A cadre of attorneys and a flurry of lawsuits could certainly slow down the NBAs plan to force Donald Sterling to sell the Los Angeles Clippers over his recent racist comments, but legal experts say the league would likely prevail in the end. And that goes for Sterlings wife, Shelly, who has said shed like to keep her stake in the team even if her husband is ousted. The NBAs constitution, which Donald Sterling signed as controlling owner of the Clippers, gives its board of governors broad latitude in league decisions including who owns the teams. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is pushing for a swift vote against Sterling, which requires a minimum of three-fourths of the other 29 controlling owners to agree. Silver also has imposed a lifetime ban on Sterling and a $2.5 million fine. The ban does not apply to Shelly Sterling. SI.com and ESPN.com, citing unidentified sources, reported Thursday that Sterlings lawyer, antitrust litigator Maxwell Blecher, wrote a letter to Rick Buchanan, the NBAs executive vice-president and general counsel, threatening to sue the league and saying Sterling will not pay the $2.5 million fine. "Sterlings own signature will come back to haunt him," said Michael McCann, founding director of the Sports and Entertainment Law Institute at the University of New Hampshire. "You agree to certain basic understandings. Thats what makes a sports league different from other businesses." The key to the NBAs authority, attorneys say, is Article 13(d) of the leagues constitution. That section says that, whether Sterling intended to or not, an owner cannot "fail or refuse to fulfil" contractual obligations to the NBA "in such a way to affect the Association or its members adversely." Theres plenty of evidence Sterlings comments, revealed in a recorded conversation with a female companion, affected the league adversely. They provoked threats of a player boycott, led sponsors to withdraw support and created a racially charged image problem in the midst of the NBA playoffs that even President Barack Obama remarked upon. If Article 13(d) was violated, the legal experts say the board of governors has solid grounds to force Sterling to sell the team along with any other owners, in this case his wife. As long as the NBA meticulously follows its own constitution and rules regarding the Clippers sale, it will be difficult for Sterling to find a legal theory that would stand up in court, said Daniel Lazaroff, director of the Sports Law Institute at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. "This is not an antitrust issue. This is not a First Amendment issue," Lazaroff said. "Its a question limited to the interpretation of the NBA constitution and bylaws, and whether those terms are met." Another question involves California family law. Its a community property state, meaning spouses jointly own property they acquired while married. The Sterlings were already married when he bought the Clippers in 1981. Although a potential divorce could complicate the Clippers sale, McCann said the couples joint ownership actually works to the NBAs favour because — legally speaking — they are a single entity. So if the NBA forced Donald Sterling to sell, even under a divorce scenario, Shelly Sterling would have to sell, too. They have been married since 1955. "The NBA is well positioned to ultimately prevail," McCann said. For his part, Donald Sterling has repeatedly said he does not want to sell the Clippers. In his recent interview with CNNs Anderson Cooper, he cast doubt on going to court if the NBA governors ultimately do vote to force him out. "People want me to hire a wall of lawyers and them to have to hire a wall of lawyers and go to war," Sterling said on CNN. "I dont think thats the answer." Sterlings longtime attorney, Robert Platt, declined to comment when contacted Wednesday. Shelly Sterlings attorney, Pierce ODonnell, did not respond to email requests for comment from The Associated Press. But he has previously said she wants to remain a passive owner of the Clippers even if her husband is no longer involved. For now, the NBA has installed former Time Warner and Citigroup chairman Dick Parsons to oversee the teams business operations. Parsons said this week that a prolonged legal battle "is in no ones interest." "I would hope we could avoid that," he said. If he is forced out, Sterling still stands to reap a huge financial windfall in a Clippers sale. He bought the team for $12.5 million in 1981, and Forbes magazine recently placed its 2014 value at $575 million, or No. 13 in the NBA. Of course, there would also be a sizable capital gains tax bill for that. _____ Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Miamicurt Air Max 270 Camo Heel . After a tight first half, the Croatians took command in Reykjavik after Skulason was dismissed for a professional foul in the 51st minute, but couldnt find a way past Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson and his packed defence. Eduardo had a weak shot cleared away from near the goalline after barely a minute for Croatia, whose substitute Ivica Olic forced a fine reaction save from Halldorsson in the 55th. Air Max 270 React Winter Pas Cher . John Albert Elway, 24, was booked into jail early Saturday morning after an incident near a college campus in downtown Denver, according to jail records. http://www.airmax270reactpascher.fr/fausse-air-max-270-react-electro-green.html . 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Manager Matt Williams would not commit to a time frame, but said "that time frame is out there" after reports Monday that he would be out until at least July. "The doctor reported that everything went fine, and we got a little message from Bryce about getting back and taking BP post-surgery," Williams joked. "It went fine, well have to see how long it takes ... we expect him to heal fast. Given his history, he has healed pretty fast. We are optimistic about it, but were not really sure how long it is going to take." The two-time All-Star was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Sunday with what was then called a sprained left thumb. Williams talked about what Harpers absence will mean for his team. "It hurts a lot. Hes a fantastic player," Williams said.dddddddddddd "Well certainly miss him, but were going to have to step up." He was injured on Friday night against San Diego on a headfirst slide into third base on a triple. He remained in the game until after the next inning. Despite the injury, Williams is not opposed to headfirst slides. "Bryce had another collision sliding feet first earlier in the year, and he hurt himself last year sliding feet first," Williams said. "Its something that you cant control. The play that he hurt himself on, he was trying to get to third base the quickest he could, and I dont know if he is safe if he slides feet first. He was safe sliding head first, but he got the thumb in the wrong position." The 21-year-old Harper is batting .289 with one home run and nine RBIs this season. Harper was the National League Rookie of the Year in 2012 after hitting .270 with 22 homers and 59 RBIs. ' ' '