I would like to hear the board's opinion on the Sterling situation

Cuban said it best:

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"Again, there's no excuse for his positions. There's no excuse for what he said. There's no excuse for anybody to support racism. There's no place for it in our league, but there's a very, very, very slippery slope."

"But at the same time, that's a decision I make. I think you've got to be very, very careful when you start making blanket statements about what people say and think, as opposed to what they do. It's a very, very slippery slope."
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I'm not defending the man's racism nor excusing him. But the man was set up. The NBA could have gotten him many times before, why now? It's about precedent. What is the NBA saying? Yes it's protecting it's interest, maybe the NBA is doing it for the good of the masses and against racism? I got nothing against that.

So does that mean that in future, if someone wants to destroy someone's life, all they have to do is secretly record them against that person's will? Ask questions to coerce things out of them, sell it, make money, and call it a day?

 

Wait - i just heard about the 2.5 mil fine.

I don't understand how that's justified on TOP of a lifetime ban.

Why does monetary compensation help the NBA in this case. I can sense a lawsuit coming out of this. Lifetime ban is a pretty solid punishment without THAT sum of money.

Next time a player says "i'm gonna slap that *****, his type shouldn't be in the league" in the locker room, are we going to take 10 years of his salary?

 

Lol at so many people worrying that this punishment is too much. Trust me, Donald Sterling can afford it. And he deserves it, as others have said, not just for this, but for his entire history. I would bet that if a player was outed saying this type of stuff, he would get a huge fine and suspension too. The commissioner has a lot of leeway to punish members of his league.

And on top of that, it is much much worse for an owner to say this than a player, because an owner has real power over others. A racist player can't really exert his power over others in any direct way. A racist owner holds the fate of players, coaches, staff, media, and many others under his control. This is absolutely worthy of this kind of punishment.

 

The significance of $2.5 million is that it's the maximum the league can penalize financially. The NBA wanted to punish DS to the maximum allowed. It really was just academic. The real punishment was the lifetime ban and the sale of his team.

Honestly, I doubt DS cares much about the fine. The lifetime ban and the possibility of being forced to sell his team will hurt him much more practically speaking, both his reputation and his pocket book.

 

Yeah they're mainly white posters. What do you expect?

 

My opinion is that people need to study up more on the U.S. Constitution and recognize that private entities/organizations do not owe you the rights guaranteed therein....those are limitations on government; not sports leagues. I'm always surprised to read and hear people, in situations similar to this, argue how someone's First Amendment rights are being violated by some private group.

 

The debate surrounding this issue is refreshing and plausible, at the very least. However what I will say is at the end of the day it comes down to human nature more than anything else. The same episodes have been replayed in history again and again for centuries and this is just another continuing episode amongst the fray. The people who control all the wealth and power, currently the Whites, want to keep it amongst themselves and exclude all other people of a different race, while the ones who are on the other end of the spectrum are complaining and protesting of the inequality they are experiencing. So its basically the upper-class ruling elite vs the working class, which is the exact same thing that triggered the French Revolution and the rise of Democracy as we know it today. Only now on another continent another episode of the exact same thing is replaying itself, only this time its presented itself as White vs. Black, which shouldn't matter in the first place because it is not the race they are concerned with that matters, it is socio-economic statuses of the belligerents of the situation. If Blacks, or perhaps any other race for that matter, had possession of all the wealth and power, they would be doing the exact same thing and thinking the exact same thoughts as the Whites in this situation. People at the top are always going to be controlling and manipulative and people at the bottom are always going to be "fighting" for their piece of the cake. But wait until they get their "piece" of the cake, they won't want anyone else sharing it.

People are always hypocrites and thats the way it is. No one, regardless of race or color, genuinely cares about any social or political issues unless it directly affects them and their own interests. Racial tension has and always will be there. When Blacks get on the podium, their racist and sense-of-superiority attitudes won't be any less than what Donald Sterling and co. are dishing out right now. Its everyone for themselves.

Weren't the earliest American European settlers people who came here to escape from the discrimination they were facing back in Europe? Now those very same people are the drivers of the very same dynamic and behavior they were condemning and escaping from.

I don't feel sorry for anyone. Donald Sterling, Black activists, the NBA, the Mistress, the media, all are here purely and only for their own interests and ulterior motives. No one genuinely gives a rats a** about racism unless their personal interests are affected.

 

I don't know what Kobe said that was homophobic but what about the white Jason Williams to an Asian heckler "I saw your parents die in Vietnam you g00k!!!" (paraphrasing).

I think "white chocolate" got a 1 day suspension. No one in the mainstream consciousness cared.

