If you were Adam Silver, what would you do with Donald Sterling?

[LSN80]

Overshadowing the NBA playoffs and the Stanley Cup Finals is the "aledged" racist phone call made by Donald Sterling. A recording of a phone call between Sterling and former girlfriend, V. Stiviano, showed incredible racism towards African Americans.

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/...lver-says-donald-sterling-receive-due-process

In the audio recording, Sterling said the following to Stiviano about a picture she posted on Instagram of herself and Magic Johnson:

"It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you're associating with black people. Do you have to? You can sleep with [black people]. You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want. The little I ask you is not to promote it on that ... and not to bring them to my games."

In other words, Sterling's message is this: Do what you want with the blacks in private, but do not associate with them in public.

The Clippers players themselves made a statement before Game Four against the Golden State Warriors, dumping their shooting shirts at midcourt, and turning their warmup shirts inside out. It should be noted that 86% of the Clippers players are black, including team captain Chris Paul. Paul had the following to say on Twitter about the teams decision in warmup:

CP3: "We're going to be one. Everything we do, we do it together."

A number of high-profile players and owners have issued statements regarding Sterling. Here are some of them:

Michael Jordan:

“I look at this from two perspectives – as a current owner and a former player. As an owner, I’m obviously disgusted that a fellow team owner could hold such sickening and offensive views. I’m confident that Adam Silver will make a full investigation and take appropriate action quickly. As a former player, I’m completely outraged. There is no room in the NBA – or anywhere else – for the kind of racism and hatred that Mr. Sterling allegedly expressed…. In a league where the majority of players are African-American, we cannot and must not tolerate discrimination at any level.”

Lebron James statement was short and to the point:

LeBron: “No room for Donald Sterling in our league. As commissioner of our league, you have to make a stand and you have to be very aggressive with it. I don't know what it's going to be, but you just can't have that in our league."

Magic Johnson issued a strong statement via Twitter as well:

"TMZ reported this morning that Clippers owner Donald Sterling doesn't want me or other African-Americans to come to Clippers games. @cjbycookie(Johnson's wife) and I will never go to a Clippers game again as long as Donald Sterling is the owner. I feel sorry for my friends Coach Doc Rivers and Chris Paul that they have to work for a man that feels that way about African Americans. LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling's comments about African Americans are a black eye for the NBA."

Steven A. Smith has had a lot to say about the subject, and has sited multiple sources he's noting as credible regarding past racism about Donald Sterling. Among them are former Clippers star Baron Davis stating that during warmups, Sterling would sit courtside with a female companion and spew racist rhetoric. Smith also stated that in the short course of this investigation, other tapes with similar rhetoric have been discovered.

Another quote that has been "attributed" to Sterling is this:

Blacks should not be attending our games. Whites who view blacks as equals should not attend our games either.

The onus is on Adam Silver to act quickly here. Both the Clippers head coach Doc Rivers and top star and team captain Chris Paul are black. As I noted before, the majority of the Clippers players are black, as are most of their coaches. How do the Clippers focus on their playoff matchup with this hanging over their head?

Chris Paul issued the following written statement regarding the issue.

"On behalf of the National Basketball Players Association, this is a very serious issue which we will address aggressively. We have asked [Sacramento] Mayor Kevin Johnson to expand his responsibilities with the NBPA, to determine our response and our next steps. As players, we owe it to our teams and our fans to keep our focus on our game, the playoffs, and a drive to the Finals."

I like the idea of involving outside sources, such as legal branches. It shows the seriousness of the issue, and the fact that the players are invested in having this resolved immediately. With a man who supposedly has a track record such as his, this should be the last straw. Adam Silver has to act quickly. Obviously, he cannot force Sterling to sell the team due to legal reasons, but he has a broad perview of action he can take.

I rarely agree or like the way Reverand Jesse Jackson uses his platform, but I agree with him here:

Donald Sterling should be banned immediately. The question is, how long?

