LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers said he declined a chance to speak with owner Donald Sterling, who is alleged to have made racist comments in a recorded conversation. "I was asked, do I need to talk with Donald, and I passed, quite honestly," Rivers said Monday. "I dont think right now is the time or the place, for me, at least. I just took a pass." Sterling is purported to have told a woman not to bring black people to his games or associate with them. "Yeah, I believe he said those things. But I still want to make sure," Rivers said during a conference call. "As far as believing those things? I heard what he said. Until someone tells me differently, you usually listen to what people say. I havent given him his due process. I havent given him an opportunity to explain himself and quite honestly right now I dont want him to. I want to wait for that further judgment." The coach cancelled practice Monday, a day after a 118-97 loss to the Golden State Warriors that evened their playoff series at 2-2. "I just felt like they needed to breathe. Theyve been inundated with this," Rivers said. Still, he said pretty much the entire team was at the clubs practice facility. "Ill go down and say hi to them and talk to them, make sure theyre in the right place. Right now its more than basketball. This is a non-basketball decision that I thought I had to make and I thought it was right decision. If you get your life better, then you can probably do your work better. They need to do that." Game 5 is Tuesday night in Los Angeles. "These last 48 hours or so have been really hard for our players and everyone," Rivers said. "Id just like to reiterate how disappointed I am in the comments attributed to our owner. I cant tell you how upset I am, our players are." Warriors coach Mark Jackson suggested that Clippers fans should boycott the game. "I believe if it was me, I wouldnt come to the game," Jackson said. "I believe the fans, the loudest statement that they can make as fans is to not show up to the game. ... To me, it will make the noise of it not being tolerated. That this is a different time. Its unfortunate, and we cannot allow someone with these feelings to profit." Rivers said he knew Jackson was speaking from his heart and that everyone has their opinion. "I dont share that. I hope its packed and people are cheering for us, the players. And they were cheering for the players before this happened. But if they feel differently, who can say theyre wrong? And Im not the one thats going to say that, I can tell you that." Rivers said its still to be determined whether he or a player will address the crowd. "Again, we dont know the right answer," Rivers said. "We want to do right here. We want to make the best decisions here. If we feel thats something will help our fans, then it will be done. If we feel its something they dont need, we wont do it. The tickets have already been sold. The fans, theyre in a dilemma as well. We want them to cheer for their players and their team. Because its still their players and their team, and it will be their players and their team. I think from what I get from the fans Ive heard from, thats how they feel, like, This is my team, these are my players Im cheering for, and thats not going to change. I hope that continues." Rivers said the controversy has been tough on his players. "What other players are going through Should I be playing thoughts in the middle of a playoff series? I sympathize for my players. They didnt sign on for this. Yet here they are and theyre in the middle of it and they have to deal with it. They didnt do anything wrong and theyre in the middle of it, and they didnt ask to be. I feel terrible for them. Im going to try to do whatever I can to make them OK." 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He hopes winning a series at home was a fresh start.DES MOINES, Iowa - Manny Ramirez has been called everything from a World Series MVP to a cheater. The disgraced slugger is hoping to add "mentor" to his resume. The 42-year-old Ramirez, a two-time champion with Boston and a two-time offender of Major League Baseballs rules against performance-enhancing drugs, joined the Triple-A Iowa Cubs as a player/coach on Thursday after signing with Chicago in late May. Ramirez is expected to play one or two times a week for the organizations top affiliate in Des Moines. But Ramirezs biggest responsibility will be to work with the Cubs most promising prospects — and hes already got some simple advice for them. "Do the right thing, bro. Follow the rules. Thats it," Ramirez said Monday. That was often a problem for Ramirez when he was starring in the big leagues. Drama has always seemed to follow Ramirez, a happy-go-lucky but enigmatic slugger who clashed with managers, teammates and front office personnel during a 19-year major league career that included 555 home runs and 12 All-Star selections. But Cubs president Theo Epstein, who spent years dealing with Ramirez as the general manager of the Red Sox, said Monday in an interview with Boston radio station WEEI that he believes Ramirez is a changed man. "Manny gave me as many problems as he gave anyone, probably besides (former Red Sox manager Terry Francona) in his time in Boston. Hes responsible for most of the grey hairs on my head. So its not something that we entered into lightly," Epstein said. "But people do change. I talked a lot to Manny, and he seemed like a completely different guy... hes grown for the better. Hes open and honest about all the mistakes hes made in the past and he wants to fix that by being a positive influence on young players," he said. Ramirez spent the last month working on his swing in Arizona, even though Epstein said that the club had no plans to add him to tthe major league roster.dddddddddddd But Epstein said that hes received glowing reports about Ramirezs attitude and work ethic from those in the organization whove worked with him so far. "When you love the game and you want to help young players and give them your testimonial and the things that you went through so they dont go through that, its easy," Ramirez said. "When you come here and youre helping young players grow up and see them go to the next level, I think thats such a joy for yourself, to come and help somebody else. It doesnt matter who you are. Its who youre going to be," he said. Ramirez, whose trademark dreadlocks have been replaced by an outgrown Mohawk, was scheduled to hit sixth and serve as the designated hitter on Monday night for Iowa. But what Chicago really wants is for Ramirez to share the wisdom that made him such a great hitter with his younger teammates. Many of the cornerstones of the Cubs rebuilding effort are now under the guidance of Ramirez, and perhaps shortstop Javier Baez will benefit most from Ramirezs tutelage. Baez, a 21-year-old Spanish-speaking native of Puerto Rico, is considered one of the games brightest young prospects. But hes struggled some at Iowa, currently hitting .239 with 11 home runs through 71 games. Arismendy Alcantara, a 22-year-old second baseman from the Dominican with an .893 OPS, and third baseman Kris Bryant are among the other high-profile prospects the Cubs are hoping Ramirez can reach. "Theres no one better to teach hitting," Epstein said. "He could always burn me on it, and wed release a minor league coach, a minor league player. But I dont think thats going to happen. I think if he helps one of our many talented young hitters in the organization. ... it will be worth it. And help one kid avoid a mistake off the field by using himself as an example, it will be worth it. Hes doing a great job so far." ' ' '