(d) references “Fail or refuse to fulfill its contractual obligations to the Association, its Members, Players, or any other third party in such a way as to affect the Association or its Members adversely”, which I believe is the clause the NBA is using.
Elsewhere in the ownership contract I believe it refers to acting in the best interest of the game, and the owners can rightly deem that his actions have affected the Association or its Members adversely.
No one has alleged that Sterling did not or has not “fulfilled his contract obligations” and I do not see any evidence of that.