If I was Adam Silver, it would be until Sterling agrees to sell the team. He can't outright force Sterling to sell, but there are actions he can take to pressure Sterling into doing so.

Until he agrees to sell the team and gets his sorry behind out of the NBA permanently. Nothing less.

Your thoughts on this?

 

[Con T.]

There's precedence here; namely, with George Steinbrenner in the early 90s, Marge Schott the late 90s. Both suspended from day to day operations, one outright banned from Major League Baseball.

Consider that for a second; Major League Baseball was actually ahead of the curve, compared to the NBA. Weak natured, hem and hawing, Bud Selig was more assertive than David Stern.

Of course Donald Sterling felt like he could get away with this; David Stern was harder on rap music and clothing than he ever was on Donald Sterling.

At this point, you need to pry Donald Sterling away from the Clippers. And for those arguing Adam Silver doesn't have the power, as he works for the owners... I can assure you, if the owners all want Sterling to walk away, they'll make it so Sterling walks away.

But they won't. Why would they? I mean, you have only one majority owner that happens to be a minority. The truth is, the NBA owners act in a self interest. It was acts in self interest that sent Chris Paul to the Clippers to begin with.

So yeah, I don't buy much is going to happen here.

 

[Thriller Ant]

Bill Simmons has actually written quite a bit, including one of his most recent pieces, about NBA ownership. For those without the time or patience to read the column, he basically says that being an NBA owner is a status symbol; you are one of only 30 men that own an NBA franchise. Due to that, most owners are much more concerned with protecting their own asses than anything that happens on the court, a mindset that David Stern allowed to become prominent during his reign as commissioner.

This is the first real test of Adam Silver's commissionership and there are two paths he can go down, in my mind.

a) Protect the owner's club and let Sterling continue to own the team because, in all honesty, anything less than attempting to take away his ownership is a slap on the wrist.

b) Take the Clippers away from Sterling by any means necessary and let the billionaires that have failed to buy other franchises start lining up with checkbooks in hand.

With all the people waiting to throw money at the NBA, this is a perfect opportunity for Silver to send a message to the owners that he is not David Stern and that they can be held accountable for their actions. It should be interesting to see if that's actually what he does.

 

[Slyfox696]

So...we should now take away someone's business because of something they said in private to a person they thought they could trust? Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and call BS on that. I don't care if people want to find his statement offensive. I think it's bad, but I'm not offended by it. It's just some random racist saying something racist, why should I care?

I'm far more offended by the idea we should begin taking away people's livelihoods simply because of thoughts and opinions. I don't care Sterling won't be starving anytime soon, saying he should lose his business because of a private comment he made to someone whose confidence he should have been able to trust is absurd and dangerous.

Sterling's comment was wrong. Sterling is a racist. But as long as it doesn't cross into the illegal territory, as long as he's not actively discriminating against anyone, then to say we should be able to arbitrarily remove people for their private thoughts is dangerous and far more offensive than the ramblings of some old white racist.

 

[LSN80]

So...we should now take away someone's business because of something they said in private to a person they thought they could trust? Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and call BS on that. I don't care if people want to find his statement offensive. I think it's bad, but I'm not offended by it. It's just some random racist saying something racist, why should I care?

It's an interesting prespective, and one I find understandable, to a point. If we're going to legislate morality on athletes or owners of sports teams, then let's go ahead and strip Wilt Chamberlain of his 100 point game because he bedded 20,000 women(so he says) during his playing career. There's a fine line between one's business practices, and their personal life, right?

The problem I have with this is the comments made by Baron Davis:

(He) Sterling called me a bastard, called me the devil, told me I was crazy on numerous occasions in front of my teammates and cussed me out while they were present. I went to work anxious every day and feared running into him because of the anxiety he caused me. I never understood what problem Sterling had with me, and we never had a conversation to resolve our problems.

