OT - Donald Sterling Banned from NBA for Life
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced today that (likely soon to be former) LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling is banned from any type of involvement with the league or the Clippers for the duration of his life. This punishment also came with a $2.5M fine, which is the most allowed under the bylaws of the NBA's constitution. Silver also said that the league and its owners will do all things possible to force the sale of the Clippers. Props to Adam Silver and the league's front office for doing everything in their power to remove this horrible person from the league's ranks.
No one is thought policing. Donald Sterling has the right to think or say whatever he wants. His business partners also have the right to no longer wish to associate with him based on those words. Businesses have the right to no longer wish to sponsor him based on those words. Fans have the right to no longer wish to support him financially based on those words.
This isn't "thought policing." This is freedom at work.
Freedom of speech is not freedom from consequence.
If I go up to a black coworker and call him the Nword and they fire me, that's not "thought policing" nor is it a violation of my right to free speech. You have the right to think/feel/say whatever you like and other people have the right to think/feel/say things to you in response.
He also reportedly knew he was being taped but said that stuff anyway.
on your final point. And what Sterling did was so far from what you set forth in your "comparable" that they could not even be considered the same issue. It almost kind of proves the distinction.
I know this is not the place, but this issue is not that cut and dry.
It wasn't meant to be directly comparable but what Sterling has done and continued to do is far worse than simply calling someone the N word. He is in a position of extreme power, and used that power to discriminate against others on the basis of race, multiple times. He was also known to be quite liberal with the N word. These aren't secrets. There are tons of stories about him, and we have the proof of his racist behavior in sworn testimony.
Also, here's the source that he knew he was being recorded:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-donald-sterling-tapes-…
The site is also reporting that sources who have heard the entire hourlong recording say Sterling absolutely knew he was being recorded. TMZ Sports has reported Stiviano has said she has more than 100 hours of recorded conversations with the 80-year-old Sterling, who is said to have used the tapes to refresh his memory because he frequently forgot what he said.
this entire thing is disturbing. I have trouble figuring which one I hate more, Sterling or Stiviano.
April 30th, 2014 at 12:44 AM ^
moral indignation for the sake of moral indignation.
April 30th, 2014 at 12:20 AM ^
...but that doesn't excuse him.
If a thief catches a murderer, that's awesome --- but at some point, he still may have to pay the price for being a thief.
Sterling is known for suing the shit out of people...she's not going to slide if he doesn't want her too. And that's fine, she broke the law. Sue the shit out of her...but again, it doesn't excuse his comments.
Doesn't mean he didn't break a bylaw. Ignorant idiot.
victorsvaliant01 an ignorant idiot or Sterling?
in the context of private enterprises, laws are commonly referred to as by-laws. Sterling broke a by-law that threatened to harm the economic interests of the other members of the enterprise. This ain't a freedom of speech issue.
but I'm sure there's something about "conduct detrimental to the league" Silver is leaning on. And rightly so.
Its not a matter of breaking any laws. Its a matter of playing by the rules he signed up for when he decided to become a franchisee of the NBA, which includes being a good representation and extension of the NBA.
Just like I cant open a McDonalds and decide to color the golden arches green just because its my McDonalds. McDonalds has a say in my franchise, just like the NBA has a say in the Clippers franchise.
does not work with the issue at bar. Using your analogy what he did was color a picture of a McDonalds with green arches at home while watching TV with his girlfriend. He is essentially being banned from the NBA and forced to sell the team because the NBA does not approve of the way that he thinks. There are important distinctions from Marge Schott, Jimmy the Greek, etc. There is a somewhat dangerous societal precedent at play here.
Think of it like he's being banned for his amazingly racist practices as a landlord, which we all suddenly remembered when we heard this tape.
that is not the issue. The NBA took no issue with that. The NBA does not agree with what Donald Sterling thinks about other races. That is basically the stated reason for the sanctions imposed on him.
April 30th, 2014 at 12:33 AM ^
JEEZ PEOPLE! THINK. USE your f-ing heads.
He's being "THINKING" this way for years...and he's the LONGEST tenured owner in the NBA.
He's being kicked out because of the reflection of what he SAID onto the NBA and its imagine. He's because kicked out because of his THOUGHTS coming to light and how it affects the NBA.
It has EVERYTHING to do with the image of the NBA, the message it sends to its players, etc.
How do some of you guys not see that? This isn't about him thinking a certain way.
If LeBron James thinks BK is better, so what? But if he goes on camera saying "Fuck McDonald at that bullshit they serve, BK is way better. I would never eat that shit at Mickey D's and would hope no one else would except for the fact they pay me so damn much." McDonald's has every right to rip on their CONTRACT and say LeBron as a public figure cannot be a representitve of our franchise.
The NBA is saying Sterling cannot be a representitive of the NBA. If he was a housekeeper at the Staples Center and not in a position of power and a public figure...he wouldn't have to worry. He's not really representing the NBA, well you could make the argument he still would be, but not like a league owner is.
I'm sure of the major sports franchises we have in America that there is at least one other owner who feels just like Sterling. But he isn't on top so he can continue to think that way and own his franchise as long as he's reprsenting the league to the public in a way the league wants. If he does something that negatively impacts his leagues image...he may be out.
