Real Racism: Clippers Owner Bids GF to Avoid Blacks in Public

cybercoma · May 5, 2014

What precedent is that? Making life difficult for people with disgusting views? I don't feel bad for them one bit. There should be social sanctions against such anti-social behaviour.

Boges · May 5, 2014

What precedent is that? Making life difficult for people with disgusting views? I don't feel bad for them one bit. There should be social sanctions against such anti-social behaviour.

So would you advocate for a lifetime suspension for an NBA player with homophobic views? Or using the N-word? Or the FG-word? Or using the term Gay as a pejorative? There are a lot of things that aren't politically correct that people do all the time. Now are we advocating for lifetime consequences for uttering non-PC views in private?

The precedent is having illegal taping of people being used as an actionable offence. Heck if Sterling admitted to committing murder on that tape it wouldn't be able to be used in court without a warrant right?

Edited May 5, 2014 by Boges

Smallc · May 5, 2014

What precedent is that? Making life difficult for people with disgusting views? I don't feel bad for them one bit. There should be social sanctions against such anti-social behaviour.

Oh now you feel that way.

guyser · May 5, 2014

Boges, it wasnt pillow talk. Apparently he knew he was being taped.

Not to mention she didnt release it.

Boges · May 5, 2014

Boges, it wasnt pillow talk. Apparently he knew he was being taped.

Not to mention she didnt release it.

That's new information to me. Citation?

I was just paraphrasing what was said in the article I posted.

hardworker786 · May 5, 2014

Absolutely shameful. This man had a history of racial discrimination. He had to pay out over 2 million dollars for his racist housing policies for real estate he owned.

guyser · May 5, 2014

That's new information to me. Citation?

I was just paraphrasing what was said in the article I posted.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2049698-new-espn-report-reveals-more-details-in-donald-sterling-controversy#articles/2049698-new-espn-report-reveals-more-details-in-donald-sterling-controversy

Boges · May 5, 2014

The story says it's according to Stiviano, not from Sterling. She's also said that she doesn't believe Sterling is racist. It appears she's doing some serious damage control because she looks horrible in this affair too.

I just can't believe someone would allow themselves to be taped by the woman he's going to sue for about $2 million.

cybercoma · May 5, 2014

Oh now you feel that way.

Not even remotely close to the same issue. You can be in a relationship with whomever you want. If he didn't want to marry a black woman and only wanted to marry a white woman, that's his prerogative. When he rounds up blacks and latinos and kicks them out of their homes then he's directly infringing on others' lives. I'm sorry that it upsets you that an aboriginal woman wants to marry another aboriginal man and is off limits to you, but that's her prerogative. Her decision has been shaped by the racist laws that we have in place here in Canada that segregate and oppress the First Nations. But that's not at all the same thing as her rounding up white people in apartment complexes she owns and throwing them out into the street because she thinks they're filthy vermin. I'm sorry if you can't see the difference. Frankly, Sterling should have been turfed long ago. The only reason they're doing it now is because it's such a public fiasco this time that the NBA had to act because it would affect their revenues. If the NBA was seen as allowing a white racist POS like Sterling continue to sit courtside and own a team, how do you think that would make a number of black fans feel? They would likely stay away from his games. So his stupid comments, even though they should have remained private, were damaging to the league. The NBA had no choice now, but frankly they should have acted nearly a decade ago when Bomani Jones wrote his exposé on what kind of landlord Sterling is. Edited May 5, 2014 by cybercoma

cybercoma · May 5, 2014

So would you advocate for a lifetime suspension for an NBA player with homophobic views? Or using the N-word? Or the FG-word? Or using the term Gay as a pejorative? There are a lot of things that aren't politically correct that people do all the time. Now are we advocating for lifetime consequences for uttering non-PC views in private?

The precedent is having illegal taping of people being used as an actionable offence. Heck if Sterling admitted to committing murder on that tape it wouldn't be able to be used in court without a warrant right?

