Companies Pull Clippers Sponsorships After Donald Sterling Tape Leaks

CarMax became the first company to end its sponsorship deal with the Los Angeles Clippers in the wake of the Donald Sterling racism scandal.

The company told the Huffington Post that it's ending its nine-year partnership with the team.

A spokesperson said in an e-mail to the Huffington Post:

"CarMax finds the statements attributed to the Clippers' owner completely unacceptable. These views directly conflict with CarMax's culture of respect for all individuals. While we have been a proud Clippers sponsor for 9 years and support the team, fans and community, these statements necessitate that CarMax end its sponsorship."

This came hours after Steve Stoute, the CEO of Translation - a marketing company that represents State Farm, Sprite, and others - told ESPN radio's Colin Cowherd he would urge his clients to suspend their sponsorship deals with the Clippers.

Stoute said he wouldn't urge them to end deals with individual players - i.e. the Cliff Paul commercials - just the team.

State Farm said that it has suspended its deal with the team and monitoring the situation (via CNBC):

"State Farm strongly supports and respects diversity and inclusion in its workforce and customers. The remarks attributed to the Clippers' owner are offensive. While those involved sort out the facts, we will be taking a pause in our relationship with the organization. We are monitoring the situation and we'll continually asses our options. We have a great relationship with Chris Paul and will continue supporting the Born to Assist advertising campaign involving Chris and now other NBA players."

We've contact some of the team's other sponsors and are awaiting their response.