let's continue our conversation with shelly sterling's lawyer pierce o'donnell. hanks very much. a lot of our viewers want to know what kind of marriage to the sterlings have? are they going to get divorced? are they going to stay together? >> well, i think the marriage by now is in shambles and shelly is weighing her legal option of what she should do. she hasn't decided yet. she has attorneys advising her. they've been separated for a year and she doesn't talk to donald about any of these things. >> they came out of a restaurant a while ago. you've seen that video here on cnn and other networks as well. they walked out. i'm going to play a clip where she seems to deny that donald sterling is a racist. listen to this. >> mr. sterling, are you a racist, mr. sterling? >> no, of course not. >> people want to know, mr. sterling. >> okay. you know that -- >> these accusations, are they true? >> forget it. it's not true. >> not true? >> no, of course not. >> she seemed to be defending him there. what is your interpretation of that videotape? >> well, i think shelly's t

maybe i'm reading too much in between the lines when i did the interview with pierce o'donnell, her attorney. i got the impression he was hinting at least, according to my interpretation, that we may get some news on the marriage front in the next few days. did you hear that, rachel, or jeffliry? the same thing i heard? >> go ahead, rachel. i'm sorry. >> certainly as i said, jeffrey, you would know how long it takes to untangle a marriage in california. i believe you when you say it's long and not a quickie trip to mexico. i have to say timing is an issue here. because the fact that the nba has not officially moved on this yet has to be significant. they came out and talked about how, woet, quote, expeditiously were going to move. it's been almost two weeks and no official notification. this leads me to believe there's a lot of maneuvering and the divorce or potential divorce could be a factor here. there's so much to untangle in terms of this ownership issue. yet there's a rowdy crowd of players out there, fans, of other people and organizations who want this done. >> pierce o'donnell told

two weeks ago, her lawyer, pierce o'donnell, told us shelley sterling refused to surrender. >> she wants to retain her ownership interest. she wants to be a non-managing owner. she does not manage basketball teams; she cheers for them. >> reporter: donald sterling faced a tuesday deadline to respond to the nba charges that he damaged the league with racist comments he made to a girlfriend. >> reporter: the nba took control of the team and made it clear the league would sell the clippers without sterling's permission. "forbes" magazine estimates the team could be worth more than $575 million. u.s.c. sports professor michael chazlow specializes in contracts. >> they don't want to wind up in litigation. even if they didn't want to sell the team and there was a protracted fight, what would happen is the value of the team would plummet. >> reporter: scott, the sterling news did not sway the nba, which said in a statement today it's going forward with the process to terminate the sterlings' ownership. >> pelley: danielle nottingham in ours los angeles news room. danielle, thank you. today, the

but her lawyer, pierce o'donnell, told us she won't sell, either. how hard is she willing to fight for this? >> she loves the team. if she could avoid a public battle, she will. but if somebody tries to tell her she has to sell the team or tries to seize the team, look out for shelley sterling. >> reporter: and richard parsons has been called the mr. fix-it of the business world. and, jeff, our james brown actually spoke with parsons today, who said he will be working on the business side to fill a leadership vacuum in the organization. >> glor: and the clippers play again tonight. carter evans, thank you very much. the department of veterans affairs has faced increasing criticism this week that doesn't of patients died because they waited too long. today, wyatt andrews obtained a v.a. document that may show forcing patients to wait was standard operating procedure. >> reporter: lonnie ruscito, a vietnam veteran, says it took him years to get one medical test at the v.a. hospital in phoenix. >> i have had seven aneurysms, as i said. i haven't had a

>> well, two things jump out at me about pierce o'donnell's statement.refers to the voluminous charges. we've only seen a press release. a brief summary of what the nba has filed against the sterlings. so really don't know the full effect of it. the second thing is it is something less than a threat to sue. the lawyer says pierce o'donnell, miss sterling's lawyer says we think this is wrong, but it is not as much of a saber rattling statement as he's made in the past, so she certainly does seem to me, at least, to be someone who's open to a deal that would give her a great deal of money, but not let her own the clippers anymore. >> what do you think, don? should she be allowed to keep 0 50% of the team? >> i don't think so. i think that's a public sentiment, what the team says and what most people want. i think the -- if i were an attorney for the nba and i received this, i'd say, so what, who asked you? we're not suing you, right? we're suing donald sterling. donald sterling is the principal. so you're donald sterling's wife. whatever profits, whatever

. >> sunny, let me read to you the statement the lawyer for shelly sterling, pierce o'donnell, released, and i'll get your legal reaction. we do not agree with the league's self-serving interpretation of its counsel ugs too, its application to shelly sterling or its validity under these unique circumstances. we live in a nation of laws. california law and the united states constitution trump any such interpretation. so clearly they're setting up a legal battle. >> they are. i've got to tell you, i've read of course the nba constitution by this point, and i think that shelly sterling's lawyer has a pretty good legal ground to challenge the nba's position. yes, the nba is saying, you know, per the constitution, if you're a controlling owner, you know, and you behave inappropriate like this, then every other owner can't participate in the team. well what is the definition of a controlling owner? i think that's something that's open to interpretation. in contract law, quite frankly, when there's aqabeing a ambigui ambiguities cut against the folks that drafted it, the nba in this instance.

