--- description: Doc Rivers has threatened to leave his post if Donald Sterling remains owner for the team, says interim Clippers CEO Richard Parsons. title: L.A. Clippers: Doc Rivers Will Quit as Coach if Sterling Stays image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb57b0012e0878446/69869cbff983e7465e04eee0/rtr3n61r.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Basketball](/tag/basketball/) ## Basketball Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Clippers CEO: Doc Rivers Will Quit as Coach if Sterling Stays by [Stephanie Burnett](/author/stephanie-burnett/) ## Stephanie Burnett Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 23, 2014 8:58 AM CUT  Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers talks during a press conference prior to a game between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center, in Los Angeles, on April 29, 2014 Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers talks during a press conference prior to a game between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center, in Los Angeles, on April 29, 2014Kelvin Kuo—USA Today Sports/Reuters by [Stephanie Burnett](/author/stephanie-burnett/) ## Stephanie Burnett Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 23, 2014 8:58 AM CUT Doc Rivers, coach of the L.A. Clippers, will leave if Donald Sterling remains owner, [according to](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/clippers-ceo-and-shelly-sterling-testify "undefined") interim Clippers CEO Richard Parsons. Parsons’ comments were made as he testified in a court case that will determine whether Sterling’s estranged wife Shelly Sterling had the right to sell the Clippers to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for $2 billion. Donald Sterling faced NBA banishment after he made racist statements in April this year. “Doc is troubled by this maybe more so than anybody else,” said Parsons. “If Mr. Sterling continues as owner, he does not want to continue as coach.” Doc Rivers, who has coached the Clippers for just over a year, has been key in trying to sustain calm within the team’s camp. “If Doc were to leave, that would be a disaster,” said Parsons. “Doc is the father figure, the one who leads.” In a related development, Donald Sterling [filed a new lawsuit](http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/%5F/id/11249995/donald-sterling-sues-nba-wife-shelly-sterling-adam-silver-lac-basketball-club-damages "undefined") on Tuesday against Shelly Sterling and the NBA commissioner Adam Silver. He is seeking damages for their allegedly defrauding him, violating corporate law and attempting to sell the Clippers. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3021565/la-clippers-doc-rivers-to-quit-as-coach-if-sterling-stays/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3021565/la-clippers-doc-rivers-to-quit-as-coach-if-sterling-stays/"},"headline":"Clippers CEO: Doc Rivers Will Quit as Coach if Sterling Stays","datePublished":"2014-07-23T08:58:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:17:27.147Z","description":"Interim Clippers CEO Richard Parsons described the possible departure of Doc Rivers as \"a disaster\"","url":"https://time.com/3021565/la-clippers-doc-rivers-to-quit-as-coach-if-sterling-stays/","keywords":["Basketball","donald sterling"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb57b0012e0878446/69869cbff983e7465e04eee0/rtr3n61r.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Stephanie Burnett","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/stephanie-burnett/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb57b0012e0878446/69869cbff983e7465e04eee0/rtr3n61r.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"NBA: Playoffs-Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Clippers","caption":"NBA: Playoffs-Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Clippers","creditText":"Kelvin Kuo—USA Today Sports/Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/basketball/","name":"Basketball"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3021565/la-clippers-doc-rivers-to-quit-as-coach-if-sterling-stays/","name":"Clippers CEO: Doc Rivers Will Quit as Coach if Sterling Stays"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Donald Sterling: I Made a ‘Terrible Mistake’","description":"Donald Sterling apologizes for racist remarks in recorded conversation","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/czXaktXE/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-05-12T14:31:55.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/czXaktXE.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3021565/la-clippers-doc-rivers-to-quit-as-coach-if-sterling-stays/","duration":"PT2M43S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3021565/la-clippers-doc-rivers-to-quit-as-coach-if-sterling-stays/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```