Worse, he would sit courtside during warmups with his female companions and spew racist rhetoric. It was degrading and unbecoming, and if there's a devil here, it's he.

Is this the kind of behavior that should be allowed of an NBA owner? Conventional wisdom says that if you have a problem with a specific type of person, you avoid them. What should Sterling do, based on his comments?(I posted this previous):

Blacks should not be attending our games. Whites who view blacks as equals should not attend our games either.

So the families and friends of the players shouldn't be attending games? And if whites are better than blacks, why employ a roster that is 86% black? Apparently to Sterling, black basketball players aren't human being, they're commodities to be owned.

Yes, I know that when an athlete-or someone in any area of work-loses their usefulness, they're summarily fired in one way or another. But to Sterling, there's nothing else to them. Not only this, but he's willing and ready to voice such opinions, regardless of where he is or who he's talking to.

I'm far more offended by the idea we should begin taking away people's livelihoods simply because of thoughts and opinions. I don't care Sterling won't be starving anytime soon, saying he should lose his business because of a private comment he made to someone whose confidence he should have been able to trust is absurd and dangerous.

Did you feel the same way about Marge Schott? Her slurs against African American's and Jews along with voicing support of the policies of the Nazi regime and Hitler cost her the Cincinnatti Reds. Call it absurd and dangerous, but I find it dangerous that a person with such hateful beliefs could own a company that employs a majority of such person that they harbor so much animosity towards.

That hateful behavior(aledgedly) lead to Baron Davis' departure from the Clippers, and Elgin Baylor's departure as GM after 30 years. What's next?

I don't know about you, but I'd rather not find out.

Sterling's comment was wrong. Sterling is a racist. But as long as it doesn't cross into the illegal territory, as long as he's not actively discriminating against anyone, then to say we should be able to arbitrarily remove people for their private thoughts is dangerous and far more offensive than the ramblings of some old white racist.

When the ramblings of an "old racist" affect the goals of a team and personnel who have been working their entire lives towards one goal-an NBA Championship-then it's gone too far. When the workplace environment is so disrupted that the players shed their warmup jerseys and wear plain shirts to warmup, it's a distraction. When the favorite(The Clippers) lose by 21 in the game following the comments, it's a problem.

Further, State Farm, Red Bull, Kia, CarMax, and Virgin Airlines have all severed their sponsorships with the Clippers, which now goes into the territory of poor fiscal management. That's likely hundreds of millions of dollars the team will lose as a result, but Sterling should stay on as owner because he made most of his racist comments in private?

He's alienated everyone. Other owners. His own players. The sponsors who put money in his pocket, and help pay the salaries of his players.

It's bad for everyone involved for him to continue to own the Clippers. It's a distraction to the players, and now they know their paychecks are being signed by a man who holds hatred against them. Not because of anything they've done, but by the color of their skin.

Sterling bought the Clippers for 15 million, and the team is now worth 700 million dollars. How do you believe that happened? Off the backs of those black players he despises so.

Sterling has created a hostile work environment because of his comments, and if nothing else, should go for that very reason.

 

[Slyfox696]

Is this the kind of behavior that should be allowed of an NBA owner?

No, but nothing was done then. And, if punishment is to fall, it won't be for that, it'll be for what was just released.

So the families and friends of the players shouldn't be attending games?

If Sterling wants to discourage people from paying him money, that's his business. If he takes steps to prevent them from attending games, then it becomes a real issue.

And if whites are better than blacks, why employ a roster that is 86% black? Apparently to Sterling, black basketball players aren't human being, they're commodities to be owned.

You described the relationship of most large corporations and their employees.

Yes, I know that when an athlete-or someone in any area of work-loses their usefulness, they're summarily fired in one way or another. But to Sterling, there's nothing else to them. Not only this, but he's willing and ready to voice such opinions, regardless of where he is or who he's talking to.

But that's just not true. How do I know that? Because he's never said that publicly on record.