We need to quit acting like this is sooooo far fetched. Like he said he was against abortion or something people debate all the time.
about the topic that he spoke about, it is about the method used to obtain the statement and that there is truly a right of privacy issue at play. Being at your home and stating an opinion to an invited guess is a far cry from "going on camera" and doing the same thing. If he was being banned for acts of discrimination it would be one thing, but he is being banned for thoughts and opinions about discrimination and actions and words are different things. (And no, he is not being banned for alleged acts of discrimination prior to this, he is being banned for words that he spoke in private). Of course business is business, and in this particular business model he can be kicked out of the Association he belongs to. But I think you are intentionally blinding yourself to some issues regarding privacy and speech that are at play here.
His ban actually has nothing to do with federal or state law, but rather with the NBA bylaws, which not only prohibit workplace discrimination, but, I assume, have a clause regarding the way in which the league is publicly represented. He would be in clear violation here.
Succinctly, he's bad for business and the league is a business. He also happens to be an utterly repulsive sack of shit. That too.
of a large market team, his team is important to revenue sharing for small market teams. In order for the league as a whole to be successful outside of NY, Chicago and LA, they need the league's largest teams to be financially sound. so they can prop up the small markets. If his organization fails, it hurts Charlotte, Orlando, Milwaukee, etc. So the law he broke is, messing with the pockets of 15-20 other owners.
Do the Clippers actually qualify as a large-market team? I don't mean that to be sarcasm or anything. . . . do they have a large fanbase? I assumed that in L.A., the vast majority root for the Lakers.
I'd be curious to know how their local TV deal compares to the Lakers'.
He broke his contract with the NBA.
Let me guess, you're one of those geniuses who thinks this has something to do with free speech, aren't you?
Well - there was the multi-million dollar lawsuit he just settled with the Department of Justice for housing discrimination...
Of course - legality is irrelevant. People get fired every day (or have their franchise rights removed) for actions that break no laws.
The Fair Housing Act of 1968.
Given the millions he's paid out in settlements it's a fair inference he's violated it repeatedly.
I am going to reply with this to anyone who believes this is a 1st amendment issue.
Great graphic. Good explanation. Thank you!
Adam Silver acted with all the power he had at his disposal. It was the appropriate response and, in retrospect, maybe the only available course of action considering how serious the situation is.
From the looks of him I would guess a "lifetime ban" would constitute a fairly short punishment relatively speaking.
robust version of Al Davis. How long did that guy hang on?
Al died at the age of 82. Sterling is currently 81.
Maybe goblue20111 can start a countdown clock.
He's still more Jabba the Hut than Davis' Crypt Keeper lookalike.
Good riddance to that vile excuse of a "human". The guy seems to have been a piece of crap for the better part of his life.
PR is vital to their business model and Sterling just punched their PR in the nuts. I haven't followed the story closely enough to know all the details. But it seems a bit much to swing that kind of hammer on a guy for things he said privately to one other person, remarks that were (correct?) recorded without his knowledge or permission. It smacks of disciplining someone for his thoughts rather than something he said or did.
http://deadspin.com/your-complete-quotable-guide-to-decades-of-donald-s…
Enjoy.
David Stern should be taking more heat. The guy has no spine and let Sterling pull shit like this for over 30 years.
I suppose this is like Capone going to jail for tax evasion...Sterling is being punished big time for something that doesn't crack the top ten of his bad acts. It's just weird.
It's a combination of things.
It's always more powerful to have audio or visual evidence of a person doing or saying something, rather than a quote.
For 30 years no one gave a damn about the Clippers or paid any attention to them. People outside of basketball circles had virtually no clue just how bad Sterling was Now they have multiple superstars, are the best team in the league's favorite market (L.A.), and are one of the marquee franchises.
Social media allowed this story to proliferate more quickly and easily than it would have in the past, particularly because there was audio evidence. It has infiltrated pop culture in a way that none of his other comments or actions did before.
It also happened during the NBA Playoffs when more people are paying attention to the league than at any other time.
All of that basically created the perfect storm for his outsting.
Sterling's a "bad guy." Nobody really argues that, but it's also inarguable that Sterling has been a "bad guy" for awhile.
I do see some similiarities between this and Penn State 2011. Jerry Sandusky and Donald Sterling are not good people, and I am angry with them both.
But, I am actually MORE angry with Graham Spanier and David Stern. Those guys had the power to do something about "bad guys in their presence", yet they enabled them for years on end!
Stern was a great commissioner from a business perspective in terms of expanding the NBA in this country and all around the world but he was absolutely amoral. That's probably why the owners loved him so much.
Sterling has had decades worth of this type of stuff and worse outside of the NBA, and Stern did nothing.
Mark Cuban criticizes the officials for making a bad call the league came out and admitted was a bad call, and Stern was right there with a hefty fine.
He didn't care what sort of a scumbag you were just so long as it didn't hurt the business of the NBA.
This is definitely a stain on his legacy.
his 2nd lifetime achievement award.
It's human nature to look the other way when taking a stand would cost something.
http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/10847821/naacp-no-longer-…
that should garner you a few hundred thousand more points in the hole.
Its easy to see why Jobo's point total in the red. Talk about being ignorant.
he was embarrassed as well. Why would you suggest differently?
I think he's referring to the report that Sterling supposedly wanted to veto the trade that brought Redick to the Clippers because he felt Redick's salary ($7MM) was too much to pay for a white player. Racism isn't just about white people hating on black people...
I thought it was because he basically acts like he owns the players as if they are his property. so he prefers to have all back players due to this fact. He has expressed before that his ideal team is all black players from the south with a white head coach.