When NBA commissioner Adam Silver commented that “this is really now a dispute between the Sterlings” last week, he might have been right.

Sources told ESPN on Wednesday that Shelly Sterling will seek a court order of protection from harassment by her estranged husband and banned NBA owner, Donald Sterling. Mrs. Sterling is also asking that her lawyer and witnesses involved in the case to be protected. 

According to ESPN, Shelly Sterling and her attorneys will appear in a Los Angeles courtroom Thursday morning to present evidence that her husband and his lawyers have threatened, intimidated and harassed witnesses who will be called in the probate court hearing July 7-10. Witnesses include the doctors who evaluated Sterling and deemed that he was “mentally incapacitated.” Mrs. Sterling became the sole trustee of the Sterling Family Trust after the two neurologists that evaluated her husband deemed that he had a form of dementia.

The July 7-10 hearing was set after Shelly sought an emergency petition to the court last week to evaluate the steps she took to sell the Los Angeles Clippers to ex-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for $2 billion. Mrs. Sterling wants to see a speedy court ruling on her authority to sell the Clippers because the sale needs to close by September 15 or the NBA will be forced to resume termination proceedings against Donald Sterling and the process can be dragged out.

Silver banned Donald Sterling for life and fined him a league-maximum $2.5 million in late April for making racist remarks against African-Americans during a recorded conversation with former confidant V. Stiviano. 

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(Photo: CSM /Landov)