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Post by SurferGirl on Apr 29, 2014 11:05:50 GMT -8
 APRIL 29 -- NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced today at a packed press conference that Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has been banned for life from both the NBA and the Clippers organization for racist comments he made during a telephone call with his mistress which was leaked to TMZ. Sterling will also be fined $2.5 million dollars. Those funds will be donated to tolerance and anti-discrimination organizations. "We stand together in condemning Mr. Sterling's views. They have no place in the NBA," Silver stated at the press conference. Silver stated that the investigation into the matter revealed that it was Sterling's voice and his opinions on the recording which was made public. It is widely anticipated that the league's 29 other owners will meet in efforts to force Sterling to sell the team. The recording, which was reportedly an hour-long conversation between Sterling and his mistress, 31-year-old V. Stiviano, in which Sterling chides her for posting a photo with former Laker Earvin Johnson on her instagram account. Sterling pleads with her not to associate with minorities, specifically african-americans, and not to post photos of herself with them online. Over the weekend, Stiviano's attorney released a statement that his client was not the one who forwarded the recording to TMZ. Sterling's wife, Rochelle, is suing Stiviano in efforts to recover approximately $2.5 million in "lavish" gifts which Sterling has bought her. Immediately on twitter, players shared their reactions to Silver's decision, including: "Commissioner of the @nba just showed us how he drops the hammer on ignorance. #lifetimeban for Donald Sterling. The ultimate #gonefishing"- Nets center Jason Collins "Big ups to Adam Silver. I think this is a very appropriate way to handle this situation. Now it's up to the owners to make him sell."- Heat guard Mario Chalmers On April 28, Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen issued the following statement regarding the Sterling matter: "The kind of statements attributed to Clippers owner Donald Sterling, if true, are abhorrent, and not acceptable for the owner of an NBA franchise or anyone in professional sports. We at the Trail Blazers reject any and all such sentiments, and believe NBA leadership should take swift and impactful action in this case."- JBHNote: I felt I would be remiss not to post this. However, with the playoffs going on and the passing of Dr. Jack Ramsay, I have decided that this will be the only mention of this matter here. Personally, it makes me angry that there are still people as bigoted as this man. It's time to move on from this, enjoy the playoffs and celebrate the terrific life of "Portland's Coach." |
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Post by newellbrian on Apr 29, 2014 11:27:34 GMT -8
Good. Hopefully he ends up selling the team.
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Post by SurferGirl on Apr 29, 2014 11:53:55 GMT -8
Good. Hopefully he ends up selling the team. I think the other owners will force him to. It sounds like there are ways through the league's bylaws which give them that opportunity, or maybe the league will take it over and sell it. |
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Post by Kasey on Apr 29, 2014 19:48:17 GMT -8
i thought about blogging about this but, as Julie stated, this is to be the only mention of this incident here (by us, of course. our members always have the freedom to discuss any of the broad range of topics which may be on their minds).
i have a number of reactions which i will share with you. i will list them by number, but i warn you in advance, i you may not agree with everything i write. point one is the key of my comments and, if you disagree with anything beyond that, please revert back to that.
1. Given that Sterling admitted it was his voice on the recording, action must be taken. I agree with the whole of players, coaches, teams' employees and fans that this is unacceptable behavior for an owner of any professional sports franchise to make these statements is extraordinary. aside from soccer, basketball is probably the most global of sports; meaning it's played, watched and adored across the globe. I often see the NBA as an example of America's melting pot. Not only are there African-Americans in the NBA, but multiple other countries as well. on our own Portland Trail Blazers, we have a group of players consisting of Caucasian, African-American, Spanish, French and English. Tolerance of other races is not only necessary; it must be mandatory. I am personally disgusted with the remarks we've all by now heard on that recording. From everything I've seen and heard, I am in the great majority.
2. The maximum penalty Commissioner Silver had at his disposal is what he envoked. This almost seems pretty steep to me. Don't get me wrong; I don't want to see Donald Sterling involved in any way, shape or form in business pertaining to the NBA, the Clippers nor any other team. While I don't question the basic conditions of Silver's action, I wonder how much thought he might have given to alternative punishments.
3. I would very much like to know the details of the investigation. Unfortunately, given that this is coming from the NBA, no one is likely to ever know more than what Silver told us in the press conference. According to Stiviano's attorney, she did not disclose the recording to the NBA. As someone, perhaps a bit of an idealist, going off to law school in the late summer, I'm going to take that at face value. I do this primarily because I don't see what she has to gain by doing so. I also don't think Sterling would release this to the public. He may be an ignorant bigot, but he would have had to have known that there would be serious backlash. We know that Shelley Sterling is suing Stiviano to recover the value of $2.5 million in gifts her estranged husband allegedly gave her. My feeling is that it was a third party to the conversation who presented this recording to TMZ. This does not clear Sterling, but I believe it shows that someone has an ulterior motive.
4. This is where it gets sticky. By no means is this not a slippery slope. As horrible as Sterling's remarks are, this was intended to be a private conversation. Should not private conversations be ... well, private? Regardless if someone leaks them to whomever, are we not allowed to have private conversations? Are not the dumbest people among has allowed to have their opinions? Are we allowed to police people's thoughts. The NBA punished someone today for something which was possibly uncovered due to something not really a whole lot different than NSA wire tapping. We don't want that happening, so is it not hypocritical? Where will it stop? What future statements by owners will be deemed as unacceptable or, in the very least, acceptable to punish. If George Orwell was correct and Big Brother is watching, is Adam Silver the league's new big brother?
5. Today's activities give me the impression that this is almost more about Silver laying down the hammer than it actually was about the sanctions of Sterling. It seemed to me that in Silver's decision, he was trying to establish himself as a hard-handed commissioner. When I watched the press conference a few moments ago, I almost wanted to call him Stern II. Maybe this is fair; maybe it's not. As I said, this is my impression. Something which sticks out to me though is something which Charles Barkley said during halftime of the Wizards-Bulls game 5 tonight: "Adam Silver became commissioner today." Suffice to say, some of my optimism for Silver as the new commissioner has wavered.
6. I can't help but wonder what Sterling's response will be. He may have legal recourse here. Then again, he may not. Let's say for a moment that he would have a case against the league. Will he pursue it? I suppose only he knows that. I would think to lose your team because of a private recording would stick in his craw. It would not surprise me if this isn't the last we have heard on this matter.
For the aforementioned reasons, I feel that this is a band aid, and that whether or not Silver's decision included some sort of self-promotion, probably a move forward. Though personally I hope the Clippers lose in the playoffs, I don't want to see it happen like this. However, the slippery slope I mentioned, might be on the horizon. I do not want to see Silver see this as a power grab in the same way that David Stern would have. As with many things, let's just say I will be on the lookout going forward.
~ MKM
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