Late-Night Hosts Tackle Donald Sterling Controversy

"Sterling insists that he is not a racist – he says some of his best credit cards are black," Kimmel joked.

Late-night hosts took on the controversy over racist remarks allegedly made by Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

TMZ Sports released an audio recording of a conversation Sterling allegedly had with his then-girlfriend V. Stiviano. In the recording, a man can be heard telling a woman not to "broadcast" that she was "associating with black people."'

NBC News has not been able to authenticate the audio tapes posted on TMZSports.com or the extended clips posted by Deadspin.

FALLON

On "The Tonight Show," Jimmy Fallon started his monologue with jokes about the controversy.

"Some people are actually defending Sterling, saying he has a very good record of hiring minorities. For instance, he always has at least one white guy on the team," said Fallon.

Fallon also discussed whether or not the tape is real.

"In their defense, Sterling and the Clippers released a statement saying they weren't sure if the tape was even real," Fallon said, "Though it's still not a good sign if you hear your voice on a racist rant and go, 'That might be me? That sounds like something I might've said.'"

Finally, Fallon brought up President Barack Obama's response to the audio.

"President Obama is calling Donald Sterling's racist remarks "incredibly offensive." And you know it's bad when even Putin was like, 'I hate to say it, but I am with Obama on this one'."

MEYERS

"Late Night" host Seth Meyers tackled the controversy joke after joke with his segment "Couple Things."

"First thing, Yikes," Meyers said. "It is 2014, that is the year we live in and also how racist you are on a scale of one to 10."

Meyers also discussed what he saw as a discrepancy between Sterling's values and his profession.

"If you dislike black people so much, it seems you got into the wrong line of work," Meyers said. "If you had wanted to stay away from black people you could have bought a hockey team or the band Steely Dan." 

Watch the clip above.

KIMMEL

On "Jimmy Kimmel Live," the host focused on fans in his Los Angeles studio.

"Does anyone want to buy a pair of Clippers season tickets?" Kimmel asked. "I'll give you a great deal on them.

Kimmel then discussed Sterling's response to the audio recording. 

"Sterling insists that he is not a racist – he says some of his best credit cards are black," Kimmel joked.

Finally, pointed out a positive side of the controversy.

"Not such a bummer to be a Lakers fan this month," Kimmel said.

LETTERMAN

David Letterman discussed the controversy with one of his trademark lists entitled: "Top 10 People Donald Sterling Looks Like."

The "Late Show" host named people like "the guy who licks his fingers after pulling cash off a wad," Mickey Rourke and "the soon-to-be former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers."

Letterman also related Sterling's controversy to another star whose comments about race made headlines.

"Earlier today he was rushed to the Paula Deen rehab center in Georgia," Letterman joked.

O'BRIEN

Conan O'Brien discussed the NAACP award Sterling was due to receive before the brouhaha began.

"After the audio was released, the NAACP decided not to honor Donald Sterling with a Lifetime Achievement award," O'Brien said. "Instead they’re giving him the 'Reason We Still Need an NAACP' award."

O'Brien also made a joke involving the Los Angeles Lakers.

"The LA Clippers staged a protest of their owner’s racist remarks by wearing their uniforms inside out," O'Brien said. "Meanwhile, the L.A. Lakers have been wearing their uniforms inside out so no one would know they play for the Lakers."

HALL

Arsenio Hall took to Instagram to talk about the recording. He posted the following picture with the caption: "Don't get mad, get even. Now #DonaldSterling is in pictures with black people. #SterlingSelfie"

//instagram.com/p/nWqFTqwivY
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