Did you feel the same way about Marge Schott? Her slurs against African American's and Jews along with voicing support of the policies of the Nazi regime and Hitler cost her the Cincinnatti Reds. Call it absurd and dangerous, but I find it dangerous that a person with such hateful beliefs could own a company that employs a majority of such person that they harbor so much animosity towards.

I feel the same way about anyone whose greatest transgression is a victimless turn of words. I find their attitudes appalling, but it's not my place to tell them how they have to think. I can try and convince them otherwise, but just because they don't think like me, it doesn't mean I should have carte blanche to discipline them as I see fit.

That hateful behavior(aledgedly) lead to Baron Davis' departure from the Clippers, and Elgin Baylor's departure as GM after 30 years. What's next?

What's next? How about an employer who fires someone who comes out as gay? Obviously the employer finds the attitudes of the gay employee disgusting, should the homosexual lose his livelihood simply for what he feels?

I don't know about you, but I'd rather not find out.

We agree on this. The only difference is I never think it's okay to take someone's business/job for no better reason than a disagreement on values.

When the ramblings of an "old racist" affect the goals of a team and personnel who have been working their entire lives towards one goal-an NBA Championship-then it's gone too far.

But it's his team. Those people are working for him. They are more than welcome to pursue those goals and dreams elsewhere (and I heartily recommend it).

Further, State Farm, Red Bull, Kia, CarMax, and Virgin Airlines have all severed their sponsorships with the Clippers, which now goes into the territory of poor fiscal management. That's likely hundreds of millions of dollars the team will lose as a result, but Sterling should stay on as owner because he made most of his racist comments in private?

Um...how does Sterling tanking his own pocketbook justify removing him from his own team? Sterling made comments other find offensive...he's welcome to his thoughts and so are those who choose not to do business with him.

Sterling bought the Clippers for 15 million, and the team is now worth 700 million dollars. How do you believe that happened? Off the backs of those black players he despises so.

I suspect there was more to it than 12 guys randomly deciding to play in one location...

 

[Alastor]

I'm with Slyfox on this. What Sterling said in private on his views of who he prefer to be associated with in public should not be enough to force him to sell his franchise. It would also be opening a can of worms and legal issues if Sterling decides to sue after if he is forced out.

How many times did anyone use offensive remarks in private conversations? Do we want everyone to be held accountable to things that were not meant to be made public? I'm pretty sure some of the players outraged by the issue have shared worse things in private about other race/gender/sexual orientation/body type too. And some are/were employers much like Sterling. I doubt they would want recordings of these private conversations to be grounds to remove them from an otherwise profitable business.

Sterling's treatment of the woman in questions was also very offensive but it seem like the Sterling's view of race is overshadowing Sterling's view on women.

 

[Slyfox696]

I'm pretty sure some of the players outraged by the issue have shared worse things in private about other race/gender/sexual orientation/body type too.

Exactly. Show me a NBA player who hasn't called someone a ******. That's offensive, right? It's degrading, it's demeaning and it's intended use is to be such. How often have we heard how "pro *insert sport* isn't ready for an openly gay player"? Does that mean we should fire all the pro sports athletes and tell them they can never play again?

Or is it just a case where we arbitrarily decide what we become outraged about, usually based on what sells media copies, to decide if someone is banned from the sport?

 

[The Butcher]

If I'm Adam Silver, I can't make Sterling sell his franchise, so I wouldn't even toy with the idea. I would give Sterling the maximum fine and suspension I could, however.

If I were a coach, player, trainer, etc., I would refuse to work for Sterling.

I'm just a fan, though. I never had any intention of going to a Clippers game or buying Clippers merch and still don't. All I want is for this story to end so the focus can get back on basketball.

