Donald Sterling recorded making some racist comments

[RF2044]

It's a franchise, not his private business. If it was his private business, that is fine. But it's a franchise and a whole different ball game (no pun intended).

The other owners and the NBA absolutely have to find a way to ensure continued growth and success of the league and absolutely will push to have him removed as owner.

A billion dollar payout isn't a bad result for Sterling.

I couldn't care less whether Sterling "makes out" well in the deal, as I don't believe that this should have any bearing on whether or not he is--for lack of a better description--forcibly removed from ownership.

I can't stand Sterling--never have liked him, never will--but I disagree with the notion that anybody who expresses an opinion that some disagree with needs to be taken down simply because someone got offended by what they said [in what may have been an illegally recorded private conversation, no less].

In many ways, Sterling is an embarrassment to the league. Always has been. But I fundamentally disagree that embarrassing behavior--even involving something as volatile socially as thinly veiled racism--should warrant the NBA doing much more than fining him or suspending him, or both. Forcing him to sell over something like this [and I think Moqui has it right with his post from the first page], when such actions aren't specified in the franchise agreement seems excessive, at best.

 

[AZOrange]

the guy is a well known bigot, with civil judgements and ooc settlements against him for discrimination I find it curious that those documented actions are not worthy of the NBA taking steps, but the words - oh my god, association execs have the vapors!

Right. It's just coming to the nbas attention now? I'm shocked at how uneducated the players are about him every time they land a FA.

 

[longislandcuse]

Lol, that would be hilarious irony were Magic to own the team if Sterling is forced out.

 

[CusefanATL]

Some states only require the consent of one party (e.g. New York) to have the recording be legal.

California is a 2 party state.

Maybe he wasnt in Ca... maybe he actually allowed her to record. I dont know.

Maybe he has alzheimers or dementia - in which case i kind of feel bad for him. not that it is an excuse (especially considering he has more than a few examples of being racist in the past) but he should have had better handlers and "archivists" to help protect him, the nba, and the clippers.

 

[Lawrinson14]

Taking the dude's team away is not really that bad of a punishment. He bought the team in 1981 for $12 million. If he were forced to sell due to this, he could expect something in the range of $575 million, according to Forbes.

 

[AZOrange]

Taking the dude's team away is not really that bad of a punishment. He bought the team in 1981 for $12 million. If he were forced to sell due to this, he could expect something in the range of $575 million, according to Forbes.

He'll get closer to a billion but I still can't see how the nba can force a sale. Best they can probably do is a schottzie like vacation...

 

[orange_cream]

Am I the only one who gets really pissed off listening to Stiviano speaking? They should find some way to make gold digging punishable by law.

If you want to be his boyfriend. Dont be so caniving as to record him saying racist things.

As for Sterling cant change ignorance towards other races.

 

[ssbriefcase]

In a league of teams trying to make a profit and counting on sponsors, fans, etc. how is it so hard to see why he'll be forced to sell? What, 5 sponsors dropped the Clippers and the NBA as of this morning and sure to be more to follow? It's a big stain on the league, they simply can't have. Whether or not it's his private life doesn't matter one bit, it's a topic in society now, no matter how it got there. As a result it will be a solution played out in society. If society deems a topic as something that has no place, the backlash will trump courts and all. What FA can the Clippers ever get now? Surely no stars that have a choice of where they land.
He's all done, as he should be...

 

[Orangeyes]

NBA to hold press conference on Donald Sterling Tuesday; Clippers ...

 

[tep624]

I want my elected officials to give succinct, honest answers to everything they're asked at all times.

There's a first time for everything I guess.

 

[RF2044]

In a league of teams trying to make a profit and counting on sponsors, fans, etc. how is it so hard to see why he'll be forced to sell? What, 5 sponsors dropped the Clippers and the NBA as of this morning and sure to be more to follow? It's a big stain on the league, they simply can't have. Whether or not it's his private life doesn't matter one bit, it's a topic in society now, no matter how it got there. As a result it will be a solution played out in society. If society deems a topic as something that has no place, the backlash will trump courts and all. What FA can the Clippers ever get now? Surely no stars that have a choice of where they land.
He's all done, as he should be...

Maybe because we're a society built upon free speech?

And even ignorant, foolish old bigots are entitled to their opinions. It would also be one thing if he willingly expressed this type of crap in public as opposed to having a private conversation taped [and make no mistake--this dimwit has a lengthy history of questionable racial stuff in his past]. I expect the league to inquire and assess whether this type of bigotry somehow overtly spilled over into team operations [which on the surface, seems at least questionable given that he has an African-American coach; not sure about the front office personnel, etc.].

