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First off, NBA had every right to do what it did.
Secondly, is society’s position now that the worst thing someone can do is make racist statements? Obviously this trumps what ray lewis did, the pouncey twins supporting Aaron Hernandez, ray rice dragging his girlfriend around a hotel, or fathering illegitimate kids. Right?
Finally, this was a “private spat” made public and a potential benefactor of this was dating the person who made the recording. As part of this fiasco should magic be prohibited from buying the clippers?
From this season alone you have the following arrests: http://arrestnation.com/tag/nba-player-arrested/
Those are some interesting points. I just don’t know how you can be an NBA owner and hold those kind of views. Think about all the opportunities he’s had to interact with players, former greats, coaches, etc. Smile for the cameras then go spew your hatred behind closed doors. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. But it still surprises me – that this type of hatred exists in such a professional and privileged circle. I’m glad Silver and the NBA took the hardest stand and hope he is forced to sell by the owners. There is no place in our modern society for that kind of plantation mentality. And if you are one that is unfortunate enough to hold such views then you better think twice before expressing them to anyone, even behind closed doors.
Bye bye Donald. I think the part that is being overlooked and is just hysterical is that he told this to his girlfriend but he is still married. Imagine that 25 years ago. That would discussed more even though his own statements would definitely be the lead story.
Wulfpacker and ruffles – let’s face it – Sterling is and has been a joke. But what I find more interesting is suspending someone for life because of this – when assault on a female is not a problem, assault in general not a problem.
Compare crimes – actions vs. Words – right? Didn’t out parents tell us sticks and stones will break our bones but words will not harm me.
I guess we have reached an age of where what you say and think is much more important than what you do.
I just don’t know how you can be an NBA owner and hold those kind of views.
This gets the Libertarian streak in me going. The answer to the question above is that you can hold these views as long as you follow the rules / laws that are set forth to protect people from discrimination.
The NBA has every right to do what they did. They have by-laws and terms of ownership that give them that power and they are certainly free to exercise those powers. I think the best thing you can do to combat racism is to give the bigots a mike. Their small mindedness and hatred will do them in.
I believe that women have a capacity for understanding and compassion which man structurally does not have, does not have it because he cannot have it. He’s just incapable of it. – Barbara Jordan
Now does the Barbara Jordan quote spew more or less bigotry than the quote that got Sterling banned from the NBA for life? By the logical extension of the argument above how can someone who holds those views be a US Ambassador and a faculty member of a public university? The problem I have with the precedent that has been established is that it will never be used when a liberal crosses the lines of decency and spews hate speech at a conservative. This is very very dangerous ground.
I think the part that is being overlooked and is just hysterical is that he told this to his girlfriend but he is still married.
He is estranged from his wife so it really isn’t that weird.
What was weird is he basically told his girlfriend she can sleep with Magic Johnson, but don’t bring him to my games. Now THAT is strange. This guy obviously has some deep rooted issues. He’s a gonner.
The problem I have with the precedent that has been established is that it will never be used when a liberal crosses the lines of decency and spews hate speech at a conservative. This is very very dangerous ground.
It’s not about politics. Conservative black men were outraged at the comments as well. It is all about human decency. We cannot stand for this kind of hate in our society.
Oh, and forgot to point out the strangest aspect of Sterling. So it is ok for him to date/associate with/sleep with or whatever with his girlfriend that is bi-racial, but she can’t associate with African Americans. Not even Magic Johnson (but she can sleep with him). Got it, Donald.
NBA had no problem with Sterling, whose attitudes weren’t exactly well hidden before this latest issue, as long as he wasn’t bad for the bottom line.
I’m just thankful that the Clippers can once again play ‘YMCA’ at home games. I was losing sleep over that.
Waiting to hear that the NAACP will be returning Sterling’s money to him after deciding not to award him a SECOND lifetime achievement (or whatever) award.