 

[JGlass]

I understand where Slyfox is coming from. Sterling's behavior, while disgusting in oh so many ways, wasn't illegal. If it turned out he was cooking the books, I'd say they should take the team from him. If he was willingly employing illegal aliens and paying them below minimum wage, I'd say they should take the team from him. If I found out he was a 9-11 Truther, Birther, Scientologist, or someone with equally ridiculous beliefs, I'd think he's a nut job, but I wouldn't want him to lose his investment in a basketball team.

The race issue here is a tough one because, as people in the media have been quick to point out, it harkens back to the days of plantations: the rich white master will spend money on the black man in order to make more money for himself. It's also taking place in a field where both a large portion of employees and customers are black. Dealing with race is a veritable minefield, and Sterling decided to go sledding through it.

On one hand, I agree with Slyfox. Sterling is a despicable person, but you can't take away someone's rights because they're disgusting.

On the other hand, I accept that this is a special situation. The league is facing a crisis as fans, players, and personalities associated with the game are outraged and demand action.

Taking the team away from Sterling is definitely shady from an ethical standpoint, and the NBA risks getting sued if they decide to do so. If they don't take some sort of action against Sterling, they risk sending the message that they're okay with racism.

There's no simple solution here, but that doesn't mean we should blindly rush to the one our justice-driven minds feel is the proper solution.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Meh, anyone associated with the NBA knows they are a media lightning rod and are expected to act accordingly. Owning an NBA franchise isn't a right. Sterling should be expected, just like the players, to act appropriately in public and "private". The NBA has bylaws and I understand if it can reasonable be determined that Sterling's actions broke those bylaws then he is free game.

I would rather see this played out outside the league's hands but that is more out of my morbid curiosity than a question of right and wrong.

 

[Alastor]

Meh, anyone associated with the NBA knows they are a media lightning rod and are expected to act accordingly. Owning an NBA franchise isn't a right. Sterling should be expected, just like the players, to act appropriately in public and "private". The NBA has bylaws and I understand if it can reasonable be determined that Sterling's actions broke those bylaws then he is free game.

I would rather see this played out outside the league's hands but that is more out of my morbid curiosity than a question of right and wrong.

The thing is nobody can be politically correct all the time. Sterling has certain beliefs and probably didn't think he had to put his guard up in a quarrel with his girlfriend.

 

[Con T.]

The thing is nobody can be politically correct all the time. Sterling has certain beliefs and probably didn't think he had to put his guard up in a quarrel with his girlfriend.

Didn't seem to matter to him when he was talking to his own employees, when he had to realize that there could be consequences speaking with them

At the end of the day, this doesn't even crack the top ten of evil things Donald Sterling has done. I'm not going to go through the whole history, it's out there if you really want it. But when you have a pattern of racist behavior (some of which actually has hurt people), it has to be factored in.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

The thing is nobody can be politically correct all the time. Sterling has certain beliefs and probably didn't think he had to put his guard up in a quarrel with his girlfriend.

So the league or anyone else should excuse his racial ignorance because he is ignorant in his extramarital relationship? This is a league that fines people for complaining about bad calls in a game. We are not talking about the government punishing speech. We are talking about the public and the governing body of a business.

 

[rbv13]

Exactly. Show me a NBA player who hasn't called someone a ******. That's offensive, right? It's degrading, it's demeaning and it's intended use is to be such. How often have we heard how "pro *insert sport* isn't ready for an openly gay player"? Does that mean we should fire all the pro sports athletes and tell them they can never play again?

Or is it just a case where we arbitrarily decide what we become outraged about, usually based on what sells media copies, to decide if someone is banned from the sport?

Derogatory comments being made by players during competition was an issue not so long ago. The league was very concerned about the amount a racial and sexual based slurs being exchanged to the point where they wanted to issue technical fouls or other forms of punishment. I think there are much larger issues at hand involving a very dirty side to how business is handed in the NBA.

This entire situation should be a lesson for anyone thinking about dealing with a dirty two-bit ****e. Sterling was going overboard providing Stiviano with the finer things in life. When his wife decided to push back and filed a law suit the shit hit the fan and now Sterling finds himself in one hell of a mess.

