also sued by former Clippers exec Elgin Baylor for racial discrimination -- though a jury was ultimately not convinced and shot down Baylor's case.

Sterling has been separated from his wife Shelly for years. She remains a key player in running the team and sources tell us she's "mortified" by Sterling's comments.

We have made several calls to Sterling and his people ... so far, no word back.

Donald Sterling's son-in-law, Director of Basketball Administration for the Clippers who helps run the day-to-day operation of the team, tells TMZ Sports what his father-in-law did is ignorant and racist ... and if that costs him his job ... so be it.

Here are the words of his son-in-law Eric Miller:

"I find the statements and representations made by the Clippers' team owner to be deplorable and disgusting. There is no room in sports or society in general, for racism."

Miller goes on: "I pledge my full support for the wonderful players, coaches and staff members of the Clippers organization. I have complete faith that Commissioner Silver will deal with this matter swiftly and severely."

And then Miller says, "If these comments should happen to cost me my employment with the team, it is but a small price to pay to speak out against ignorance and racism."

Donald Sterling just can't catch a break ... now, the embattled Clippers owner is being sued by a woman who claims she was badly injured in a parking lot he owns.

Roselee Fagan filed a lawsuit in L.A. claiming she was walking through a parking structure in Hollywood back in February when she tripped on an uneven concrete service and fell down ... causing "severe and permanent physical and bodily injuries."

Fagan also claims the lighting in the structure sucked and created a hazard ... and blames Sterling for not posting a sign warning people to watch out for uneven surfaces.

The entire Miami Heat basketball team is warming up with their shirts inside out ... to show their support for the Los Angeles Clippers.

Everyone from Chris Bosh to Dwyane Wade and even LeBron James took part in the display of solidarity that took place in Charlotte before they took on the Bobcats.

The NBA owners can NOT band together to force Donald Sterling to sell the Los Angeles Clippers ... multiple well-connected league sources tell TMZ Sports.

We're told ... the NBA has the power to fine and suspend Sterling for the racist comments he made during a conversation posted on TMZSports.com, but neither the owners nor the league can force a sale.

Billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso says he's ready and willing to buy the L.A. Clippers if Donald Sterling gets the boot -- telling TMZ Sports he already has a team of investors ready to pounce.

Caruso -- who made a run to purchase the L.A. Dodgers back in 2012 -- tells us ... "If [The Clippers] become available, I would absolutely be interested."

Rick notes, "We have a group still together from when we looked at the Dodgers ... and if it makes sense, I'll take a shot at it."

While Sterling has not expressed any plans to sell the Clips, Caruso believes it's something D.S. absolutely HAS to do ... for the sake of the players, the fans and the league.

Caruso says he knows there will be a lot of people looking to buy the squad, but believes he's in a strong position to make the deal ... if it becomes available.

The woman who taped Donald Sterling has been accused by the NBA of extorting the Clippers owner ... and she also taped hours of conversations which could be a crime if she didn't tell him in advance -- so it's baffling that V. Stiviano just showed up at the L.A. County D.A.'s office.

Sources connected with Stiviano tell us ... she didn't go there over a case, but to "visit friends." We're told she worked at the D.A.'s office as an intern a few years back and she just wanted to see some old pals ... yes, it's bizarre.

And if she's just visiting ... why is she carrying a briefcase?

Kia is joining the growing list of sponsors who are pulling the plug on their sponsorship of the Los Angeles Clippers ... TMZ Sports has learned.

A rep for the car company -- which has an advertising campaign built around Clippers star Blake Griffin -- released a statement to TMZ Sports, saying. "The comments allegedly made by Clippers owner, Donald Sterling, are offensive and reprehensible, and they are inconsistent with our views and values."

The statement continues, "We are suspending our advertising and sponsorship activations with the Clippers. Meanwhile, as fans of the game of basketball, our support of the players and the sport is unwavering.”

As TMZ Sports first reported, CarMax, Virgin America and State Farm have all pulled their advertising dollars from the team following Donald Sterling's racist remarks.

12:30 PM PT -- Add LoanMart to the list -- a rep tells TMZ Sports, "The statements allegedly made by Donald Sterling are completely inconsistent with the views and ethics of the LoanMart organization. As a result, LoanMart is suspending our advertising and sponsorship activities for the Los Angeles Clippers."

11:12 AM PT -- Now Amtrak's out too. A rep for the train company tells us the company's sponsorship expired at the end of the regular season, and it's now working to remove ALL advertising assets from the market in the wake of the Sterling audio.

The rep tells us, "Amtrak believes the language used is unacceptable and is inconsistent with our corporate belief to treat everyone with integrity and dignity."

