NEW YORK » Dick Parsons is hoping for a short stint running the Los Angeles Clippers, though he’s ready to stay on as long as it takes.

Moving the franchise away from Donald Sterling and to new ownership might require a lengthy fight, but it’s one Parsons thinks is worthwhile.

"This is an issue that’s actually bigger than just the Clippers, bigger than just the NBA in my judgment," Parsons said. "The whole world is kind of watching how, frankly, we as a country navigate our way through this crisis. So if I can help, I’m happy to try." 

The NBA chose Parsons, the 66-year-old former Citigroup chairman and former Time Warner chairman and CEO, as interim CEO of the Clippers on Friday.

Parsons will oversee the management of the franchise and represent it at owners meetings while the league tries to force Sterling to sell following his lifetime ban for making racist remarks.

Parsons, who is black, met with Commissioner Adam Silver on Monday and accepted the position Thursday.

A graduate of the University of Hawaii, where he played basketball in the late 1960s, Parsons earned a law degree from Albany Law School in 1971.