 

[LSN80]

If people haven't seen the update on the case, ESPN's Mark Stein is reporting the following regarding expectations of what Adam Silver will do:

-A lifetime ban for Donald Sterling
- A fine of over a million dollars
- Helping the Clippers sell the team
- Forcing Sterling out by league vote if he refuses to sell

A part of me smiled when I read this, as I believe there's no place for the likes of Donald Sterling in the league. The argument has been made that some of what he said was done in the privacy of his own home. But one has to consider the fact that it is no longer contained within the privacy of his own home, regardless of his intent. It doesn't matter that he trusted his former lover with this(It's even more appalling to me because she's black), and she betrayed him by leaking it. The fact is, intent or not, it got out so here we are.

So what now? We have a league-wide issue. Almost every owner in the league(save for Mark Cuban) wants him out immediately. His coach doesn't want to coach there anymore should he remain as owner. His players don't want to be there if he remains.

Slyfox made the argument yesterday that his players should look to "achieve" their dream of an NBA Championship elsewhere. That doesn't account for this season, where the Clippers are in the playoffs and are reaching towards that goal right now. There's no opportunity to switch teams, they have to play for the franchise who currently holds their contract. That happens to be Donald Sterling's team.

In the future, the players agents could pursue deals for the players to go elsewhere, but it's not that easy. The possibility of a boycott has been raised, but if the team boycott's, the players don't get paid. Screwed again. Unable to pursue their dream of an NBA championship.

There really are no other best options in the interest of the league and the players to take. It's a slippery slope legally, but if the owners choose to vote him out should he no sell-which they likely would-then it falls within the guidelines of the NBA's constitution.

My hope is that Sterling, with all the backlash, announces he is selling the team and will no longer be around for day-to-day operations. It's the smoothest option to be taken, and in the best interest of both his players and the league as a whole.

 

[Con T.]

You know what?

I've changed my mind. I don't want him stripped away from his team. I'm not even sure how much I want him punished.

Don't get me wrong; what he did is awful. But I don't want him punished.

Why? Because it's going to come off as extremely disingenuous.

How ling have the NBA had to punish Donald Sterling, in some way, shape, or form? I mean, honestly, what more did they need? They had at least two major settlements, all of which involved racist behavior. The NBA's known this guy's racism. Absolutely none of this should be surprising. Go back and read some Elgin Baylor quotes... This isn't a secret to anyone, and it should have been punished long, long ago?

And now the NBA wants to get on its high horse, and pretend that this all creeped up on people, and that now is the time for punishment.

Piss. Right. Off.

David Stern, and his owners, had so many chances to take some stand, and show that racist behavior isn't going to be tolerated. Donald Sterling was never punished; in fact, he was rewarded. He was rewarded with the value of his franchise growing exponentially (through no real talent of his own, more the value of the NBA and his colleagues. Not to mention the black players he profitted off of). He was rewarded with Chris Paul, who was rightfully on his way to the Lakers before David Stern nixed the trade. And now we want to wag our fingers, and get uppity, now that we had some audio? No, we really don't. You know why we really care about this story? Because there's scandal. Because there's audio. Because there's a mistress performing espionage on her sugar daddy.

Let's not get it twisted; if there was no audio, no mistress, if there was just court transcript, this story would by and large be ignored. And I can say that, because that's actually true. We all ignored this story when it came around years ago. Because the story didn't have any juice. It didn't have gossip. It didn't have a mistress performing espionage.

No. All it had were some minorities, suffering at the hands of instituional racism. Nothing to see here.

To me, the NBA doesn't get to come riding in on their high horse. They keep this racist twit, and they stay married to him. For better, or for worse.

 

[LSN80]

You know what?

I've changed my mind. I don't want him stripped away from his team. I'm not even sure how much I want him punished.

Don't get me wrong; what he did is awful. But I don't want him punished.

