Donald Sterling and Racism

[dps]

Anyone that is surprised by Sterling being a racist just hasn't been paying attention.

I sure hadn't been.  I had never even heard of him until this controversy.  I mean, of course I knew that somebody owned the Clippers, but I had no idea who.

[celedhring]

Wait, the NAACP was intending to give an award to Sterling? 

[Liep]

What struck me most about the articles about this in the Danish papers was that they wrote he owned one of the best basketball teams in America. Admittedly, I haven't been paying much attention to NBA since EA's NBA Live '98, but surely not.

[jimmy olsen]

What struck me most about the articles about this in the Danish papers was that they wrote he owned one of the best basketball teams in America. Admittedly, I haven't been paying much attention to NBA since EA's NBA Live '98, but surely not.

After 30 years of failure, things finally went the Clippers way in 2011 and they managed to trade for Chris Paul, the best point guard in the NBA (after his trade to the Lakers was controversially shot down by commissioner David Stern). Him and 2009 first pick of the draft Blake Griffin have anchored a fantastically entertaining uptempo team. This year they got NBA championship coach Doc Rivers at the helm. They won 57 games and are the 3rd seed in the west. 

[grumbler]

What struck me most about the articles about this in the Danish papers was that they wrote he owned one of the best basketball teams in America. Admittedly, I haven't been paying much attention to NBA since EA's NBA Live '98, but surely not.

He owns the 30th-best NBA team in North America (29th-best in the US).  The clipper did manage to win 50 games for the first time in history last year, but even with winning records in the last three years they probably don't have more than a half-dozen winning seasons in their history.

[alfred russel]

Anyone that is surprised by Sterling being a racist just hasn't been paying attention.

But it just doesn't make sense why he would want to own an NBA team. NBA teams are mostly black. Why would a racist want to own a bunch of black guys?

OH GOD IT MAKES SENSE NOW.

[Syt]

 

I'm sure Cliven Bundy will approve.

[Malthus]

He's a kook.

From a deposition a few years back.

Okay, that was fucking funny. 

[jimmy olsen]

Sponsers are bailing from the Clippers en masse over this. I think the NBA will probably do it's best to make owning the team very uncomfortable for him without actually kicking him out themselves, in the hope that he'll choose to sell rather than struggle on.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/28/us/clippers-sterling-scandal/

...Speculation on possible punitive actions

Silver has promised the league would give Sterling due process but would act quickly.

It is unclear whether Silver could order Sterling to sell the Clippers, a team he bought for $12 million in 1981 and is now worth $575 million, according to Forbes magazine. A lifetime suspension and fine of at least $1 million is more likely, experts say.

The commissioner might announce an indefinite suspension while the investigation continues, CNN's Rachel Nichols reported.

"He (eventually) could suspend Donald Sterling maybe for a year, maybe even two years or even indefinitely," Nichols said. "And the idea and the hope would be that if he made him so uncomfortable, if he was removed from day-to-day operations, if sponsors are pulling out the way that they are, there would be some way to convince Sterling, it's in your best interest and the interest of everyone else to sell the team."

Nichols likened the situation to the late Marge Schott, who owned the Cincinnati Reds and made racist and other insensitive comments. She was suspended twice, the second time in 1996, and sold the team in 1999.

Other NBA owners have called the remarks attributed to Sterling "abhorrent," "reprehensible," "hurtful," and said they have no place in the league or anywhere in society.

And they all said they have confidence Silver will handle the matter well.

Charlotte Bobcats owner and Hall of Fame Michael Jordan made a rare public statement on a controversial subject.

"As an owner, I'm obviously disgusted that a fellow team owner could hold such sickening and offensive views," he said. "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."

...

Sponsors leave in droves

Twelve Clippers sponsors have taken action. State Farm, Virgin America, CarMax, Red Bull were among companies to pull sponsorships, at least temporarily, CNN Money reported.

Sterling was to receive a lifetime achievement award at an event next month to mark the 100th anniversary of the Los Angeles NAACP, but the national organization said Monday that would not happen.

Sterling had been given a lifetime achievement award from the organization in 2009, according to a brochure obtained by CNN.

Roeser, the Clippers' president, suggested Saturday that Stiviano -- whom he didn't mention by name -- was "getting even" with Sterling over a lawsuit.

Rochelle Sterling filed a lawsuit last month against Stiviano, who she said was having an affair with her husband.

In the complaint, Rochelle Sterling accuses Stiviano of targeting extremely wealthy older men. The suit claims that Donald Sterling used the couple's money to buy Stiviano a Ferrari, two Bentleys and a Range Rover and that Stiviano took possession of a $1.8 million duplex through fraud. Sterling also gave her nearly $250,000 in cash, the court document says.

Stiviano countered in another court document that there was nothing wrong with Donald Sterling giving her gifts and that she never took advantage of the Clippers owner, who made much of his fortune in real estate.

Speaking about the recording, Roeser said, "We do not know if it is legitimate or it has been altered. We do know that the woman on the tape -- who we believe released it to TMZ -- is the defendant in a lawsuit brought by the Sterling family alleging that she embezzled more than $1.8 million, who told Mr. Sterling that she would 'get even.' "

[Valmy]

Man they are really piling on now 

[jimmy olsen]

I don't think hating Sterling is a new phonemona
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-sterling-clippers-plaschke-20140427,0,7545973.column#ixzz30FoVlP9L

...The biggest negative effect of Sterling's recent behavior isn't something the Clippers will feel this weekend, or even this spring, but something that has affected them for much of his 30 years in Los Angeles.

Their recent successes have generated little buzz, their players are booed when shown on the video board at Dodger Stadium, it seems like most folks in town are actually cheering against them . . . because, down deep, nobody can stomach the idea of a successful Donald Sterling.

They will never be fully respected in Los Angeles because of their owner. They will never be seen as worthy competitors of the Lakers because of their owner. Despite spending millions to make the Clippers competitive, and despite that team filling Staples Center with perhaps the most diverse sports audience in Los Angeles, Sterling has never been able to make them fully embraceable because it is nearly impossible to cheer for him.

In the rant released late Friday night, Donald Sterling purportedly begs his friend not to bring African Americans to Clippers games.

Here's hoping, finally, that the NBA agrees it is Donald Sterling who needs to stay away from Clippers games.

[The Larch]

Apparently the NBA is suspending him for life and will try to force him to sell the team. In an ironic twist, the main candidate to buy the Clippers is Magic Johnson.

[sbr]

He bought the team for $15 million in 1981.  He is gonna be able to sell the team for probably $750 million. Not a bad way to get kicked out of the club.

[garbon]

He bought the team for $15 million in 1981.  He is gonna be able to sell the team for probably $750 million. Not a bad way to get kicked out of the club.

Won't he be dead soon anyway?

[Liep]

He bought the team for $15 million in 1981.  He is gonna be able to sell the team for probably $750 million. Not a bad way to get kicked out of the club.

Won't he be dead soon anyway?

Well, someone sure hopes so.