Sterling - NBA lifetime ban

Heard on radio that the NBA gave a lifetime ban to the Clippers owner and they want to "encourage" him to sell the team...

I wouldnt be able to pick an NBA player, coach, or owner out of a crowd but I guess if he shows up with a tix they expect he will be recognzied and not admitted to a game?

Then I heard that he paid something like a hundred million for the team and now its worth several hundred million.. cant really see how forcing him to sell the team is punishment?

it is ridiculous.

I'm tired of everyone having their panties up in a wad.

The guy is slimey, he has to live with that.

But this day and age of being OFFENDED and OVERREACTION to everything is getting old.

DVINNY said:

it is ridiculous.

I'm tired of everyone having their panties up in a wad.

The guy is slimey, he has to live with that.

But this day and age of being OFFENDED and OVERREACTION to everything is getting old.

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Which is why I'm glad the NBA told him to take a hike after audio of his being offended by his girlfriend's friends of African descent came to light. People shouldn't be offended by people not like them being associated with them. Or by people merely existing.

I guess being sued and losing over racism twice in the last decade wasn't that big of a deal. But a leaked phone conversation is outrageous.

Kareem Abdul Jabbar sums up my opinion of the situation... http://time.com/79590/donald-sterling-kareem-abdul-jabbar-racism/

This from the link above:

Shouldn’t we be equally angered by the fact that his private, intimate conversation was taped and then leaked to the media? Didn’t we just call to task the NSA for intruding into American citizen’s privacy in such an un-American way?

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Let’s be outraged that private conversations between people in an intimate relationship are recorded and publicly played. Let’s be outraged that whoever did the betraying will probably get a book deal, a sitcom, trade recipes with Hoda and Kathie Lee, and soon appear on Celebrity Apprentice and Dancing with the Stars.

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And the NAACP last month was going to give him a lifetime achievement Award!

I was wondering who was going to bring this up... what do I get from it? I am no longer allowed to say things in a private conversation without fear of persecution.

Did the man break any laws? Pay the players less? Did the NBA have a pre-established standard regarding if a private conversation became public with pre-established punishments?

I hope he sues the NBA for all they are worth for everything his lawyers can think of, or at least ties them up in court.

You know this means that no person who has ever made a racial comment if any kind, even in jest, should not be allowed to participate or attend in any NBA event.

Free speech doesn't just apply to the warm fuzzy stuff that everyone agrees with and wants to hear.

Well said^^

Agree but that doesn't apply to whatever private contract he signed when he purchased the team, just like many NFL players have similar clauses in their contracts they can be fined for saying dumb things... Free speech is freedom from the government putting you in jail for speaking your mind (aka North Korea)

Road Guy said:

Agree but that doesn't apply to whatever private contract he signed when he purchased the team, just like many NFL players have similar clauses in their contracts they can be fined for saying dumb things... Free speech is freedom from the government putting you in jail for speaking your mind (aka North Korea)

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This. The NBA is just trying to make an example of him so they don't alienate their players and audience. A $2.5M fine is probably a slap on the wrist for him, and they really can't force him to sell his team. This is a dog and pony show.

I believe the way the ownership agreements are structured, the other owners can force him out of his ownership and are expected to do so.

Personally, I don't care. They guy's a douche. I think he should have his team taken away, not because he's a racist, but because he's a cheap ******* with no clue how to run a team. Clippers were the laughing stock of the NBA for years and years, and didn't get good until the rest of the league handed them Chris Paul.

i always thought owning a sports team was like buying a franchise of a company...even though you own the individual business (team) the main company (NBA in this case) can take it away from you.

I wonder what's worse, being a liberal racist NBA team owner or the thousands of kids fathered by professional athletes over the years that may have gold digging mommas but no dad.....

I believe i agree with the sentiment of this thread. Yes, the guy is a jerk, racist, moron, but he didn't do anything illegal (in this instance). There are plenty of other and better reasons not to like him or let him own the team. He has serious moral and ethical issues. Kareem also said it well. Everyone (mostly white people) are feigning shock that someone would say racist things. Racism is still out there. It will never go away and it really shouldn't be that big a deal. Its his right to be racist and own whatever he can afford. I cant believe it but Bill Mahr and I are on the same side on this one.

I am also a little upset that Fletch hasnt commented on this, even though he was a Lakers Fan

Quick aside. Did anyone else see a photo of his GF? He allegedly bought her a $1.8M duplex, so I guess he's not denying housing to ALL blacks and Latinos.

That's one of the most puzzling things about the whole mess. Shes biracial and he has a problem with her hanging with black people? Is he blind as well?

I wondered if she was bi-racial. I couldn't tell if that was the case, or if it just looked that way from the fake tan and various bits and pieces that made up her plastic face.

Biracial Black and Mexican.

goodal said:

Its his right to be racist and own whatever he can afford.

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It is of the general opinion that it is not morally correct to be racist, as defined by the most vocal people, so therefore the concept is that forming that opinion/sentiment/attitude and expressing it as such is no longer a right. (depending on who you are, this may or may not be viewed as a problem, but it is the truth)

And while I understand that in a situation like the NBA there probably are clauses in the contracts under which it probably says something to the effect of 'statements made that are detrimental to the organization as a whole' 'can be subjected to fines or additional punishment' but all they did was fine him last time. If this was something less subjective, and didn't have the factor of the recorded conversation (as in if he had tweeted it or said it publicly) I wouldn't really have half as many issues. For instance company X is a private company with an established drug policy in which employees are informed at the time of hire, employee violates drug policy, employee gets fired.