2:20pm: The NBA has officially installed Parsons as interim CEO of the Clippers, the league announced.
“I believe the hiring of Dick Parsons will bring extraordinary leadership and immediate stability to the Clippers organization,” commissioner Adam Silver said. “Dick’s credentials as a proven chief executive speak for themselves and I am extremely grateful he accepted this responsibility.”
Parsons will control the business side of the team, leaving Doc Rivers to continue to lead the basketball operations department.
12:53pm: The NBA has chosen former Citicorp chairman and Time Warner chief Richard Parsons to run the Clippers, TNT’s David Aldridge reports (Twitter link). Team president Andy Roeser is on an indefinite leave of absence while the club has been searching for someone to lead in the team in the wake of owner Donald Sterling’s lifetime ban. Roeser was in charge immediately after the NBA meted out its punishment of Sterling, but the league said it wanted a “clean slate” for whomever would manage the team next. Parsons will run the team while the league seeks new ownership.
Parsons was the CEO of Time Warner from 2002 to 2007 and was Citigroup chairman from 2009 until 2012, when he retired. He nonetheless continues to serve on the board of directors for Madison Square Garden and other organizations. He was a member of President Barack Obama’s transition team in 2008 and a senior White House aide to President Gerald Ford.
The Clippers have remained in flux as Donald Sterling’s wife, Shelly, has sought to maintain 50% ownership of the club. The league reportedly hadn’t envisioned her desire to remain in the picture when it banned her husband and made plans to strip the team from his ownership. She also asserted that she was involved in the search for the new CEO, but it’s unclear whether that was the case. Donald Sterling is widely expected to mount a legal effort to stop the NBA from seizing control of the Clippers or forcing him to sell.