Clippers news: Steve Ballmer donates to Seattle, Los Angeles, Michigan

Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has donated $25 million to coronavirus relief in Seattle, Los Angeles and Michigan.

Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and spouse Connie have donated more than $25 million to several areas affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and public health crisis.

Ballmer Group pledged millions of dollars to assist Seattle, Los Angeles, and southeast Michigan, per ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk.

Steve + Connie Ballmer, through the Ballmer Group, have pledged more than $25M to help Seattle, SE Michigan, LA w/ COVID-19 crisis. That includes $10M to Univ. of Washington Medicine’s Emergency Response Fund to speed up testing for COVID-19 vaccine, according to Ballmer Group.

— Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) March 27, 2020

The money from the former Microsoft CEO through Ballmer Group includes $10 million to the University of Washington Medicine's Emergency Response Fund in order to discover a vaccine for COVID-19, which has overwhelmed the United States healthcare system and affected thousands with the coronavirus along with many more who may unknowingly be carrying the virus.

Ballmer, who purchased the Clippers for $2 billion in 2014 from Donald Sterling when NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned the former owner from the league, made his wealth as an investor and executive with internet and computer giant Microsoft. Since his time as owner of the Clippers, Ballmer's presence within the NBA has grown, including his fixture and presence courtside for games at Staples Center.

In the last week, Ballmer agreed to purchase The Forum in Inglewood from The Madison Square Garden Company (and its executive chairman James Dolan, owner of the New York Knicks) after a bitter and public split between the NBA owners. The former home to the Lakers moving ownership could signal a shift in the process to bring the Clippers their own arena since they have shared the Staples Center with rival Lakers.

This week also saw players impacted by the coronavirus outbreak cleared, as the Utah Jazz's Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell and Detroit Pistons power forward Christian Wood all testing negative weeks after an initial positive confirmed their cases.