Put it in perspective of the situation. Is that fine one-day's payroll for his team? 1/2 the ticket sales for a single game? Is it really excessive?
Meh, it’s not much money in the scheme here. And if it is stipulated damages in the agreement he waives his right to raise that issue.
A $2.5 million fine would be excessive for a multinational insurance company. This ruling is only the first shot in a contact dispute. Sterling will likely never pay a nickel of the fine. No court will allow the tapes in as evidence of the behavior necessary to trigger the fine.
Silver's actions today are just meant to attempt to diffuse the bad publicity. The NBA is just trying to cover their own butts in order to make it seem that they are doing something.
My guess is that the owners will vote to force Sterling to sell the team, but I don't think they are going to find a buyer. So unless the other owners are willing to pool their money to pony out a Billion dollars to Sterling, he's going to be the owner for the foreseeable future.
This was all Kabuki Theatre today. Just a way to mollify the masses.