NBA comes down hard on racist owner: Fox News defends him

[doubtingt]

3 days ago the owner of the LA Clippers NBA team said in a secret recording by his girlfriend that he did not want her hanging out with black people (in this case Magic Johnson) or bringing black people to his games. There has been a national firestorm over this (surprised no threads here yet).

Just now,t he NBA commissioner came down as hard as legally possible on Sterling, instituting a lifetime ban and calling for a vote of the owners to force Sterling out of the league by selling the team (sadly, Sterling will make about 700 million off that sale).

In 25 media questions, each of a different outlet, only 1 attempted to defend Sterling and suggest the punishment was unjust by asking (or more accurately editorializing that) "Is it fair to fire someone for something they said in private? Isn't that a slippery slope?"

1 guess which media outlet that was (hint: they have repeatedly demonstrated themselves to be run by rabid racists).

 

[Tom Sawyer]

While they do have to officially come out against racism for the sake of social propriety, they can't come down too hard against it out of fear of alienating their core viewers.

 

[AthenaAwakened]

Don't forget the $5,000,000 Fine.

 

[AthenaAwakened]

Here's what Sky Hook (Kareem Abdul Jabar) had to say about it.

Interesting take.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/...ling-outrage-may-surprise-you?detail=facebook

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Doesn't like black people, yet owns a basketball franchise which is dominated by black athletes? Maybe he could buy the Washington Generals with his profits.

 

[AthenaAwakened]

Doesn't like black people, yet owns a basketball franchise which is dominated by black athletes? Maybe he could buy the Washington Generals with his profits.

Considering how the clippers were playing until recently, I thought he already had.

 

[doubtingt]

Don't forget the $5,000,000 Fine.

I think the fine is just $2.5 million (which was the max allowed, but that is about 0.3 % of what Sterling will make on the sale of the team. I have yet to hear anyone suggest the possibility that the NBA could orchestrate a way in which Sterling's franchise would lose all its value overnight and go bankrupt, then the NBA could just create a new Franchise that picks up all the now defunct contract of the players and other employees. One potential way would be to release all Clipper players from their contracts on the grounds of a hostile work environment, and allow all players right to refuse to be traded there. That would instantly strip the franchise of its market value. The only negative for fans would be switching allegence to a new corporate logo, but they can get over that (and Clippers is a lame logo anyway with no tie to LA).
That would also allow the NBA to ensure that Magic Johnson is the new owner of the new Franchise.
The players union would need to force this solution because the owners will resist it.

 

[doubtingt]

Doesn't like black people, yet owns a basketball franchise which is dominated by black athletes? Maybe he could buy the Washington Generals with his profits.

He views himself as basically owning those black players. The girlfriend told him "But most of your players are black?" He responded "You don't think I know that? I buy them clothes, and food, and houses!" IOW, he doesn't pay them for their work and then they buy themselves these things, he owns them like pets and supplies them with treats out of his kindness to his property.

 

[doubtingt]

Here's what Sky Hook (Kareem Abdul Jabar) had to say about it.

Interesting take.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/...ling-outrage-may-surprise-you?detail=facebook

Yeah, Jabar makes some valid points that the NBA should have done something long ago. But I disagree with him on a couple things. First, the past instances have involved claims about his racism with no direct evidence that the NBA could look at. This was very direct evidence of him saying things that didn't just imply racist but were the definition of it. And he admitted it was him. Case closed. It would have been legally much tougher to do anything in those cases given that Sterling did not lose the legal cases associate with them. Also, the fact that this is a private conversation should make everyone more outraged at Sterling. It means the views expressed were sincere and deeply held. Also, he didn't just say or do thing toward a select group of black people but he directed his disdain at all and every black person. On the one hand, his slum lord actions had more direct impact on individuals. On the other hand, it is arguably more racist and more indicative of hatred based solely on skin color, to disparage all black persons (including the rich and famous and those that make you millions) than it is to think that the poor black people in a certain part of town are more likely to be late on rent than white tenants. The latter is racist but it doesn't target every black person as someone subhuman.
Also, I very much disagree with Jabar that we "should be equally angered by the fact that his private, intimate conversation was taped and then leaked to the media". He compares it to the NSA, which is just silly. Is taping a person's racism so the world can protect itself from the harm the person will do just as immoral as the racism itself? Not even close. In fact, it isn't immoral at all. If you film a person cutting off their wife's head in their bedroom and post it online to warm people, are you immoral? It may not be legal evidence in the courts, but no reasonable person thinks it is immoral. I think such taping of private conversations is immoral only if what is said if not actually clear evidence of a wrong, but just something that taken out of context could cause major harm to the person. Had Sterling not actually been a bigot, and only said "Why did you post a picture with him? I don't want you doing that." This could be morally wrong to record and publicize.

 

[blastula]

Jabbar spoke today at the players' press conference and was totally supported the actions taken.

 

[blastula]

Sterling is an enigma. He said he admired Magic Johnson, but also did not want the gf to take pictures with him. She could f him, that was fine by him, but just no public photos, because that was over the line. After saying all that, he indicated indignation that she may consider him a racist. How does that work in his head? He has donated a lot to the NAACP. Maybe that's it. Very strange. Lots of internal compartmentalizing going on.