We're talking about an owner here, not a player, so I don't know why you find those two things comparable. The fact of the matter is that the tapes should have never been made public because they were a private conversation; you're absolutely right there. However, they were public and the public was reacting to them. That's damaging to the brand. The NBA couldn't sit back and show that it was going to allow that kind of person to own a franchise and be the head of an entire team. They can't sit back and allow some racist piece of garbage like that damage their brand. And make no mistake about it, not doing anything to him would have been damaging to the brand. I'm not going to sit here and argue over the degree of punishment because the fact is the NBA needed to dish out some kind of punishment.

Smallc · May 5, 2014

I knew you wouldn't see it as the same thing, but his racial association rules and her racial duty aren't as far apart as you seem to want them to be.

Boges · May 5, 2014

They dished out that punishment because the players were ready to boycott games. It was thought that a finite suspension and a fine was all they could do. And there still is doubt if they can force Sterling to sell. It'll go to court if he fights it.

It's widely believed Sterling got the Lifetime Achievement Punishment for Racism. Though what he didn't really justify a lifetime ban, the fact that he's a known racist made this incident the straw that broke the camel's back. That's fine and good but that's not what Silver said last Tuesday.

A player would have gotten suspended and fined for doing this, but the Union would have screamed if they were banned from the league for life.

The question about the Orlando Magic owner still stands, What about him?

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2014-04-30/sports/os-nba-magic-rich-devos-mike-bianchi-0501-20140430_1_rich-devos-nba-commissioner-adam-silver-donald-sterling

What Donald said was wrong. It was abhorrent," Cuban says. "There's no place for racism in the NBA, any business I'm associated with. 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."

It's a slope DeVos may be slipping and sliding down. The reason I say this is because CNN was in town this week working on a story about DeVos and his strong stance against gay marriage. Personally, I believe comparing the beloved and benevolent DeVos to a sleazy, racist owner like Sterling is a monumental stretch, but that's the slippery slope Cuban is talking about.

Think about it: How does the NBA decide what an owner can and can't say or do? For instance, why is it OK for DeVos to say two men or two women should not be married, but Sterling gets his franchise stripped away for saying a white woman should not be seen in public with a black man?

The heavy-handed nature of the NBA here really does open a pandora's box as to what type of things deserve a lifetime ban.

Edited May 5, 2014 by Boges

Smallc · May 5, 2014

I think his views are disgusting. I think fining him makes about as much sense as putting him to death.

cybercoma · May 5, 2014

A white supremacist owning an NBA team. Imagine the fallout of the league allowing it, whether or not you agree with the ethics behind how the tapes were released or not. They can't allow it. They really have no choice.

Fact of the matter is, he didn't even say he doesn't want black people at his games. He said he doesn't want her seen with other black people at games. The comment is racist as hell, but even more misogynistic because he's dictating who his gf can and can't associate with at his games. However, people are interpreting it as he said that he doesn't want black people at the games. That's not what he was saying.

As an owner of an NBA team though, perception is everything here. If black fans are highly offended by his words and players began talking about boycotting his games, then his words and actions were damaging to the brand. In any other business, if you went out and said something that damaged your company's brand, you would be fired. It wouldn't even matter how you meant it. And let's face it, he could have issued an apology to try and do damage control, but he was too proud to do even that.

Boges · May 5, 2014

A white supremacist owning an NBA team. Imagine the fallout of the league allowing it, whether or not you agree with the ethics behind how the tapes were released or not. They can't allow it. They really have no choice.

Fact of the matter is, he didn't even say he doesn't want black people at his games. He said he doesn't want her seen with other black people at games. The comment is racist as hell, but even more misogynistic because he's dictating who his gf can and can't associate with at his games. However, people are interpreting it as he said that he doesn't want black people at the games. That's not what he was saying.

As an owner of an NBA team though, perception is everything here. If black fans are highly offended by his words and players began talking about boycotting his games, then his words and actions were damaging to the brand. In any other business, if you went out and said something that damaged your company's brand, you would be fired. It wouldn't even matter how you meant it. And let's face it, he could have issued an apology to try and do damage control, but he was too proud to do even that.