Well let’s see what this brave, new NBA does now. I mean they have to act right? I mean this is despicable, childish and unacceptable behavior… definitely not a lifetime ban but maybe rest of season:http://nypost.com/2014/04/28/shaq-under-fire-for-mocking-disabled-fans-selfie/
^ Shaq’s not a good scapegoat candidate, not to mention Sterling is still rolling down the hill.
This whole episode has certainly allowed folks to get some repressed self-righteousness off their chests, that’s for sure. Haven’t seen this much casual demagoguery since the Ground Zero mosque was in the news.
This verdict and punishment was all about the players and their union, and I find that to be impressive. There is no reason to compare the offense itself to any other offenses. The question would be, has any other offense been a threat to the league itself?
Vinny Del Blanco should start seeking reparations now
https://twitter.com/BasketballPics/status/460893822059159552/photo/1I wrote much of this down earlier this morning and have been contemplating whether I should post it or not.
I don’t think snark and sarcasm is the way to go in a discussion of this topic. Just my opinion.
Owners are (and should) be held to a higher standard than coaches. Coaches are held to a higher standard than players. Prospective owners of professional sports teams go through an extensive filtering process. Even if you have the means, professional sports teams don’t just go to the highest bidder; there are a lot of standards to be met to own a pro sports team in this day and age.
Double standards exist in every walk of life. It’s no different in Sterling’s case. Yeah, the reaction and consequences may be over the top or extreme, but if you can’t see the negative long-term implications this would have on the NBA and the Clippers organization then you are beyond reasoning with.
If Sterling were allowed to continue to own/operate the team, on a micro level, the organization would have an extremely difficult time recruiting and signing free agents as well as their first round draft picks. They would have to over pay for lesser players just to field a team that would eventually decline to bottom ¼ of the league. Like all professional sports, there is a fine line between the contenders and pretenders and this type of thing would relegate the Clippers back to loserville.
On a macro level, if he was allowed to continue owning and operating the team, the league would be viewed at best as tolerating a racist and at worst as supporting a racist as an owner. That would affect TV deals and sponsorship agreements for the other owners and would have a wide negative trickledown effect.
Yes it sucks for him that a private conversation intended for one person’s ears is made public. I would hate for some of the private conversations I have had with friends, family, etc. to become public. But I don’t own an NBA franchise.
^so you believe it is really all about the NBA losing money and not about him being morally wrong? The whole story is bizarre. I wonder why his apparent opinions and thoughts are more damaging to the league than his actual practices? And why now? The man seems to be a walking conundrum and also an idiot in many ways. Astounding he has managed to become a billionaire.
There are reports the players were prepared to boycott the playoffs. Think about that for a minute. Silver knew what he had to do – it’s just that the vast majority of the country agrees with what he did.
Yes, owners darn well should be held to a higher standard. They are employers. There are always going to be idiot players. Idiot owners have no right to ownership so long as 75% agree. This is contractual, not constitutional. Easy case.
Yes, IMHO removing Sterling is a business decision, not a moral decision. Sterling has a history of bad behavior/practices; only now that it is so highly publicized does it have a wide reaching negative impact on the NBA’s image and thus their bottom line.
“Silver knew what he had to do” – and I would bet a month’s pay he had the votes before the punishment was handed down.
I agree that the NBA did the right thing from a monetary perspective. With that being said, the reason expressed at the press conference by the commish and in all the media is “moral outrage”.
It’s nothing new for companies/networks to make business decisions based on social pressures. Look at the sponsors, publishers and food network reactions to the Paula Deen controversy. Their lip service was morale outrage but there is no doubt in my mind the root of their decisions was monetary not morale.
And it is ok to laugh and joke about some things in this situation. These guys did it the right way:
My money is on Donald making this all about freedom of speech and the fact that no private party can force another party to sell what legally belongs to them. I also bet that lifetime ban will go away under a restraint in trade law suit. When Donald bought the team my guess is there were no “provisions” that would preclude him making remarks that “may” be detrimental to the league or the franchise. With that in mind unless he agreed to abide IN WRITING to any provisions that the league sought to bring into their rules after the fact of him assuming ownership then the NBA had better stand by, they will lose on constitutional grounds.
Smarter than the average bear
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