'Clipped': Did Elgin Baylor win his lawsuit against Donald Sterling? NBA great was left humiliated but vindicated
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Focusing on Donald Sterling's biggest scandal that got him banned from NBA, 'Clipped', streaming on Hulu also briefly sheds light on his previous legal battles.
Episode 4 of the sports drama series offers a flashback to the 2000s when Sterling was embroiled in a lawsuit with his ex-girlfriend Alexandra Castro followed by a housing discrimination case.
Towards the end of the episode, we get a glimpse of how Elgin Baylor ended 22 years of his union with LA Clippers.
Why did Elgin Baylor sue Donald Sterling?
Baylor joined the Clippers in 1986 as vice president of basketball operations after a successful 14-year playing career with the Lakers and a brief coaching job with the New Orleans Jazz.
His association with Clippers ended in 2008 when he sued Clippers, the NBA, and owner Donald Sterling for employment discrimination, says a report by The New York Times.
Baylor, in his lawsuit, claimed he was unfairly fired because of his age and race and that he was significantly underpaid during his 22 years with the team, never earning more than $350,000 per year, unlike other NBA general managers.
He held NBA responsible citing that the league officers were aware of the significant salary gap between him and general managers of other teams.
Elgin Baylor lost the lawsuit against Donald Sterling
Contrary to Baylor's claims of getting fired, the organisation claimed that he had wilfully resigned.
ESPN quoted Clippers attorney Robert H Platt: "I can categorically state that the Clippers always treated Elgin fairly throughout his long tenure with the team. Prior to his decision to leave the team last October, Elgin never raised any claims of unfair treatment."
"It's hard to believe that he would now make these ridiculous claims after the organization stood by him during 22 years and only three playoff appearances. It would be hard to find any sports team that has demonstrated greater loyalty to its general manager," he added.
When Sterling learned about the lawsuit against him, he expressed disappointment. The ESPN report quoted him as, "I can't imagine because Elgin has always been very, very close to me. He's a fabulous person. I think there's some mistake."
Baylor’s wrongful-termination lawsuit against the Clippers was unanimously rejected by Los Angeles County Superior Court jury, reported Los Angeles Times.
When NBA announced a lifetime ban on Donald Sterling for his racist remarks, Baylor told CNN, “Justice has been served. Now they know what Donald is like, and the things I said before about Donald are absolutely true.”
How to stream 'Clipped'?
'Clipped' features Clifton Davis as Elgin Baylor. The pivotal cast members include Laurence Fishburne as Doc Rivers, Ed O'Neill as Donald Sterling, Jacki Weaver as Shelly Sterling, Cleopatra Coleman as V Stiviano.
Four episodes of the six-part series are available to stream on Hulu and Disney+. The remaining two episodes will air in upcoming weeks.
'Clipped' trailer