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Donald Sterling


LucidElement

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THE NBA BANS LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life, fining him $2.5 million and raising the possibility of a forced sale of the team over racist remarks he allegedly made to an ex-girlfriend that surfaced on a tape recording....

Is this to much of a penalty for the words he said? I'm not a racist, but isn't racism all over the world, not just black and white but all nationalities? Will there be a lawsuit in his favor?

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I think it was a good punishment. If 75% of the owners vote for it, he will be forced to sell the team as well. Judging by the comments of the other owners from around the league, they will have enough support.

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Well the NBA does have a Constitution, but it is secret so I have no idea what punishments they can hand out. In a sport that has around 80% African-American players, with a large African-American following, the damage done to the NBA could be in the millions if they all decide to boycott so I expected the punishment to be harsh. Is it too much? I can't honestly say, but Sterling is worth about $2 billion, so it won't exactly break him.

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I think it was a good punishment. If 75% of the owners vote for it, he will be forced to sell the team as well. Judging by the comments of the other owners from around the league, they will have enough support.

Given this mans history what I find hard to believe is that this is a shock to the other owners or the media. Now I didn't even know that he owned the Clippers (I'm a football guy), but they (owners and media) should have known what with his past and all.

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Given this mans history what I find hard to believe is that this is a shock to the other owners or the media. Now I didn't even know that he owned the Clippers (I'm a football guy), but they (owners and media) should have known what with his past and all.

Well, they probably did know his past. But, before last week, him and his billions were an assett. Now, he is a liability. The other owners didn't become billionaires by not learning when to cut ties...

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He is entitled to his opinions and his associates are entitled to judge him based upon them and their own self interest. He needs to go away from the sporting public. That said - IF the circus continues and they attempt to boycott and abuse his other interests then it will have become a witch hunt and that should not be okay with anyone. Free speech shouldn't cost a person everything - we are human after all and prone to mistakes.

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I think hes admitted what he has casued, he wont take a lawsuit and its not Free Speech thats hate speech. If he said no disabled people allowed or no Jewish People, I'd leave whether its his opinion or not

THE NBA BANS LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life, fining him $2.5 million and raising the possibility of a forced sale of the team over racist remarks he allegedly made to an ex-girlfriend that surfaced on a tape recording....

Is this to much of a penalty for the words he said? I'm not a racist, but isn't racism all over the world, not just black and white but all nationalities? Will there be a lawsuit in his favor?

this is hate speech though

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THE NBA BANS LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life, fining him $2.5 million and raising the possibility of a forced sale of the team over racist remarks he allegedly made to an ex-girlfriend that surfaced on a tape recording....

Is this to much of a penalty for the words he said? I'm not a racist, but isn't racism all over the world, not just black and white but all nationalities? Will there be a lawsuit in his favor?

Personally I'm glad that the NBA and sponsors reacted as swiftly as they did.

In my opinion it was mostly a business decision. Major League sports teams are all franchises, therefore owners are legally obliged to abide by corporate protocol and/or code of conduct. Sterling purchased use of the NBA brand. It was his action as the franchisee that harmed the brand ie loss of sponsorship, public outrage and media ridicule. The NBA cannot afford to have Sterling associated with them.

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While I have no problem with the banning, etc (It seems like it is actually long overdue), three things "bother me" about this...

1. Forcing a sale is pretty much a sure thing as any owner not voting for it will come under a storm of protest and scrutiny... They pretty much are "forced" to vote yes to save themselves... not really

"fair" on the face of it...

2. His "girlfriend" appears (to me at least) to have set this up, and Magic Johnson is giving the appearance of being part of it - perhaps to force the jerk to sell and then be in position to buy the team himself (with backers)...

So it may be a "hostile take over" attempt of questionable moral standing (at least in my opinion - based on appearances)...

3. Will EVERY owner (and by extension, official and player) in the league be held to the same "no tolerance" level of racist remarks?... Will everything said by everyone in the league be held up to

permanent scrutiny? Or is it strictly aimed at this moron?...

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I'm not defending what he said at all, but how will this change the way that people talk to each other in the future?

Usually in our private conversations with family and friends, we can be at least a little "politically incorrect", and I'm sure that everyone does it from time to time...

So now, imagine every person in power, every manager, owner, etc can now be secretly recorded in private conversations with family and friends, and brought down for what they say? Remember, this isn't in an "official capacity" but in a private conversation...

Where is the line to be drawn between political correctness and free speech, especially private free speech?

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While I have no problem with the banning, etc (It seems like it is actually long overdue), three things "bother me" about this...

1. Forcing a sale is pretty much a sure thing as any owner not voting for it will come under a storm of protest and scrutiny... They pretty much are "forced" to vote yes to save themselves... not really

"fair" on the face of it...

It's damage control now, the NBA cannot afford to be associated with him

2. His "girlfriend" appears (to me at least) to have set this up, and Magic Johnson is giving the appearance of being part of it - perhaps to force the jerk to sell and then be in position to buy the team himself (with backers)...

So it may be a "hostile take over" attempt of questionable moral standing (at least in my opinion - based on appearances)...

Not sure about Magic Johnson's involvement, but she seems pretty vindictive. Too bad for her that she didn't realize that she just killed the golden goose.

3. