# Sterling - NBA lifetime ban



## Road Guy (Apr 29, 2014)

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?


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## DVINNY (Apr 29, 2014)

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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## Exception Collection (Apr 29, 2014)

DVINNY said:


> it is ridiculous.
> 
> I'm tired of everyone having their panties up in a wad.
> 
> ...


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.


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## wilheldp_PE (Apr 29, 2014)

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/


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## Dexman PE PMP (Apr 29, 2014)

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?






> 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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## Road Guy (Apr 29, 2014)

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


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## engineergurl (Apr 29, 2014)

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.


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## Ship Wreck PE (Apr 29, 2014)

Well said^^


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## Road Guy (Apr 29, 2014)

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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## YMZ PE (Apr 29, 2014)

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)




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.


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## Supe (Apr 30, 2014)

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 bastard 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.


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## snickerd3 (Apr 30, 2014)

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.


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## Road Guy (Apr 30, 2014)

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.....


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## goodal (Apr 30, 2014)

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.


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## Road Guy (Apr 30, 2014)

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


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## YMZ PE (Apr 30, 2014)

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.


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## goodal (Apr 30, 2014)

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?


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## Supe (Apr 30, 2014)

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.


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## YMZ PE (Apr 30, 2014)

Biracial Black and Mexican.


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## engineergurl (Apr 30, 2014)

goodal said:


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


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.


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## Dexman PE PMP (Apr 30, 2014)

Despite all of the claims that the NBA is a "private" company and shouldn't be subject to public critisizm, the amount of tax breaks &amp; public funding is through the roof. Show me a stadium/arena that wasn't at least partially subsidized with public funds. I know every one in CO uses public funding...


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## engineergurl (Apr 30, 2014)

Dexman PE said:


> Despite all of the claims that the NBA is a "private" company and shouldn't be subject to public critisizm, the amount of tax breaks &amp; public funding is through the roof. Show me a stadium/arena that wasn't at least partially subsidized with public funds. I know every one in CO uses public funding...




excellent point... you are thinking like a lawyer


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## Dexman PE PMP (Apr 30, 2014)

^^^ I'm in the middle of a legal dispute so I've been reading a ton of legal documents lately...


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## snickerd3 (Apr 30, 2014)

isn't it illegal to record someone without their knowledge in Cali?


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## YMZ PE (Apr 30, 2014)

engineergurl said:


> goodal said:
> 
> 
> > Its his right to be racist and own whatever he can afford.
> ...


But it's still okay for me to call you guys honkies, correct?


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## MetsFan (Apr 30, 2014)

Wow, I guess a lot of you haven't experienced any kind of discrimination. Imagine being told you only got into that great school because you're a minority. Or having to put up with a boss who says things like, oh, well, what if there's a stupid Mexican worker that doesn't know how to operate that machinery... oh your wife's Mexican? Well then how about the stupid Chinese worker that doesn't know what they're doing... oh you're part Chinese... Or all those people from the Bronx are just a waste of space... oh, you're from the Bronx, well, don't worry, you're nothing like them.

I can totally relate to all the people working for the Clippers and how they must have felt when they heard the tape.


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## mudpuppy (Apr 30, 2014)

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)




This. This has nothing to do with free speech. Free speech is about the government. If you're part of a private partnership and one of your partners starts doing/saying things that hurt your business, you have every right to force out that partner. Happens all the time for various reasons, this time just happens to be for racism. And that's just how it should be--the other partners shouldn't have to put up with this guy's BS.


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## engineergurl (Apr 30, 2014)

YMZ PE said:


> engineergurl said:
> 
> 
> > goodal said:
> ...


I love you


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## goodal (May 1, 2014)

Ok, lets delve a little deeper. All this happened because someone recorded (maybe illegally) a private conversation and one guy said something that alot of people don't agree with. Now he may lose his lively hood because of it. Put aside the fact that hes a billionaire and that hes a slime ball for the moment. What happens when another private citizen, like me, says something that offends someone, lets say its homophobic, in a private conversation and its broadcast to the public? Should I lose my lively hood because of my opinion? Does anyone else see where this leads? We are going down the road of not being able to have a job, or own things, because of your personal, legal opinions. This is not good. This whole thing has stunk to me from the beginning and now I know why. Sure hes a jerk, but we are opening ourselves up to censorship like we have never seen if people can't talk freely among themselves without fear of retribution.

And yes you can call me a Honkey. Its actually cracks me up a little.


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## YMZ PE (May 1, 2014)

Or maybe only speak your mind around people you trust instead of your gold-digging mistress.


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## Road Guy (May 1, 2014)

they played the full audio on CNN last night, she went on to say "I wish I could change the color of my skin for you baby"

F'n disgusting....

so she gets what out of this deal? book deal or something? her cash cow has ben cut off I imagine?


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## mudpuppy (May 1, 2014)

goodal said:


> Ok, lets delve a little deeper. All this happened because someone recorded (maybe illegally) a private conversation and one guy said something that alot of people don't agree with. Now he may lose his lively hood because of it. Put aside the fact that hes a billionaire and that hes a slime ball for the moment. What happens when another private citizen, like me, says something that offends someone, lets say its homophobic, in a private conversation and its broadcast to the public? Should I lose my lively hood because of my opinion?




Yep, absolutely you should. But this isn't anything new, companies have fired people for this kind of stuff for a long time. You make the company look bad, you get fired. Bottom line is, don't be an idiot. If you're racist, keep these comments to yourself, especially if you have billions to protect. It's just good business sense.

Do you think if someone who works at Fox News got caught saying "I love jihadists!" they wouldn't get fired?

Was it wrong for this guy's girlfriend to record the conversation? Probably, but his cause of action is against her--he shouldn't get a pass just because he thought no one would find out what he really thinks.


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## goodal (May 1, 2014)

I'm gonna have to disagree there. He was not on company time or saying anything in public. In fact the situation he was in is where he expected the most amount of privacy. f what you say is true, noone can have or express any idea or feeling that may be offensive to anyone, ever. That's not the America I want to live in.


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## YMZ PE (May 1, 2014)

I think it's a bit of a stretch to say that because this particular person was punished due to a breach of privacy, it opens the door to all of us having our careers jeopardized for expressing our personal views.

First of all, he was an idiot for saying he doesn't like black people TO A BLACK PERSON. Would you honestly have a private discussion with a gay person about your opposition to gay marriage and NOT expect them to be offended and maybe complain to other people? It's common sense that you can't say anything to anybody and not expect some sort of social repercussion.

Second, the views he expressed were derogatory toward not only the person he said them to, but to millions of the NBA's employees and fan base. Basically biting the hands that feed (or do other things to) him. Of course the NBA had no choice but to protect their interests by punishing him when his views were in the public eye. I really doubt they would be pressuring him to sell the team if he had offended any other race.


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## goodal (May 1, 2014)

You're right. Your's and my jobs aren't in jeopardy today, but what about the precedent this is setting? Its just a little scary for us conspiracy theorist/tea party people out here, that's all.


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## engineergurl (May 1, 2014)

YMZ PE said:


> I think it's a bit of a stretch to say that because this particular person was punished due to a breach of privacy, it opens the door to all of us having our careers jeopardized for expressing our personal views.
> 
> First of all, he was an idiot for saying he doesn't like black people TO A BLACK PERSON. Would you honestly have a private discussion with a gay person about your opposition to gay marriage and NOT expect them to be offended and maybe complain to other people? It's common sense that you can't say anything to anybody and not expect some sort of *social repercussion.*
> 
> Second, the views he expressed were derogatory toward not only the person he said them to, but to millions of the NBA's employees and fan base. Basically biting the hands that feed (or do other things to) him. Of course the NBA had no choice but to protect their interests by punishing him when his views were in the public eye. I really doubt they would be pressuring him to sell the team if he had offended any other race.






A social repercussion would have been if the fans boycotted, the players refused to play, the other teams players, coaches and owners refused to participate in games with him. That is society passing judgement and choosing actions based on their own individual opinions. For the association to force him to sell the team, that is a business repercussion and treading into legal matters that very well probably don't needed to be.

This opens the door wide and clear for everyone, even if they are unintentionally offending someone. Let's say Joe Engineer is on an internet fourm and someone from work figures out who he is, but doesn't mention it to him. He participates in a thread and makes a comment that isn't particularly offensive in the context that it was said, but isolated very offensive. That someone from work jokes back, but lets the company know about the offensive post, they do their digging and find out that yes Joe Engineer did post the offensive post and BAM he's fired. What's the difference between that scenario and the Sterling/NBA scenario?

What I think is probably going to happen...

They are going to force him to sell... he will refuse to sell and sue them... he'll loose the court case and then refuse to sell for less than what he wants... they will tell him the price is too high... he will say no it's not, you told me to sell the team and I am selling the team it's not my fault no one wants to buy it... they will sue him for breaching some part of some contract they probably made him sign.... eventually, he'll claim the team is bankrupt and that opens up a new world of laws that will come into play... the players will get screwed because the NBA will get their money, he'll get his money, and there won't be anymore money left for them.


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## YMZ PE (May 1, 2014)

engineergurl said:


> This opens the door wide and clear for everyone, even if they are unintentionally offending someone. Let's say Joe Engineer is on an internet fourm and someone from work figures out who he is, but doesn't mention it to him. He participates in a thread and makes a comment that isn't particularly offensive in the context that it was said, but isolated very offensive. That someone from work jokes back, but lets the company know about the offensive post, they do their digging and find out that yes Joe Engineer did post the offensive post and BAM he's fired. What's the difference between that scenario and the Sterling/NBA scenario?




I disagree that a precedent is being set; there's nothing currently prohibiting what you're describing from happening. The door was open wide and clear long before this incident.

I'm more opposed to the government prohibiting businesses from terminating their contracts when they consider it to be in their best financial interest.


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## FLBuff PE (May 1, 2014)

What would you do if an engineer in your firm (if you were the president) was secretly taped/video recorded as a member of the KKK? What if your client base started drying up because of this? Would you fire the engineer, or would you keep the engineer, because their beliefs are their private business?


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## rktman (May 1, 2014)

My 2 cents,

1) The old man is paying for screwing around with someone so immature (and crazy).

2) The old man owns a team who is subject to NBA rules/ethics. His private views became public (without his consent), and the NBA is subject to public opinion. His now public personal views are (realistically) subject to the current public lynching/opinion so the NBA had to denounce him for PR sake. In a sense the NBA is his Boss because he owns the team that is a member.

3) We all say stupid things in a fight. The old man felt threatened that his young hottie was hanging around other young men that were not his race, and he chose to express it in a poor manor. Not my business nor anyone else's but the young hottie is trying to milk it for her 5 seconds of fame, pretty disgusting.

4) I don't agree with many of the viewpoints here about firing someone based on personal beliefs. The arrogant and proud man says that his beliefs are correct and those that don't agree should be stoned (fired). In the end a proud man will end up defending the wrong viewpoint just to maintain that he is correct (this is what the old man did that got him into so much trouble to begin with).


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## engineergurl (May 1, 2014)

YMZ PE said:


> I'm more opposed to the government prohibiting businesses from terminating their contracts when they consider it to be in their best financial interest.




Perhaps I'm out of the loop on this because I will admit I'm confused by this statement.

I also want to ask, are we considering each individual team as the owners business that participates in an association or are we looking at this as that the team is owned by the NBA and he just funds it and receives the profits because there is a HUGE difference. IF the team is OWNED by the NBA and Sterling is merely an investor, cash out his shares and be rid of him in the best interest of your company, yes I get it. If the team is owned by Sterling and he is part of an association, well in my eyes then you can't force him to sell the team because he owns it. You can ban him from the association but which will probably eventually lead to him selling the team, but that is totally different.



FLBuff PE said:


> What would you do if an engineer in your firm (if you were the president) was secretly taped/video recorded as a member of the KKK? What if your client base started drying up because of this? Would you fire the engineer, or would you keep the engineer, because their beliefs are their private business?




In all honesty, the engineer probably would have suffered dire social repercussions rendering him incompetent, maimed and possibly dead prior to his actions impacting business. A few months ago, a kid got shot and killed over a pair of sneakers here.

But really, I would seriously struggle with this, I'm not going to lie. And while the intelligent business person in me would probably do what ever was best for the business and the livelihoods of the other people, I think I would hold a lot of anger about it.


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## YMZ PE (May 1, 2014)

engineergurl said:


> YMZ PE said:
> 
> 
> > I'm more opposed to the government prohibiting businesses from terminating their contracts when they consider it to be in their best financial interest.
> ...




By forcing him out through a vote, the NBA is trying to do what their legally binding contract says they can do. The only way this isn't going to happen is if the NBA says, "Everyone says we're setting a bad precedent so let's backtrack on what the commissioner said we would do," or if Sterling successfully sues for an injunction against a sale. The former isn't going to happen and the latter is an act of government prohibiting the NBA from doing what it believes is in its best interest.

Not that I think they'll be able to force the sale the way they want. I think your earlier prediction will be spot-on.


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## Road Guy (May 1, 2014)

I'm just curious to see if the old man will go down without a fight or go drag this out as long as he can?


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## mudpuppy (May 1, 2014)

engineergurl said:


> YMZ PE said:
> 
> 
> > I'm more opposed to the government prohibiting businesses from terminating their contracts when they consider it to be in their best financial interest.
> ...




He owns a franchise, so this means the NBA basically gives him a license to use their trademark and participate in their league. Typically franchises are revokable by the franchisor for a number of reasons, determined by the contract between them and the franchisee.

For instance, some friends of mine used to own a pool league franchise. If they didn't grow their player base by a certain number of teams within a certain amount of time, the franchise would revert to the league. I wouldn't be surprised if the NBA franchise contact had clauses about negative publicity because the NBA wants to protect their brand from this kind of stuff.


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## Dark Knight (May 1, 2014)

I have no sympathy for Sterling and his comments. But it is troubling that no one has questioned why the conversation was being recorded. Was it a set up? Who? Why?

I think it was a set up. Someone who knows him very well, knowing what buttons to push, set him off. Who? The NBA? Someone who wants to buy the Clippers? His gold digging girlfriend? By the way...how do you call someone who sells himself/herself for money?

If listen to the call you can hear how she asks and says the right questions to make him say whatever she was expecting him to say. It sounded too structured sometimes.

Maybe my point is here is that I believe so many lines have been crossed here, all over the place. That worries me a bit. To live in a society where the end justifies the means does not make me feel warm and fuzzy. What is next?


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## snickerd3 (May 1, 2014)

she probably tried to blackmail him with it and it didn't work so it somehow got leaked


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## Wolverine (May 1, 2014)

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Sports/2014/04/29/8-Things-That-Wont-Get-You-Banned-by-the-NBA

With the lifetime ban by the NBA of despicably racist Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, the door is wide open to further sports bans on people who say offensive things in private

*8 Things That Won't Get You Banned by the NBA*

*1. Discriminating against black people in housing* (Sterling is already guilty of this).

*2. Strangling somebody *(NBA players)

*3. Being a publicly vicious racist while black.* (front row season ticket holder Spike Lee)

*4. Using anti-gay slurs.*

*5. Attacking patrons of your sport.*

*6. Pushing your girlfriend to have an abortion, then harassing her about it.*

*7. Drawing your gun on a fellow player.*

*8. Reckless driving resulting in a passenger’s death*


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## Dexman PE PMP (May 1, 2014)




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## Lumber Jim (May 3, 2014)

YMZ PE said:


> Or maybe only speak your mind around people you trust instead of your gold-digging mistress.


I trust all of you...

You wouldn't tell my boss I like to spam, talk smart, and hide behind my user name and AV to say things that I wouldn't stand behind if we were having a conversation face to face, would you?

Getting nervous here... My case of the honkies acts up from time to time.


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## Supe (May 13, 2014)

So who caught any of last night's interview? I watched about 5 minutes of it on ESPN this morning. That guy couldn't dig himself any deeper if you gave him a backhoe.

Starts ripping Magic Johnson and "AIDS" relentlessly, then goes off into something about the Jews, then into how he helps minorities all the time and prayed for Magic Johnson and would love to do work with him?

That interview confirmed a few things:

1) He is batshit crazy

2) He is_ totally _racist

3) It is impossible for anyone on any level to feel sorry for the guy


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## goodal (May 13, 2014)

Pretty sure what his wife said about him having dimensia is true now.


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## Supe (May 13, 2014)

I believe it. At multiple points throughout, you could tell he completely forgot what he was talking about 5 seconds before.


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