we just got a statement from shelly sterling's attorney, pierce o'donnell saying that's not correct.y are estranged, have been living apart for more than a year and are planning to file divorce. her attorney pushing back to that part of "the l.a. times" report. >> a pretty serious allegation in the "l.a. times" report that this 30-page nba legal document that was given to the sterlings and their lawyers contained the allegations that weeks before any of us ever heard that audiotape when it was leaked to the public, the l.a. clippers had a copy of it, they had the audio but were taking steps to get rid of it. >> the times said the team president got a copy of that audio recording on april 9th, more than two weeks before tmz posted that recording and he had gotten it from another team employee who had gotten it in stiviano. it came from her originally but was given to andy rosen, then the team president, on april 9th. that's two weeks before any of us ever saw it. you're right. according to "the times" sterling ordered the employee to delete the recording of that from some phone that t

i had a conversation with pierce o'donnell. it is quite clear she is throwing her husband under the bus. it is like fine, nba, take the franchise, but what did i do? don't take the franchise from me. i still think she loses at the end of the day because their interests are so bound up together. and the sterling name is so toxic to the business of the nba that i think the nba would be within their rights in taking both -- in forcing both of them to sell. but i do acknowledge her situation is a closer question. >> it is interesting, sunny, because she is saying well, look, he is my estranged husband. she is having dinner with the guy on sunday and yelling at the paparazzi, he is not a racist. there are a lot of people i spoke with, they say look if you allow her to maintain ownership donald sterling could still you know, exercise leadership over team or ownership of the team through her. >> yeah, a lot of people are saying she is a straw person, she is making it loud and clear she is not. she is a 50% owner. and i'm glad that jef

he did put out a statement, pierce o'donnell. attended the meeting as an impromptu invitation from a friend as part of an attempt to persuade him to apoll swr popol his racist remarks. >> none of it matters until and unless he files a lawsuit. he can say nice things about his client all he wants but he's got to file a lawsuit or none of it matter. >> okay. jeffrey toobin, don lemon, mike wise, guys, thanks very much. >>> and this coming in to "the situation room." the house has overwhelmingly approved legislation to make it easier to fire or demote top officials at the department of public affairs. cnn reported about the deaths of dozens of veterans while waiting for care. president obama said today he won't stand for that. he stopped short of firing his veterans affairs secretary eric shinseki. that just in. >>> just ahead, we're learning just how often airliners come dangerously close to hitting one another and it's far more frequent than you might think. we have the startling numbers. that's next. orbiting the moon in 1971. [

in a statement, pierce o'donnell, the attorney, said shelly continues to be unfairly tarnished by thef her co-owner and estranged husband, carol. >> i know you've been digging deep into the story. you've got information on exactly when donald sterling's camp first knew about this original audiotape. tell us. >> that's right. according to our source, the nba document says then-clippers president andy roser received a copy of the recordings on april 9th, two weeks before tmz posted it. the document says roser told donald sterling about the record that sterling ordered the employee who provided it to delete the recording from a phone. again, we got no comment from donald sterling's attorney to that. >> interesting. brian todd, many thanks. >> thank you. >>> still to come in the "newsroom," it was the joyful video that sparked a social media uproar. we'll tell you about a happy turn for those young iranian dancers. ♪ because i'm happy ♪ climb along if you know what happiness is to you ♪ >>> infectious, that "happy" song. the video those six iranians posted, the one that got them and the v

two weeks ago her lawyer pierce o'donnell, told us shelly sterling refused to surrender. >> she wants to retain her ownership interest. she wants to be a non-managing owner. she does not manage basketball teams, she cheers for them. >> reporter: donald sterling faced a tuesday deadline to respond to the nba's charges that he damaged the league with racist comments he made to a girlfriend. >> yeah, it bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you're associating with black people. >> reporter: the nba took control of the team and made it clear the league would sell the clippers without sterling's permission. forbes magazine estimates the team could be worth more than $575 million. usc law professor michael chaslo specializes in sports contracts. >> they don't want to wind up in litigation so even if they didn't want to sell the team and there was a protraekted fight, what would happen is the value of the team would plummet. >> reporter: the sterling news did not sway the nba which said in a statement it's going forward with the process to terminate the sterling's ownership. for c

pierce o'donnell talked with cnn's stephanie elam. >> how is mrs. sterling doing since this entire scandal broke about her husband? >> well, she's remarkably resilient. she's very committed to the team winning the nba championship. while she is distressed about some of the urban myths about what's going on and allegations against her, she's got great fortitude, and she will weather this greatly. mrs. sterling has denounced in the strongest terms possible her husband's racist comments, totally disassociated with him. commissioner silver was very clear that she's not accused of anything here, she didn't do anything wrong. it's donald. number two, they've been estranged and not living together for over a year. and while they share business, business properties, he's out of the team, has nothing to do with it and she's the owner in charge. >> this is the question that everyone wants to know. does shelly sterling want to be the sole owner of the team or does she want the family trust without donald to own the team after he's gone? >> first of all, she wa

then we sat down, along with her attorney, pierce o'donnell. and i asked her reaction to the interview and we talked about her fight to keep the team. >> not so much for me, i felt bad for him. >> really? >> yeah, because he's not the man i know, or i knew. there's something wrong. >> well, what do you think is wrong with him? is it -- do you think there's something wrong with his mental faculties or is there something wrong with the sentiments he has in his heart? >> i really think, personally, he has dementia. >> i think some people have a hard time understanding, did this happen overnight? >> no, i don't think it happened overnight. i think it's been happening, but nobody really knew the reason. i mean, he gets crazy and yells and screams and hollers one moment, the next moment he'll talk about something else. i mean, it's like nothing makes sense. >> well, dementia might make you delusional or say things that don't make sense. it doesn't necessarily make you say racist things. >> i really don't know much about dementia. i wish i did. >> som