Again ignoring the Anti-Gay owner. Does homophobia effect the brand? Were you supportive of Firefox founder being shamed and ultimately removed because of donating to an anti-gay marriage cause?

Edited May 5, 2014 by Boges

Bob Macadoo · May 5, 2014

Again ignoring the Anti-Gay owner. Does homophobia effect the brand? Were you supportive of Firefox founder being shamed and ultimately removed because of donating to an anti-gay marriage cause?

What about when Tim Hardaway said he wouldn't be in the same lockerroom with gay players. After Jason Collins (playing for Brooklyn) came out I noticed they would put the camera on Hardaway when his son in NY was playing, but no one that I saw would go up and ask him anything.

Boges · May 6, 2014

What about when Tim Hardaway said he wouldn't be in the same lockerroom with gay players. After Jason Collins (playing for Brooklyn) came out I noticed they would put the camera on Hardaway when his son in NY was playing, but no one that I saw would go up and ask him anything.

I believe Tim Hardaway has softened his stance significantly, but yeah something like that. Kobe Bryant got in hot water for saying Fgt word but no suspension.

Big Guy · May 6, 2014

I wonder if a franchise owner of Tim Hortons would be forced to sell his franchise if he was illegally taped saying the same things as Sterling?

I think not.

Boges · May 6, 2014

I wonder if a franchise owner of Tim Hortons would be forced to sell his franchise if he was illegally taped saying the same things as Sterling?

I think not.

I doubt it, but it's different. There was an episode of Undercover Boss where they were following the owner of Wild Wings Restaurants. The owner discovered one of his franchisees were abusing employees and not following head office guidelines. So the owner told the franchisee he was being bought out.

This is different from pro sports though because the owners own the league ultimately. The commissioner is an employee of the owners.

A week later not much has been said about the plans to officially remove Sterling. The Clipper have moved on to the second round and won their first game in that round. So all is good now?

jbg · May 6, 2014

A white supremacist owning an NBA team. Imagine the fallout of the league allowing it, whether or not you agree with the ethics behind how the tapes were released or not. They can't allow it. They really have no choice.

If he's not banned for racism he should be banned for utter stupidity.

The comment is racist as hell, but even more misogynistic because he's dictating who his gf can and can't associate with at his games.

I assume that part of the subtext is is having a girlfriend at all, as a married person. People are no longer "supposed" to criticize that. However, it lends an atmosphere of overall "bad behavior" not unlike Chappaquiddick.

Boges · May 6, 2014

If he's not banned for racism he should be banned for utter stupidity.

I assume that part of the subtext is is having a girlfriend at all, as a married person. People are no longer "supposed" to criticize that. However, it lends an atmosphere of overall "bad behavior" not unlike Chappaquiddick.

Or anything else Kennedy related.

guyser · May 6, 2014

I wonder if a franchise owner of Tim Hortons would be forced to sell his franchise if he was illegally taped saying the same things as Sterling?

I think not.

If said Tims owner signed a Constitution , as did Sterling, then perhaps in said document are the words used to boot him out?

guyser · May 6, 2014

A week later not much has been said about the plans to officially remove Sterling. The Clipper have moved on to the second round and won their first game in that round. So all is good now?

The vote has to take place, and rightly I think no one wants the spectre to hang over the league right now since the playoffs are exciting and ratings went up.

So when they can get the owners in a room and cast a vote....we will know.

Why not wait it out and do it in the summer, no one really pays attention then

cybercoma · May 6, 2014

I wonder if a franchise owner of Tim Hortons would be forced to sell his franchise if he was illegally taped saying the same things as Sterling?

I think not.

I bet you a franchise owner taped saying to his gf, "don't you bring black people to Tim Horton's" would have his franchise license stripped. Or at the very least be forced to issue a public apology. The company would go into full damage control. Edited May 6, 2014 by cybercoma

Argus · May 6, 2014

What precedent is that? Making life difficult for people with disgusting views? I don't feel bad for them one bit. There should be social sanctions against such anti-social behaviour.

He's not being sanctioned for anti-social behaviour, but for privately held views which were taped and released without his permission.