I agree with you that there will be consequences. Said coach could opt to walk; ditto current / future free agents. The public might decide to also vote with their pocket books and "punish" Sterling in terms of revenue, ticket sales, attendance, etc.

But this "topic in society" and "backlash will trump courts and all" idea sounds like mob mentality to me. It's one thing to shout somebody down because of prevailing public sentiment, and quite another to publicly stone someone for expressing an unpopular idea, no matter how ignorant.

 

[Briancuse]

Am I the only one who gets really pissed off listening to Stiviano speaking? They should find some way to make gold digging punishable by law.

If you want to be his boyfriend. Dont be so caniving as to record him saying racist things.

As for Sterling cant change ignorance towards other races.

It is a free country, as long as their are 80 year old billionaires, there will be 20 year olds preying on them.

 

[AZOrange]

In a league of teams trying to make a profit and counting on sponsors, fans, etc. how is it so hard to see why he'll be forced to sell? What, 5 sponsors dropped the Clippers and the NBA as of this morning and sure to be more to follow? It's a big stain on the league, they simply can't have. Whether or not it's his private life doesn't matter one bit, it's a topic in society now, no matter how it got there. As a result it will be a solution played out in society. If society deems a topic as something that has no place, the backlash will trump courts and all. What FA can the Clippers ever get now? Surely no stars that have a choice of where they land. He's all done, as he should be...

As you're aware it's extremely difficult to force someone to do something they don't want to do (like sell a team). And he's been this way for 30 years. Why all of a sudden should the league act? We live in a society I guess where people don't do their homework and when the truth is revealed they need to be beaten over the head with it and then express outrage. "Sterling is a terrible person!" Yeah no stuff...he's been that way going on 82 years.

 

[ssbriefcase]

Maybe because we're a society built upon free speech?

And even ignorant, foolish old bigots are entitled to their opinions. It would also be one thing if he willingly expressed this type of crap in public as opposed to having a private conversation taped [and make no mistake--this dimwit has a lengthy history of questionable racial stuff in his past]. I expect the league to inquire and assess whether this type of bigotry somehow overtly spilled over into team operations [which on the surface, seems at least questionable given that he has an African-American coach; not sure about the front office personnel, etc.].

I agree with you that there will be consequences. Said coach could opt to walk; ditto current / future free agents. The public might decide to also vote with their pocket books and "punish" Sterling in terms of revenue, ticket sales, attendance, etc.

But this "topic in society" and "backlash will trump courts and all" idea sounds like mob mentality to me. It's one thing to shout somebody down because of prevailing public sentiment, and quite another to publicly stone someone for expressing an unpopular idea, no matter how ignorant.

A mob mentality would be beating his old ass until he was no longer alive. This isn't that. His actions or speech, will be dealt with accordingly with freedom of action and non support of his little part in a bigger entity. Sure you can say what you want, and you're going to get what you get. So the problem will be solved.

 

[Orangeyes]

Doc Rivers 'took a pass' at speaking with disgraced Clippers owner Donald ...

 

[ssbriefcase]

As you're aware it's extremely difficult to force someone to do something they don't want to do (like sell a team). And he's been this way for 30 years. Why all of a sudden should the league act? We live in a society I guess where people don't do their homework and when the truth is revealed they need to be beaten over the head with it and then express outrage. "Sterling is a terrible person!" Yeah no stuff...he's been that way going on 82 years.

No doubt it's hard, but do you think it won't be done? Yes, he's been this way for years or his whole life for that matter. That's not a flash point like the public hearing those words and conversation on tape. That's a game changer. Something definitely should've been done long ago and there were things in the courts etc. But what does that matter now after this new thing arises? So everyone should just stand by again after all this and not be trying to deal with it?

 

[RF2044]

A mob mentality would be beating his old ass until he was no longer alive. This isn't that. His actions or speech, will be dealt with accordingly with freedom of action and non support of his little part in a bigger entity. Sure you can say what you want, and you're going to get what you get. So the problem will be solved.

So, if i'm interpreting your post the right way, he'll get the public outcomes that his ignorant viewpoints warrant. Things like lost sponsors, lost paying customers, lost ticket revenues, more difficulty attracting free agents, maybe a break-up of his current team [which is a legit championship contender], etc.

