V. Stiviano says Donald Sterling's racist comments on an audio recording leaked to the public were not the first by the Los Angeles Clippers owner in conversations with her. 
 
 FILE - In this Dec. 19, 2010, file photo, Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, third right, sits with V. Stiviano, left, as they watch the Clippers play the Los Angeles Lakers during an NBA preseason... (Associated Press) 
 
 "There's been a number of occasions where Mr. Sterling and I had conversations just like this one. This was one of very many," Stiviano told Barbara Walters on ABC's "20/20" in an interview that aired Friday night. "Part of what the world heard was only 15 minutes. There's a number of other hours that the world doesn't know." 
 
 Sterling told Stiviano in the recording that she should not post online photos of herself with black people, including basketball great Magic Johnson, or bring black people to Clippers' games. 
 
 The recording, which an attorney for Stiviano said was leaked by a third party, led to public outcry across the country and the NBA. Some sponsors dropped the Clippers and others re-evaluated their relationship with the NBA. 
 
 On Tuesday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling for life, fined him $2.5 million and urged league owners to force him to sell the team. A three-quarters vote by the NBA owners is required to force him to sell. 
 
 Though Stiviano told Walters that Sterling should "absolutely" apologize, she said she still loves him like a father figure and does not believe he is a racist. 
 
 "I think Mr. Sterling is from a different generation than I am," she said. "I think he was brought up to believe these things ... segregation, whites and blacks. But through his actions he's shown that he's not a racist. He's shown to be a very generous and kind man." 
 
 Stiviano said that since the ban, Sterling has felt confused, alone and not supported by those around him. 
 
 "I think he's highly more traumatized and hurt by the things that he said himself," she said. "I think he can't even believe or understand sometimes the thing he says, and I think he's hurt by it. He's hurting right now." 
 
 A real-estate mogul, Sterling has been accused of racial missteps before. 
 
 The billionaire had paid a $2.76 million settlement to resolve a federal lawsuit accusing him of systematically excluding blacks and Hispanics from his rental properties. He also won a wrongful termination lawsuit by general manager Elgin Baylor, who accused him of various slurs and slights. 

 Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s confidante V. Stiviano today told ABC’s Barbara Walters that she thinks the embattled NBA basketball owner should apologize for his racist remarks. 
 
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 "Yes. Absolutely,” Stiviano, 31, said when Walters asked her during an exclusive television interview in Los Angeles. 
 
 "I think he’s highly more traumatized and hurt by the things that he said himself,” she added. “I think he can’t even believe or understand sometimes the thing he says, and I think he’s hurt by it. He’s hurting right now." 
 
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 Asked if she thought he would go through with a public apology, Stiviano replied: “God only knows.” 
 
 This is the first television interview for Stiviano since the NBA handed Sterling a lifetime ban and a $2.5 million fine on Tuesday for his racial remarks about African-Americans featured in a leaked audiotape recording. 
 
 Prior to this interview with ABC News, Stiviano had been seen in public wearing a large visor over her face, which she said made it “easier to mask the pain." 
 
 The interview comes a week after TMZ released the audio recordings, which subsequently launched the league investigation that led to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to ban Sterling for life. The NBA Board of Governors will vote on whether Sterling will be forced to sell the team. 
 
 One of the mysteries surrounding the situation is how the audio recordings came to light. Stiviano, who was on the receiving end of Sterling’s rant on the leaked tapes and describes herself as black and Mexican, told Walters she did record their conversations, and shared them with friends. Stiviano said a friend leaked the audio. 
 
 But, she said, this rant -- in which Sterling told Stiviano not to “promote” her relationship with black people or “bring them to my games,” -- "was not the first time” they had these conversations. 
 
 “There’s been a number of occasions where Mr. Sterling and I had conversations just like this one. This was one of very many,” she said. “Part of what the world heard was only 15 minutes. There’s a number of other hours that the world doesn’t know.” 
 
 Stiviano denied having a romantic relationship with Sterling, saying she is his personal assistant and sees Sterling as “a father figure” -- calling herself his "silly rabbit." She claims that people around Sterling would say negative things about her to him, saying they “poison his mind and heart about things about me,” which would drive him to say certain things. 
 
 Despite the controversy around his comments, she said he is not a racist. 
 
 “I think Mr. Sterling is from a different generation than I am. I think he was brought up to believe these things … segregation, whites and blacks,” Stiviano said. “But through his actions he’s shown that he’s not a racist. He’s shown to be a very generous and kind man.” 
 
 Sterling, 80, has owned the Clippers since 1981. Sources also told ESPN Thursday that Sterling is battling cancer. 
 
 Stiviano is also currently tangled in a legal battle with Sterling’s estranged wife Rochelle Sterling.
– Well, not everybody thinks LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling is a racist: V. Stiviano, the woman who started this whole mess by recording her private conversations with him, offered up some decent words about him last night to Barbara Walters of ABC News: On racism: "I think Mr. Sterling is from a different generation than I am. I think he was brought up to believe these things … segregation, whites, and blacks. But through his actions he's shown that he's not a racist. He's shown to be a very generous and kind man." Still, Stiviano said he "absolutely" should apologize for his remarks about black people, notes AP. On their relationship: Stiviano says she is his personal assistant and never had a romantic relationship with the 80-year-old. She says she loves him as a "father figure." 'He's hurting': "I think he's highly more traumatized and hurt by the things that he said himself. I think he can't even believe or understand sometimes the thing he says, and I think he's hurt by it. He's hurting right now." On how the tapes surfaced: Stiviano said she gave the tapes to friends for safekeeping and one of them leaked the audio to the media.