I know Allen Iverson has had some homophobic rap lyrics way back when.
He caught a little bit of heat but eventually got a pass for that as well.

 

I'm a white dude...my interests aren't affected by who Sterling chooses to hang with or who he chooses to hate. Regardless, I give more than a rat's ass. You don't have to be affected directly to care about other people.

 

I think sterling is a racist but think it's BS that he's going to be forced to sell because of his beliefs. I think it's fair only in the context that the NBA is all about its brand.

 

That's what this is about. The market rejects racism. That's a good thing. Sponsors dropped his ass...we heard talk of boycotts...fellow owners called him out in public. They don't want to be associated with him. To some degree, there will be those owners that are genuinely offended by him...and then there will be owners who just see him as a threat to the value of their own franchises and the league in general.

No one has an inherent right to own a franchise. Piss off the wrong people, and they'll find a way to move it from you. Karma's a b****.

 

Think this is a good point. And where does this eye for an eye end?

How many people here voted for president Obama who supported Reverend Wright for so many years until political expediency demanded that he be cut loose? Reverend Wright who made statements such as:

“Barack knows what it means to be a black man living in a country and a culture that is controlled by rich, white people. Hillary ain't never been called a n——-."

“They will not only attack you if you try to point out what’s happening in white America. U.S. of KKK A.”

"America is still the No. 1 killer in the world. ... We are deeply involved in the importing of drugs, the exporting of guns and the training of professional killers. ... We believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God. ... We supported Zionism shamelessly while ignoring the Palestinians and branding anybody who spoke out against it as being anti-Semitic. … We started the AIDS virus. ... We are only able to maintain our level of living by making sure that Third World people live in grinding poverty.”​

Should Reverend Wright be ex-communicated from his church?

I'm sure that there are innumerable examples of people saying racist or ignorant remarks. Probably almost anyone has said something that the majority would consider offensive at some point in their lives.

I guess that we're lucky that we're not all secretly recorded 24/7.

My view is that Gandhi has a much more effective approach towards situations like this:

"Satyagraha is peaceful. If words fail to convince the adversary perhaps purity, humility, and honesty will. The opponent must be “weaned from error by patience and sympathy,” weaned, not crushed; converted, not annihilated.

Satyagraha is the exact opposite of the policy of an-eye-for-an-eye-for-an-eye-for-an-eye which ends in making everybody blind.

You cannot inject new ideas into a man’s head by chopping it off; neither will you infuse a new spirit into his heart by piercing it with a dagger."​

 

Sterling should put the whole NBA on blast.

I'm sure in 30+ years, he's heard other owners say some bad stuff behind closed doors. He could force some owners in a very tight spot. The culture of his peers is why he said such racist things in the first place.

 

Geez, we're not executing the man. He's not facing criminal prosecution.

His business associates have decided they'd rather not be in business with him. That he's harmful to the value of their league. This isn't about punishment...it's about the league moving past all this.

He can go on thinking however he wishes. He will likely make a very tidy profit on any sale of his little team. He won't miss a meal...he'll never sleep unwillingly sleep without a roof over his head.

 

You might have a more mild perspective on racial equality, but many, and I would say the vast majority, of people who control all the wealth and power, don't.

Donald Sterling just channelled the inner voice of many rich, White people, especially those of affluent White males over the age of 50. And that group has happens to be the most wealthy and most powerful demographic group. Your interests ARE affected by who those people choose to employ, choose to invest in, choose to be associated with, amongst a vast variety of others. As a White person you obviously come out with the best out of those social dynamics, so if you really do care, then that's great and I applaud your stance on this matter. But I will add that if you were subjected to and experiencing the same things as a Black person would typically go through then your "care" and "consideration" would go slightly beyond your current level of activity.

Btw I'm not a Black person so I'm not trying to defend myself.

 

well look at all the Lin threads... some hints of racism there no? even fans can be racist, not all but in every society will be some.

The difference is if each person expresses that view or keeps it to himself...

 

That's what I was thinking too. I just can't believe NAACP didn't know his track record.

 

I'm not over 50, so perhaps that's my saving grace. Not really big on stereotypes either. Most of the white dudes I know who are over 50 aren't controlling the world's wealth.

 

yup im sure he'll make a tidy profit there.

 

Nobody's responded to this comment and pointed out how problematic it is?? Dating a member of a minority group or having minority "friends" isn't a bulletproof vest that guarantees you don't have racist views. "No one cares"?? YOU don't care, because this is not about you and your interests are not at stake... Ultimately, what is more dangerous than injustice itself is apathy towards injustice.