The L.A. Clippers just got another first class ticket to Dumpsville -- a rep for Virgin America tells TMZ Sports, the airline has officially decided to discontinue its sponsorship of the team.

The rep tells us, "While we continue to support the fans and the players, Virgin America has made the decision to end its sponsorship of the L.A. Clippers."

State Farm has suspended its relationship with the L.A. Clippers -- telling TMZ Sports they are "taking a pause" to assess the situation in light of the Donald Sterling audio.

A rep for State Farm -- which famously features Clippers superstar Chris Paul in an ad campaign -- tells us, "While those involved sort out the facts, we will be taking a pause in our relationship with the organization."

"We are monitoring the situation and we’ll continually assess our options."

The rep adds, "We have a great relationship with Chris Paul and will continue supporting the Born to Assist advertising campaign involving Chris and now other NBA players."

In a confounding move ... Donald Sterling emerged with his wife, hours after she trashed him publicly calling him despicable and prejudiced, and this time she LOUDLY defended him.

Donald and Shelly Sterling were leaving Fleming's steakhouse in Downtown L.A. Sunday night ... when a photog asked the Clippers owner if he was a racist ... in light of the audio posted by TMZ Sports.

Donald was mum, but Shelly screamed at the camera guy, "OF COURSE NOT."

And there's this ... it sounds like she says the tape was altered.

Just hours before, we broke the story in which Shelly declared, "We will not let one man's small-mindedness poison the spirit of the fans," adding, "Our family is devastated by the racist comments made by my estranged husband."

The L.A. Clippers have lost their first sponsor in the wake of the Donald Sterling audio -- CarMax has announced it will end its 9-year relationship with the team ... TMZ Sports has learned.

R & B singer Tank has joined the boycott against Donald Sterling ... REFUSING to go ahead with his plan to sing the National Anthem at Tuesday's Clippers game.

Tank tells TMZ, "As an African American man and artist, I must take a stand on a matter that is so deeply personal to me."

Tank goes on, "In light of the recent disturbing and offensive allegations, in good conscience, I cannot move forward with my scheduled appearance at Tuesday's Los Angeles Clippers game."

Tank tells us he won't associate his brand with an owner who makes minorities unwelcome.

The NAACP tells TMZ Sports ... the organization is revising its guidelines for selecting honorees in light of the Donald Sterling situation ... saying the fact he was set to receive an NAACP award next month is "unfortunate."

As we previously reported, Sterling -- who was sued TWICE for discrimination and has faced allegations of racism in the past -- was set to be honored on May 15th by the Los Angeles chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Now, a spokesperson for the national office tells TMZ Sports, "We are working on a new set of guidelines so there's greater scrutiny on who's selected for these awards."

"We need to have a better vetting process."

The rep tells us ... the national office is talking to the L.A. branch to find out exactly how Sterling even got on a list to be honored by the organization ... saying, "It was an unfortunate selection."

Donald Sterling contacted his ex-girlfriend Sunday and asked her flatly, "How can we make this go away?" ... sources connected with Sterling tell TMZ Sports.

Our sources say ... Sterling is keenly aware V. Stiviano is in possession of more than 100 hours of recordings ... some of which are extremely damaging to Sterling's reputation.

Our sources say Stiviano told Sterling to call her lawyer ... and thereby opened the door to settlement discussions. It's obvious the incentive for Sterling is to make sure the rest of the tapes never see the light of day.

TMZ Sports contacted Stiviano's lawyer Mac E. Nehoray ... who had no comment.

We know Stiviano is extremely upset that the Clippers and Donald Sterling publicly embraced a lawsuit filed by Sterling's wife Shelly against Stivianio, claiming she stole $1.8 million from Donald.

As for why Stiviano taped so many conversations ... as TMZ Sports reported, she told friends the Clippers owner WANTED her to record him and he knew he was being recorded ... partly because he frequently forgot what he said and the tapes refreshed his memory ... at least that's her story.

And this is interesting ... on Stiviano's Instagram page, she constantly tagged photos with "#RandomHouse" and "#Simon&Schuster" ... both large book publishing companies.

Sources connected with Stiviano tell us ... she IS in the process of writing a book "about life" -- but she insists it is not about Sterling.

This is the picture that triggered the conversation between L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling and his girlfriend ... the conversation in which he said he did not want her bringing Magic Johnson or any other African American to his games.

In the pic -- obtained by TMZ Sports -- V. Stiviano is on the right. The woman on the left is V's friend, Rachel Rodriguez.

Stiviano says on the audio -- and Sterling acknowledges -- he made her take the pic off Instagram because he didn't want her seen in public with an African American.

In another tape ... Sterling expressed similar disdain for posting this pic (above) -- also obtained by TMZ Sports -- of Stiviano with L.A. Dodger Matt Kemp.