The National Basketball Association (NBA) is investigating an audio recording posted online which allegedy reveals the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers telling his girlfriend not to post photographs of herself with African-Americans or bring  them to games involving the basketball team.

Celebrity news site TMZ.com published the 10-minute recording on its website late on Friday, describing it as a taped conversation between billionaire Donald Sterling and a model who goes by the name V Stiviano.

Sterling later told TMZ the recording "does not reflect his views".

"The audio recording posted by TMZ is truly offensive and disturbing, and we intend to get to the bottom of it as quickly as possible," Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, said at a news conference on Saturday night.

The recording has been sharply criticised by civil rights leaders, fans and players.

Barack Obama, the US president who is currently visiting Asia, said on Sunday that the comments were "incredibly offensive [and] racist".

"When ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance you don't really have to do anything, you just let them talk," Obama told reporters at a news conference in Malaysia.