By Nolan Feeney
The University of California, Los Angeles is rejecting a $3 million gift pledged by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and returning the $425,000 he has already donated.
The university made the announcement Tuesday after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver fined Sterling $2.5 million and banned him for life following the leak of an audio recording in which he made several racist comments.
“Mr. Sterling’s divisive and hurtful comments demonstrate that he does not share UCLA’s core values as a public university that fosters diversity, inclusion and respect,” read the university’s statement.
Sterling’s gift would have supported basic kidney research at the UCLA Division of Nephrology.
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Write to Nolan Feeney at nolan.feeney@time.com