TV Recap: FX’s “Clipped” Episode 3 – Doc Rivers Holds the Clippers Together in the Wake of the Tape’s Release

“Let the Games Began,” V. texted Andy Roeser at the end of the previous episode of FX’s Clipped, which is where the third episode’s title comes from. With Donald Sterling’s racist rant now public, this episode finds Doc Rivers and the LA Clippers trying to decide what to do. And it also marks the beginning of Shelly Sterling asserting her own power over the situation. And now, a detailed recap.

Episode 3 – “Let the Games Began” – Written by Tracey Scott Wilson

LA Clippers president Andy Roeser (Kelly AuCoin) sits at his desk, the only employee in the office save for a janitor vacuuming. Andy appears to be in a trance, one that is only broken by the abrupt sound of the vacuum stopping. He watches through his glass door as the janitor opens a text message containing a link to a news story about team owner Donald Sterling’s racist rant, playing the tape. Andy puts his head down on his desk as if in prayer. Soon after, we see Andy in an aisle seat on an airplane that just landed at SFO. He does not seem eager to get off the plane.

The Clippers are staying at a hotel in San Francisco. Blake Griffin (Austin Scott) is heading back to his room from a workout when two “fans” beg hiim for a selfie, asking him to curse Donald Sterling as they take the pic.

Doc Rivers (Laurence Fishburne) has been unable to reach andy on his cell phone, so he continually calls the front desk to ask for him, never being connected or informed if Andy is there. He does, however, get through to NBA commissioner Adam Silver (Darin Cooper), who says the league won’t take action against Donald Sterling over the tape. Tyronn Lue (Mike Miller) interrupts Doc to show him a TMZ post, a photo of Blake with the “fans” from the hallway. Alvin Gentry (Petri Hawkins Byrd) chimes in, saying he’s heard that TMZ has been booking rooms in the hotel. Doc stresses the importance of talking to Andy about having someone for he and the players to fall back on. He says Andy is the only person capable of convincing Donald to release an apology statement. Tyronn says DeAndre Jordan posted on Instagram that he’s not playing tonight, and adds that the other players are being hounded by their friends, family, and fans to do something. Doc asks his team to get a private room for him to have a meeting with the team, and asks for increased security around the players.

Doc meets with DeAndre Jordan (Sheldon Bailey), who feels like playing for Donald Sterling signifies his acceptance of being “owned.” Doc tells DeAndre that Donald is in the process of releasing an apology to take the heat off the team. He tells DeAndre to wait to make a decision about playing until the whole team can talk later.

Doc dodges another TMZ reporter on his way to the elevator, only to find that it’s already occupied… by Shelly Sterling (Jacki Weaver). She apologizes for the mess and makes polite conversation about how good the hotel’s breakfast is, trying to convince Doc to join her for a meal. He isn’t interested, until she tells him Andy is there. Doc rushes into the dining room, sitting across from Andy and pulling his plate away from him. He demands that Andy get Donald to release an apology within the hour, adding that the players are going to meet to decide if they will play, and he would like this statement made before then.

Paparazzi surround the LA duplex of V. Stiviano (Cleopatra Coleman), who scrolls through Instagram while her lawyer, Mac Nehoray (Jack Topalian), offers guidance on what to say when the NBA lawyers arrive for their investigation. Deja (Yvonna Pearson) irons a white suite, suggesting she make a statement, which V. doesn’t want to do. Deja tells V. to wear this suit for the lawyers, but she declines, saying instead that she would like to wear what she has on.

Shelly is surprised to see her friend Justine (Harriet Sansom Harris) in the hotel lobby. “Stay close, do nothing,” Justine says when asked why she’s there, “That’s what a friend does in times of grief.” Justine seems sure that Shelly will divorce Donald over this. On the contrary, Shelly is busy with dinner plans for Donald’s birthday. “You’re still speaking to that filth bucket?” Justine asks. Shelly tells her friend that none of this is Donald’s fault and that she has a meeting with lawyers from the NBA. “They’re doing an investigation into V. and how she set Don up,” Shelly tells Justine. “They need information about her past.”

The two meetings are juxtaposed on top of one another. “This woman has been a menace,” Shelly tells her investigators about V., accusing her of drugging Donald. The lawyers interviewing V. ask her directly about medications she gave to Donald, and she describes all of his prescribed medications that are part of his usual routine. Shelly claims this is a case of entrapment. V. is asked if Donald was aware that he was being recorded. With council from Mac, she tells them a silent third party was present, Deja. Shelly is asked to confirm that it is her husband’s voice on the tape. She says it is. Both women seem surprised by how short the interview was.

Donald Sterling (Ed O’Neill) is in the middle of a foot massage when Shelly returns to the room. She wants him to make a statement about how V. took advantage of, which he refuses to do out of fear that he will look old and pathetic. Andy comes in with a bouquet of birthday roses for Donald, along with an envelope of statement options from the PR team. Donald quickly tosses out a few, passing one back to Andy, which claims it wasn’t him on the tape. Shelly says nobody will believe that.

Seth Burton (Rich Sommer) is the bearer of bad news for Doc, telling him what Donald’s message was, which has already gone to the press.

