Doc Rivers maintained firm stance on addressing former Clippers owner per “Clipped”: "I'll call him Mr. Sterling when he calls me Mr. Rivers"
Former LA Clippers coach Doc Rivers and former owner Donald Sterling didn't see eye to eye from the sounds of things. Following the cancellation of HBO's Showtime series, it was announced that a new docu-drama would tell the story of the LA Clippers and former owner Donald Sterling. The first episode of the show premiered on Jun. 4 on Hulu, with the NBA community tuning in.
The miniseries, which is based on ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary about the infamous Donald Sterling controversy, features Ed O'Neill as Sterling. In addition, Laurence Fishburne is playing coach Doc Rivers, and as we saw from episode one, the pair had some tense moments behind the scenes.
In one instance, the show, which is a dramatization of the real Sterling scandal, shows a tense moment between Sterling and Doc Rivers on the coach's first day. The show portrays an interaction between a Clippers executive and Rivers, in which the coach learns of Sterling's preferred title: "Mr. Sterling".
'First day (at work), so, don't feel bad, but Mr. Sterling gets upset when people don't call him Mr. Sterling," a Clippers executive told Rivers on his first day as head coach.
"I'll call him Mr. Sterling when he calls me Mr. Rivers," Rivers replied.
Looking at the real beef between Doc Rivers and Donald Sterling during the 2014 NBA Playoffs
The Clipped show that is currently airing on Hulu is a dramatization of the infamous Sterling scandal. Despite that, given the comments Sterling was caught making on tap, the coach-owner pair had a very real beef.
Back in 2023, Doc Rivers spoke with CNN about the 2014 scandal in a lengthy interview. At the time, he recalled how the Clippers PR staff member brought the video to his attention, which made him fully aware of how serious the situation was.
Following the situation going live on ESPN, Rivers then called a team meeting to discuss the situation. As he explained, after the meeting, the team attempted to shift their focus to the postseason series against the Golden State Warriors.
Prior to Game 1, however, Doc Rivers wound up in a heated verbal confrontation with Sterling via the phone.
"I’m arguing with Donald Sterling and Andy Roeser on a cell phone. Donald Sterling was actually going to come to the game. He was coming to the game. I am yelling, to the owner of our basketball team and to the president of the team. He cannot come. He will not come.
"I’m threatening to have the police meet him at the door. I didn’t have any of that power. I’m just saying these things. I just knew. Donald Sterling sitting across from our bench would be a disaster."
As Doc Rivers went on to explain, however, the Clippers quickly learned that the situation wasn't a team issue, it was a league issue. As such, other teams around the league rallied around the Clippers against Sterling with commissioner Adam Silver playing a quote - "unbelievable" role in supporting him and the team.