Doc Rivers will step down as Clippers coach if Donald Sterling remains owner

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports is dropping all kinds of bombs today.

His big report, of course, was that NBA commissioner Adam Silver is looking to a "nuclear option" that will kick Donald Sterling out as owner of the Clippers.

That may need to happen to keep Doc Rivers as LA's coach.

Rivers released a heartfelt statement on the Donald Sterling incident, and Woj reports today that if the Clippers owner sticks around, Rivers won't.

YahooSports:

Rivers will never return as president and coach under Sterling, sources told Yahoo Sports, and that'll start the beginning of a player mutiny that could result with several top Clippers also demanding out of the franchise.

The incident with Sterling has hit Doc deeply. As Alex Kennedy points out, his home was burned down by racists in 1997, killing his dog. That's not an event you forget or forgive.

Since Rivers has led the Clippers to their best record in franchise history, I'm sure Clippers fans are hoping their owner gets axed. Though, it's not like they didn't already want that to happen.

It would seem, at the surface, strange for the NBA to kick out an owner based on a private conversation. Of course that's not denying the contents were egregrious, but Sterling deserved to be removed as an NBA owner a long time ago. His history of racism has already been well established, and this isn't the first time it's been broadcast to the public. Sterling hasn't exactly been dear to the hearts of Clippers fans, or even players in the past. We've heard stories like this about him for a long time, complete with proof of their authenticity.

Now it seems like it's finally reached a head, and the coach wanting to leave the franchise if the owner is still there just puts additional pressure on the NBA to, finally, get rid of Donald Sterling.