After V (Cleopatra Coleman) let it be known she's been recording Donald Sterling (Ed O'Neill) in episode 1 and the audio clips leaked to TMZ episode 2, things are primed ready to hit the fan.
In Clipped episode 3, "Let the Games Begin," the entire Clippers organization is dealing with the fallout from infamous audio. Doc (Laurence Fishburne) tries to help his players navigate their strong and complex feelings about what Donald said. He also has to lead the team to a decision about whether or not to continue playing in the first round of the NBA playoffs against the Warriors. Elsewhere, V confuses infamy with fame in her quest to be a household name, Donald hangs on to inexplicable deniability and Shelly (Jacki Weaver) scrambles to figure out what to do next.
Here's what happened in Clipped episode 3.
Doc can't stop the hemorrhaging
After the previous meeting with the coaching staff and Vice President of Communications Seth Burton (Rich Sommer), Doc heads to his hotel, passing by Donald's room along the way. Donald doesn’t sound too concerned by the scandal as he talks to his wife. Once Doc makes it to his room he pulls up the audio, again in disbelief with what's happening.
The next day, Doc repeatedly calls and texts Clippers President Andy Roeser (Kelly AuCoin), to no avail. The executive, who has made it to San Francisco ahead of the game against the Warriors, is actively dodging Doc's calls, which only infuriates the coach. Doc desperately wants to figure out how to put this scandal to bed so he and the team can get back to the business of the playoffs. Doc even hounds the hotel front desk to see if Andy checked in, but the staff points to the privacy policies and isn't helpful.
Doc also has to contend with a phone call from newly appointed commissioner of the NBA, Adam Silver, who has only been on the job for three months. He's furious by the scandal and tries to gauge what steps the Clippers are taking to mitigate the situation, but Doc doesn't have any answers to provide him.
Hanging up with the commissioner, Doc then speaks with Seth, who wants Doc to put out a statement. The coach refuses to put out a statement, believing Donald is the one who needs to issue an apology. Doc also gets wind that DeAndre Jordan (Sheldon Bailey) has posted a black square on Instagram and has vowed not to play in the night's game.
Doc meets with DeAndre to hear him out. The NBA star says he doesn't want to play for Donald any longer as he's made him feel like property. Doc assures him that Donald is going to apologize and says he's going to gather the team together to decide what to do. When DeAndre asks what Doc wants to do, Doc isn't sure.
After a chance meeting with Shelly in a hotel elevator, Doc learns that Andy is downstairs in the hotel restaurant eating oysters. Doc makes a beeline to find Andy and rips into him. He demands Andy get Donald to issue a public apology before he meets with the players. Andy is hesitant to commit to that until Doc shows him he means business.
Andy goes to Donald's hotel room with a few statements for him to choose from as his official public apology. Donald opts to go with the one denying that it's his voice on the recording, much to the chagrin of Andy and Shelly, who is looking on. After the statement has been published, Seth shows it to Doc who again becomes furious.
Hours before the game, Doc meets with the players. While DeAndre and JJ Redick (Charlie McElveen) want to take a stand against Donald's statements and not play, Chris Paul (J. Alphonse Nicholson) and Matt Barnes (Sarunas J. Jackson) want to play, feeling they've worked hard all season and have a chance to win a title. Things get heated in the room until Doc shows a video of Jesse Owens receiving a gold medal during Hitler's reign in Germany and another clip of Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos making a Black Power salute in the 1968 Games. Doc says the players would have a more amplified voice in their outrage against Donald if they could make statements from the winner's circle. This sways the players to agree to play.
Before the game gets underway, the players show solidarity and decide not to wear warm-up jerseys with the Clippers logo. Meanwhile, Doc takes a call from Andy who says he and Donald are on their way to the game. Doc demands they stay away from the arena, threatening to physically put Donald out if he shows up. Shelly is also heading to the game, but Doc ultimately arranges for to her sit in the stands instead of on the floor, fearing she'd be a distraction.
Despite all of Doc's efforts to get his team back on track and in championship mode, the Warriors pummel the Clippers.
V and Shelly don't have a full grasp of the situation
V is at home with her attorney Mac (Jack Topalian) and best friend Deja (Yvonna Pearson). Mac is trying to coach V on a statement to present to the press to make it clear she didn't violate any laws recording Donald and never received payments to keep quiet about his rants. However, V is more concerned about the attention she's getting on social media.
Meanwhile, Shelly's best friend Justine (Harriet Sansom Harris) arrives in San Francisco ahead of the playoff game to support her. Justine is under the impression that Shelly is planning to leave Donald, but Shelly makes it clear she has no plans of doing such a thing. She also suggests Justine should have called before coming to San Francisco, as it's Donald's 80th birthday, and they're having dinner with Andy and his wife.
Then in opposing interviews with the NBA's legal team, V and Shelly give their statements about the events unfolding. Shelly condemns V and calls her a career criminal. She heavily implies that V does drugs and made sure Donald was under the influence in the recording. V shoots back that she's not under the influence and the only thing Donald had the night of the recording was wine. Shelly continues to insinuate the audio was a one-off incident, but V says she has many recordings, all taped with Donald's consent.
Later at Donald's birthday dinner, Donald, Shelly, Andy and his wife all sit to eat with Justine appearing as Shelly's guest. From the moment they take their seats, Shelly takes digs at Donald with the occasional assist from Justine. In frustration, Donald pounds on the table that he's had enough, which only prompts Shelly to hysterically laugh. She winds up leaving dinner and is followed by her friend.
Back in LA, V has hired an entourage and bought them all V. Stiviano hats to wear. Deja's had enough and calls out her friend for not releasing a statement condemning Donald as a racist. They get into an argument where V accuses Deja of being jealous of her fame. Deja shoots back she's the wrong kind of famous. Deja adds that V doesn't want to call Donald out because she'd go back to him, as his saying racist things isn't a deal breaker for her. Deja storms out and V spends the rest of the episode posing for publicity pictures in a visor.
Episodes of Clipped continue to debut on Hulu on Tuesdays in the US, and on Disney Plus in the UK.
