Basketball Racist NBA Owner Banned For Life

[Mike]

In what is quickly becoming the biggest sports news story we've seen in some time, NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, has thrown the book at Los Angeles Clippers owner, Donald Sterling. He's been served with a lifetime ban from the NBA and a $2.5 million fine, which is the maximum allowable fine, after audio tape surfaced with Sterling making racist remarks to an ex-girlfriend.

The ban, which was issued Tuesday night, just hours before the Clippers game against the Warriors in game 5 of the Western Conference quarterfinals, couldn't have come at a better time. There are reports that all the teams scheduled to play that night, would have boycotted and refused to take the court. Warriors' coach, Mark Jackson, was even urging fans to boycott the game before news of the ban broke.

On top of the ban and the fine commissioner Silver has said that he will urge the owners to vote to force a sale of the team by Sterling, and reports are that they will get the vote 29-0.

Sterling has said he had no intentions of selling the team, but why not? It's not like he can have any interaction with the team now anyways, and the Clippers have already started to lose sponsorship.

What do you think about the decision that Adam Silver made, banning Clippers owner Sterling over racist remarks?

I think it was absolutely the right decision. There cannot be any tolerance for racism in any workplace, and especially not inside a sports franchise. He should have been banned, he should have been fined, and he should be forced to sell his team.

 

[franklinguy52]

What a way for Adam Silver to be introduce to the commissioner role! When I heard the recording I could not believe that a person in that position, in this day and age, can still that absolutely ignorant. I live in Southern Kentucky and I know several people that are still very racist, but even they are not as racist as the remarks of Sterling. I think that Silver did a wonderful job of handling this situation by responding quickly and penalizing the crime with a fitting punishment. If Sterling is smart at all, he will sell this team while it still has value. They are estimating that he could sell the team for over $500 million when he bought the team for $12 million, 30 years ago. The team is really good but over time, if he remains the owner, free agents will not go there and the current players will get out as fast as possible, leaving the team worth much less than it currently is.

 

[Mike]

I couldn't agree more, Troy. They're already losing sponsors. They had crews covering up some of the sponsor signs before last night's game. I doubt, very seriously, if Doc Rivers will remain there next year if Sterling doesn't sell and the players will be on their way out as quickly as possible. Sterling would be smart to sell now, rather than later, and as idiotic as he sounded in the audio tape, he's still smart enough to know that's what he has to do if he wants to cash in big.

 

[redwing40]

Silver acted quick and did the right thing, there's no place for that in any sport. I believe in freedom of speech but you have to live up to the consequence's that come with it, he got what he had coming to him.

 

[sliqwill]

I don't see how this is a giant story when an equally racist act by the Supreme Court last week didn't stick around long at all...

I am referencing Sonya Sotomayor's written opinion on the Michigan case where she finds the law discriminates against minorities by NOT requiring race on college applications...the case stems from 20 years ago where a white woman with higher test scores was denied enrollment based on race, as minorities with lower test scores were accepted to the school.

I agree with having the most qualified people get the job they apply for...

before anyone wants to think that viewpoint is racist, let me know how you feel about a 5'7" woman trying to rescue you from the upstairs of your home, and not an athletic woman, an obese woman, as 30% of the fire department should reflect the obesity 'epidemic' (an epidemic like its F'n Polio), also, more than half of the fire department is female, as I believe the most recent statistics have it 51/49 or 52/48 female to male...many scientific studies have been done to show that females for various reasons, are not as strong in the upper body, as a male of the same height/weight/age...

so do you want someone who may not be able to lift you, attempt to rescue you from a burning building...

call that an 'extreme' case if you will, but then where is the outcry for former NBA star Larry Johnson saying 'lets form an all black version of the NBA'...how is that less offensive than what Sterling said?...

I wont call Sterling an upstanding citizen, but I don't understand why what he said is getting more attention than equally offensive statements made recently...yesterday ABC World News did a piece on Sterling, will they do a story on Larry Johnsons All Black NBA tonight?...doubt it