 

[Keith&Co.]

After saying all that, he indicated indignation that she may consider him a racist. How does that work in his head?

Going by some of my relatives, if you truly, honestly believe that 'those people' are different, it's not racism in their mind. You're not judging them solely by skin color, you're judging them because you have learned that everyone with that skin color has some common traits.

Or, going by a couple of people from my hometown, they think 'racism' means that you want to kill every single black person. They seriously think it's that specific. So their comments about Orientals cannot be racism, because racism is about blacks.
And if they support letting blacks live, though living in a different (neighborhood/city/state), then that's clearly not racism, because that's not what the word means.

Man, i really miss Sunday School... You learn so many valuable things there.

 

[Mumbles]

While they do have to officially come out against racism for the sake of social propriety, they can't come down too hard against it out of fear of alienating their core viewers.

Given how many people reacted to Richard Sherman by calling him "nigger" or euphemisms like "thug", and all of the controversy over black players with tattoos and the like that even I've heard over the years, yeah. But it does seem that they really decided to clobber him on this one. I'd have thought that his multiple acts of discrimination in his real estate dealings would have done it, but whatever...

Honestly, the plan does seem harsh to me, but the NBA hasn't received a dime from me, directly or via watching games on local stations, in almost a decade, so my word carries very little weight.

 

[steve_bnk]

He is not really an enigma, he is a product of the times he grew up in.

I watched a Showtime documentary on the history of black basketball.


When he was growing up overt racism inthe press, sports writers, and sports ownership was the norm. Ownerswould say openly a black man would never play on his team. The kind of comments he made privately today would back then appear openly inthe media.


In 1970 when USC played Bryant's Alabama at home in the south bringing in starting black playersbeating Alabama it was an historical event. It literallytraumatized southern whites.


http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2013/11/historic_1970_alabama-usc_foot.html


When Kentucky played West Texas in the basketball tourney who had a black starting team it was highly controversial.


http://espn.go.com/classic/s/013101_texas_western_fitzpatrick.html


The fact that today a white NBA commissioner said what e did on racism is another major turning point in our culture, no question about that.


Black players during sports integration took a lot of abuse from fans and fellow players.


Jackie Robinson.

 

[Keith&Co.]

Just now,t he NBA commissioner came down as hard as legally possible on Sterling, instituting a lifetime ban and calling for a vote of the owners to force Sterling out of the league by selling the team

That's the standard for 'hard as legally possible?'

Cream puff.

When they banned Marge Schott, they also banned her dog from the games. If you're going to express outrage, express it outrageously.

 

[steve_bnk]

While they do have to officially come out against racism for the sake of social propriety, they can't come down too hard against it out of fear of alienating their core viewers.

I disagree. I think the tide hasturned. The racism of the past today is highly diminished. The imagesof blacks and whites competing together in sports makes it harder toinstill racism in kids as a learned behavior.




Kids today take to sports figures asheroes regardless of race.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Just now,t he NBA commissioner came down as hard as legally possible on Sterling, instituting a lifetime ban and calling for a vote of the owners to force Sterling out of the league by selling the team

That's the standard for 'hard as legally possible?'

Cream puff.

When they banned Marge Schott, they also banned her dog from the games.

Eric Davis?

If you're going to express outrage, express it outrageously.

Well they'd punish him more, but he already owns the Clippers.

Or is he the reason the Clippers sucked for so long?

 

[doubtingt]

He has donated a lot to the NAACP. Maybe that's it.

Yeah, the NAACP actually has more moral culpability here than the NBA. They chose to publicly honor Sterling with a "Lifetime achievement award" in 2009, after his slum lord case and other well known accusations by respected players of Sterling as a racism with a slave-master mentality. The NBA had minimal legal recourse up to this direct evidence of his racism. However, all reasonable people knew he was a racist. Yet the NAACP voluntarily gave him an award as a quid pro quo for his donations. It is not just the local chapter. The national offices said nothing about it, showing that this organization is run by corrupt people willing to harm to black community for their own personal advancement. The NBA is a for-profit organization. The NAACP is supposed exist solely to protect the rights and interests of racial minorities in America. They failed.

 

[TV and credit cards]

I also think he is a product of his times. Sadly, he could not or would not grow. I do not like what type of person he is but I also do not like that this was recorded without his knowledge. A person has a reasonable expectation of privacy when in a private setting. Recorded by his 20 something girlfriend.
My understanding is he bought two Lifetime Achievement Awards from the local chapter of the NAACP.
Further, the punishment handed down by the NBA is the NBA saying they fucked up and should have vetted this guy better before letting him buy in and now they are correcting it.
Plenty of stink to go around. Money and pussy.

 

[doubtingt]

A person has a reasonable expectation of privacy when in a private setting. Recorded by his 20 something girlfriend.

Well, had he not had paid a model a half century younger than him to be his mistress and who seems to live through social media , then his comments might have stayed private. Hard to manufacture any sympathy about that.