The NBA responded to comments made by Shelly Sterling about her interest in retaining ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers. 

Shelly Sterling said she's prepared to fight to keep her 50 percent ownership of the franchise.

"Under the NBA Constitution, if a controlling owner's interest is terminated by a 3/4 vote, all other team owners' interests are automatically terminated as well," wrote NBA spokesman Mike Bass in a statement. "It doesn't matter whether the owners are related as is the case here. These are the rules to which all NBA owners agreed to as a condition of owning their team."

Shelly Sterling has tried to distance herself from her husband, Donald Sterling, but she defended him when confronted by paparazzi the day after his racist remarks surfaced.