Article from the L.A. Times
Excerpt: "Elgin Baylor's wrongful termination and age-discrimination civil lawsuit against the Clippers is expected to arrive in the hands of jurors Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
In closing statements Monday, the team's attorney blasted Baylor's claim and urged the panel to deprive him of any financial payoff.
Ridiculing Baylor's complaints against team executives who asked him about his birthday and how he was feeling in the years before the NBA great's split with the team as executive vice president, Clippers attorney Robert Platt told jurors, "You'd have to have police at every workplace saying you can't sing, 'Happy Birthday.' "
Baylor, 76, parted with the Clippers after 22 seasons in 2008 when the team offered him a $10,000 monthly consultant's package.
He rejected the deal and a later offer to return to his position, alleging in his February 2009 wrongful termination case that he wouldn't come back to a hostile environment presided over by Clippers owner Donald T. Sterling and team President Andy Roeser, who were named in the lawsuit and attended Monday's closing statements.
"This isn't discrimination," Platt told the jury. "This is quitting and suing, lawyer-ing up to get some money. … His opinion was he could make more money from you than [Sterling]."
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