Why? Because it's going to come off as extremely disingenuous.

How ling have the NBA had to punish Donald Sterling, in some way, shape, or form? I mean, honestly, what more did they need? They had at least two major settlements, all of which involved racist behavior. The NBA's known this guy's racism. Absolutely none of this should be surprising. Go back and read some Elgin Baylor quotes... This isn't a secret to anyone, and it should have been punished long, long ago?

And now the NBA wants to get on its high horse, and pretend that this all creeped up on people, and that now is the time for punishment.

Piss. Right. Off.

David Stern, and his owners, had so many chances to take some stand, and show that racist behavior isn't going to be tolerated. Donald Sterling was never punished; in fact, he was rewarded. He was rewarded with the value of his franchise growing exponentially (through no real talent of his own, more the value of the NBA and his colleagues. Not to mention the black players he profitted off of). He was rewarded with Chris Paul, who was rightfully on his way to the Lakers before David Stern nixed the trade. And now we want to wag our fingers, and get uppity, now that we had some audio? No, we really don't. You know why we really care about this story? Because there's scandal. Because there's audio. Because there's a mistress performing espionage on her sugar daddy.

Let's not get it twisted; if there was no audio, no mistress, if there was just court transcript, this story would by and large be ignored. And I can say that, because that's actually true. We all ignored this story when it came around years ago. Because the story didn't have any juice. It didn't have gossip. It didn't have a mistress performing espionage.

No. All it had were some minorities, suffering at the hands of instituional racism. Nothing to see here.

To me, the NBA doesn't get to come riding in on their high horse. They keep this racist twit, and they stay married to him. For better, or for worse.

This is one of those situations that can be summed up in two words: David Stern.

Stern was the one who was in charge doing these past fiascoes. It was David Stern who refused to take a stand when Elgin Baylor left the Clippers, and it was Stern who refused to take a stand when Baron Davis spoke up about his mistreatment at the hands of Sterling.

I've always been of the mindset that it's never too late to do the right thing. Adam Silver isn't David Stern, he has the opportunity to start over as the face of a new league, and the opportunity to take a stand.

There's been mass failure by the league in the past to do something about Donald Sterling. Regardless of what happened in the past, this is a chance to start over and do the right thing.

Be it that it's self-righteous speak out of self-interest is irrelevant. I don't care that it's become an issue only because his mistress leaked tapes, forcing the owners to actually come out publicly against him., when they didn't give two squats before. It's still the right thing to do, and now is the time to get it done.

 

[Con T.]

This is one of those situations that can be summed up in two words: David Stern.

Stern was the one who was in charge doing these past fiascoes. It was David Stern who refused to take a stand when Elgin Baylor left the Clippers, and it was Stern who refused to take a stand when Baron Davis spoke up about his mistreatment at the hands of Sterling.

I've always been of the mindset that it's never too late to do the right thing. Adam Silver isn't David Stern, he has the opportunity to start over as the face of a new league, and the opportunity to take a stand.

There's been mass failure by the league in the past to do something about Donald Sterling. Regardless of what happened in the past, this is a chance to start over and do the right thing.

Be it self-righteous speak out of self-interest is irrelevant. Atone for the mistakes of the past, and make things right now.

Stern (though a ******** who allowed certain policies to past that were targeted at blacks) isn't the person culpable in this. Yes, he's very culpable, but at the end of the day, who does David Stern work for?

That's right... The owners. All of who knew about his acts. Out of the 30 owners, 19 of them were owners before 2006. 19 of them knew this person, before a decent amount of shit hit the fan.

So pardon me, if I still wind up a little skeptical that those owners are still in place, and that even with a new comissionner, that this is still a little disingenuous

 

[Thriller Ant]

Stern (though a ******** who allowed certain policies to past that were targeted at blacks) isn't the person culpable in this. Yes, he's very culpable, but at the end of the day, who does David Stern work for?