That's a far cry from forcing him to sell because his beliefs are publicly unpopular. Again, he's an idiot. He's a racist. Always has been, always will be. That doesn't necessarily warrant a public execution. As much as I disagree with the man, and as much as I disagree with the beliefs he has, I still defend his right to express those beliefs without repercussion. That's the foundation that our society is built upon. No dogma or amount of indignant being offended trumps that.

 

[djcon57]

As you're aware it's extremely difficult to force someone to do something they don't want to do (like sell a team). And he's been this way for 30 years. Why all of a sudden should the league act?

Because they don't want to lose or piss off sponsors

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/...ers-donald-sterling-purported-racist-comments

 

[ssbriefcase]

So, if i'm interpreting your post the right way, he'll get the public outcomes that his ignorant viewpoints warrant. Things like lost sponsors, lost paying customers, lost ticket revenues, more difficulty attracting free agents, maybe a break-up of his current team [which is a legit championship contender], etc.

That's a far cry from forcing him to sell because his beliefs are publicly unpopular. Again, he's an idiot. He's a racist. Always has been, always will be. That doesn't necessarily warrant a public execution. As much as I disagree with the man, and as much as I disagree with the beliefs he has, I still defend his right to express those beliefs without repercussion. That's the foundation that our society is built upon. No dogma or amount of indignant being offended trumps that.

Yeah, exactly. And I'm just saying because of all those things like lost sponsors, fans and FA's, his ship is sunk. No way the larger entity he's a part of (NBA) can stand by and let their brand be affected like that. It's basically a "you're with us or against us" type of thing with fans and sponsors, etc. It will all lead to him having to sell..

 

[RF2044]

Yeah, exactly. And I'm just saying because of all those things like lost sponsors, fans and FA's, his ship is sunk. No way the larger entity he's a part of (NBA) can stand by and let their brand be affected like that. It's basically a "you're with us or against us" type of thing with fans and sponsors, etc. It will all lead to him having to sell..

Okay. I have no problem with the masses "voting" with their conscience on this issue. And if all of those things happen, then basically that just undermines the team's competitiveness, and they go back to being the traditional Clippers [which I suppose might not impact Sterling as much as it might seem, given that the franchise seemed largely inept for the better part of the past three decades while he sat idly by like a boob].

To me, that feels qualitatively different than forcibly removing him because he expressed a viewpoint [not publicly] that is misaligned with PC dogma. But I think I agree with you at least 50% on the above stuff.

 

[longislandcuse]

A woman I know who is a big sports fan (NYC school teacher, very liberal) posted about Sterling and was surprisingly sympathetic, saying that the gist of the tape recording probably came from his girlfriend, and in it (to hear ears) it was more about his insecurity that his girlfriend was also banging black guys with bigger than him, less than about outright racism. His girlfriend is a minority, I believe.

Lol, he's 81. He's lucky if it still works. I think your girl watches too many cuckold videos.

 

[tep624]

His golddigger girlfriend is butt ugly by the way. If I was a billionaire god help me if I couldn't get a better looking leech than that. Jeez.

 

[shandeezy7]

So, if i'm interpreting your post the right way, he'll get the public outcomes that his ignorant viewpoints warrant. Things like lost sponsors, lost paying customers, lost ticket revenues, more difficulty attracting free agents, maybe a break-up of his current team [which is a legit championship contender], etc.

That's a far cry from forcing him to sell because his beliefs are publicly unpopular. Again, he's an idiot. He's a racist. Always has been, always will be. That doesn't necessarily warrant a public execution. As much as I disagree with the man, and as much as I disagree with the beliefs he has, I still defend his right to express those beliefs without repercussion. That's the foundation that our society is built upon. No dogma or amount of indignant being offended trumps that.

In what society do you live in where your words and actions are immune to repercussion? If this was Joe Blow who owned a private contracting business, then yeah, there wouldn't be any recourse as far as making him sell the business. The NBA is a different animal. It's a conglomeration broken up into a number of companies (or franchises). There are standards that these organizations have to adhere to. Having an openly racist owner probably means you are not meeting those standards. I guess we will find out what sort of legal recourse the NBA has here.

 

[AZOrange]

Because they don't want to lose or piss off sponsors http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/...ers-donald-sterling-purported-racist-comments

Isn't that like the best thing that could happen here? The devaluation of his franchise value. The alternative is to write him a high 9 or 10 figure check... That'll teach him!

 

[longislandcuse]

Stiviano is nasty. I'd love to see her gold digging self publicly shamed as well. What a grotesque human being.

Larry Johnson with the worst response ever. http://nypost.com/2014/04/27/knicks-great-larry-johnson-calls-for-all-black-league/