Apple iPhone and iPad no longer welcome at LA Clippers, says Steve Ballmer
Former Microsoft chief executive still hates Apple
LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer may have said goodbye to Microsoft, the company he helped turn into a global tech giant, but he remains the brand's most loyal salesman.
Ballmer is determined to turn the Clippers into a Microsoft organisation and that includes ditching their iPads.
And, while the players may not be too happy about it, the no-Apple policy certainly isn't surprising news. After all, this is the man who banned his own family from using Apple's iPhone.
"Most of the Clippers on are Windows, some of the players and coaches are not,” Ballmer told Reuters. "And Doc (Rivers, LA Clippers coach) kind of knows that’s a project."
"It's one of the first things he said to me: 'We are probably going to get rid of these iPads, aren’t we?' And I said, 'Yeah, we probably are.' But I promised we would do it during the off season."
Ballmer bought the Clippers franchise for a record $2 billion after previous owner Donald Sterling came under intense pressure to sell the team after he was caught making a series of racist remarks on tape.
After the sale was completed, Ballmer announced he would step down from Microsoft's board to focus on the Clippers and continue teaching. However, he remains the largest individual shareholder in Microsoft and intends to hold the stock "for the foreseeable future".
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