That's right... The owners. All of who knew about his acts. Out of the 30 owners, 19 of them were owners before 2006. 19 of them knew this person, before a decent amount of shit hit the fan.

So pardon me, if I still wind up a little skeptical that those owners are still in place, and that even with a new comissionner, that this is still a little disingenuous

I think you answered why it is important for Silver to drop the hammer on Sterling. It is common knowledge that Stern worked for the best interests of the owners instead of the best interests of the league. What better opportunity will Silver have to prove that he is not cut from the same cloth and that he will hold the owners accountable for their actions?

If Silver were to do this, it would be a bit of punishing Sterling for a lack of action by Stern, but his past behavior has shown that he is not undeserving of it.

 

[LSN80]

Stern (though a ******** who allowed certain policies to past that were targeted at blacks) isn't the person culpable in this. Yes, he's very culpable, but at the end of the day, who does David Stern work for?
That's right... The owners. All of who knew about his acts.

Yet Adam Silver, new commissioner of the league, is prepared to use the scope of the NBA's constitution to act himself and ban Sterling for life. Doesn't he work for the owners as well?

Out of the 30 owners, 19 of them were owners before 2006. 19 of them knew this person, before a decent amount of shit hit the fan.

I'm sure they did. And I don't doubt that their sudden "outrage" and public statements condemning the man are as a desire for good PR, first and foremost.

So pardon me, if I still wind up a little skeptical that those owners are still in place, and that even with a new comissionner, that this is still a little disingenuous

I agree with you. I stated that in my response that what is being done is out of a sense of self-righteousness and self-interest.

But that's irrelevant, really. It's still the right thing to do, isn't it?

 

[The Butcher]

Apparently there's a press conference coming up in a little under an hour, so we're about to find out what Silver's plan of action is.

I agree with LSN's last statement. Just because the owners/commissioner may act just because it's best for the NBA's bottom line and reputation and just happens to be the right thing to do doesn't bother me. Just as long as they handle this, I don't care why they do it.

 

[Con T.]

But that's irrelevant, really. It's still the right thing to do, isn't it?

Realistically? Yes.

That said...

So long as we don't whitewash the other, more sinister cases of racism, that comes everyday. And my concern is that making an example out of Sterling for this (as opposed to his far more egregious and malicious acts) sets a bad precedent.

Be racist, but be so more covertly.

This may or may not have been my plan for a Symposium thread, but this works, too.

 

[#tamale]

Be racist, but be so more covertly.

This right here.

Why wasn't anything done about Sterling before? Because there was no audio. It was all documents which the NBA swept under the rug because they didn't want the bad PR. Now, in the age of social media, this was made public and spread like wildfire. Stern picked a hell of a time to step away because if he was still te commissioner of the NBA, he would be ripped apart for not acting sooner.

Now, knowing this racist behavior by Sterling, his team was still marketed in the past couple of years as one of the top teams in the league. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin represent not only the NBA, but the Clipper brand. They helped Sterling continue to make money. Hell, the NAACP was about to present ANOTHER award to Sterling. Stern and the NBA was able to sweep this under the rug as just "rumors" instead of facts.

Let's also remember that he attacked Magic Johnson. Magic is a powerful ambassador for the NBA and is a powerful figure within the NBA. He is still one of it's faces. There is a scandal but what about the minorities beforehand who Sterling discriminated against and fucked over? I'm not blaming Silver. I'm sure he will do the right thing. But let's not act like the NBA, NBPA, the players signed with the Clippers, and so forth were not aware of this.

Suspend him, fine him, force him to sell. A million dollars is peanuts to Sterling and if he sells the team he will make more money. Let's not confuse ourselves. Had this recording never come out, Sterling would not be under this scrutiny and be labeled a racist prick. It would be like Dirty Dutch said:

Be racist, but be so more covertly.

 

[The Butcher]

Silver's banning him for life, fining him $2.5 million and urging the owners to oust him.