“Blackballed,” a docuseries examining the downfall of former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, has been added by Quibi, the upcoming mobile-only streaming service from Jeffrey Katzenberg, its upcoming slate, the company shared on Monday morning.
In the series, several former Clippers, including Chris Paul, J.J. Redick and DeAndre Jordan, discuss the racist comments made by Sterling in 2014 that were leaked to TMZ, and ultimately led to his dismissal from team ownership and the NBA. Current Clippers coach Doc Rivers, who was in his first season at theim when the Sterling fiasco took place, is also interviewed.
“Blackballed” will also look to take a wider look at race in America as part of its reflection on Sterling, according to a press release from Quibi.
“The Sterling scandal was so much more than a leaked tape,” director Michael Jacobs said in a statement. “This series will offer a first-person retelling of the heightened drama and raw emotion surrounding a pivotal moment in sports history.”
The series is executive produced by Chris Gary and Ryan Simon, Sam Widdoes and Peter Cambor for District 33, Will Packer and Kelly Smith for Will Packer Media, and James Widdoes.
After decades of mostly-hapless basketball, Sterling was forced to sell the Clippers in 2014 when audio leaked of him telling his mistress that she shouldn’t be posting pictures with black men on her Instagram account, including Lakers legend Magic Johnson. Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer ended up buying the Clippers for just over $2 billion.
Five years after Sterling’s banishment, the issue has been reexamined a bit more in recent months; ESPN last summer ran a podcast series, hosted by reporter Ramona Shelburne, reviewing Sterling’s years of bizarre behavior and ultimately his removal from the league.
The series is the latest in a growing list to find a home at Quibi. The Los Angeles-based company has already greenlit dozens of shows from a who’s who of stars, including Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Lopez, Tyra Banks, Don Cheadle, Stephen Curry, Anna Kendrick, Idris Elba, Lorne Michaels and Seth Meyers, among others. Quibi shows will only be available on mobile devices and its shows will run no longer than 10 minutes per episode. The app will cost viewers $4.99 per month for ad-supported viewing, or run $7.99 for ad-free viewing.
CEO Meg Whitman recently outlined the company’s three-pronged content strategy in an interview with TheWrap.