Doc meets with the team in a hotel conference room, telling them about Donald’s statement and expressing his disappointment. Glen 'Big Baby' Davis (Jock McKissic) doesn’t understand how nobody in the organization had a heads up about what was on the tape. Doc defends himself, saying he knew there was a tape, but he thought it was something else. He leaves the decision to play or not to the team. DeAndre refuses to make money for a racist. JJ Redick (Charlie McElveen) expresses his anger at Donald, leading to some mockery from the rest of his team, but he counters that this affects him, too. Jamal Crawford (Darryl Wesley) asks how many games they should sit out to make the statement. Matt Barnes (Sarunas J. Jackson) is angry that generations of players before them sat back and said nothing, leaving this problem for them to face. Chris Paul (J. Alphonse Nicholson) says the only way he will play in front of his kads after this is if they win, getting emotional about how badly he wants a championship ring. Blake points out that if they don’t play, Donald is the only one who wins. “You’re all corect,” Doc says, “We shouldn’t play and we should.” He starts a projector, showing them footage of Jesse Owens accepting his four gold medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany in front of Nazis. Then he shows them Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the podium in Mexico City in 1968, using that platform to raise the Black Power salute. “We can do that, but we gotta do it like they did,” Doc says. “We’ve gotta win first. You wanna prove Donald wrong? You got something to say? Say it from that platform.” The team agrees to play, but they want to make some kind of a statement. Matt Barnes says he has an idea.

Donald is upset with Shelly that Justine is crashing his birthday dinner. They join the table with Andy and his wife, Anne Roeser (Elaine Rivkin), both of whom try to be as cheerful as possible as the dinner grows more tense. Donald and Shelly get in a fight at the table. “You made me look like a liar,” Shelly tells her husband about his statement. “Well, I can’t help it if you say something stupid,” Donald replies. Shelly leaves the table and Justine follows her. Back at the hotel, Justine tries to comfort Shelly, offering advice about rebuilding your life after a divorce. “Me and Donald aren’t splitting up,” Shelly avows.

Deja returns to V.’s home to find the place full of people V. hired on Craigslist, including a security guard named Virgil (Roman Arabia) and a PR specialist named Bram (Mar Sudac). V. gives Deja a black trucker hat with her name embroidered on it, which Deja refuses to wear. Addressing the team, V. calls what she’s doing a “movement,” putting her skates and visor on and leaving the house flanked by her entourage.

Later, V. can’t get enough of watching herself on the news. Deja gets frustrated and says she’s leaving. “Don’t be upset you’re not the famous one anymore,” V. tells Deja, belittling her career as an MTV VJ. Deja doesn’t understand why V. won’t put out a statement regarding Donald Sterling’s racism, asking why she put the tape out if she didn’t want to talk about it. “I didn’t release the tape,” V. says. Deja accuses V. of refusing to take a stand because she delusionally thinks Donald Sterling will want to be with her. V. asks Virgil to kick Deja out. As Deja leaves, she warns V. that the Sterling’s are going to teach her what real power can do.

As the Clippers arrive at the stadium, they find their entrance surrounded by protesters, paparazzi, and news vans. Doc tells the team to go straight to the locker room and not to talk anybody. He’s about to get off the bus, too, when Seth rushes on with a phone call from President Obama. When Doc gets to the locker room, he goes to the marker board and writes “We are one,” reminding the players to communicate with each other and stay in the moment on the court, tuning out the noise.

Doc is the only representative from the Clippers at the press conference, announcing that the team decided to play. “Our message is that we aren’t going to let anyone stop us from what we want to do,” he responds to a question about why they’re not boycotting. After leaving the podium, Seth bring Doc his phone, warning him that Andy and Donald are on their way to the game. Doc yells at Andy on the phone, saying Doc can’t be there. He also learns that Shelly is on her way, arriving separately. Doc asks Seth to find her seats where the players can’t see her, asking her to understand that the players don’t want any reminders of Donald tonight.

The team arrives on the court, removing their Clippers sweatshirts to reveal their shirts on inside-out as a protest during warmup. But during the actual game, they change their jerseys around. During the game, Shelly is recognized and called a racist.

The Clippers lose the game. When Doc gets to the bus, he finds them standing outside instead of already on it. He gets on to find Shelly inside, saying she is heading back to the hotel with them. “Are you daring me to throw you off?” he asks. Shelly wins, with Doc motioning for the players to get on. They all ignore her as they pass to take their seats. On the ride back, she texts her lawyer, Pierce O'Donnell, for a PR recommendation.

V. watched the game from her living room with her foster kids, Daniel (Esai Pierre-Louis) and David (Logan Carter), who are upset that the team lost. Bram is still there and V. seems to be questioning how the tape was leaked. She asks Bram if she the lawyers could subpoena her computer and phone. He tells her celebrities should never keep data on the cloud.

Dressed all in black and wearing a black visor, V. goes to the front lawn holding a pet turtle and sits on her knees, petting its back as the paparazzi take pictures. A passerby assumes V. is a celebrity and rushes into the circle for an autograph, asking V. who she is. “I’m the next US president,” V. replies.

That night, V. moves folders of audio files off of her computer, listening to some of the recordings of Donald. In one of them, we hear her talking about her ethnicity, half Mexican and half Black, never having met her father. Donald says she doesn’t look Black, and makes a statment about how the only people obsessed with race aren’t White.

Clipped returns next Tuesday, June 18th, on Hulu with Episode 4, Winning Ugly.”

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