Embattled Clippers owner Donald Sterling is hiding cash in minority neighborhoods around the country in a PR stunt inspired by @hiddencash.
In an interview with Good Morning America today the 80-year-old property mogul said he intends to distribute up to $10 million in a giveaway similar to the one which has been hiding cash prizes around California in recent weeks.
“This is my way of making amends” he told the hosts. "I’ve said a lot of terrible things about black people and Mexican people over the years. I hurt fellow human beings. And I want to change for the better.
“That’s why I’m hiding cash in the black neighborhoods. I want to make them happy. I want them to be able to afford clothes, and food, and forks, and deodorant. Who knows? Maybe with a little cologne and a haircut, some of them might even be able to get jobs.
“That @hiddencash guy is only operating in places white people go. Silicon Valley. Santa Monica beach. I’m bringing hidden cash to the people. Hopefully the NBA sees just how generous and not racist I am."
For the past few weeks an anonymous person has been leaving packets of cash around San Francisco and Los Angeles, posting clues to their whereabouts using the Twitter handle @hiddencash.
The giveaway, which recently expanded to Houston and Toronto, has been enormously successful in attracting positive media attention, the kind Donald Sterling desperately needs as he seeks to rehabilitate his public image after an infamous race scandal.
Sterling’s plan seems to be to generate enough public goodwill to allow the NBA to soften its stance and allow him to continue to own the L.A. Clippers.
However, early reaction to the scheme -- which uses the Twitter handle @ghettocashmoney -- has been less than positive. So far four people in Southern California have found mini-basketballs stuffed with large amounts of cash and a note from Donald Sterling.
Not one has accepted the money.
“I’m not taking cash from that motherf**ker,” says Dwayne Robinson, a bus driver from Inglewood. “Show me where he lives and I’ll take this $500 and shove it up his ass.”
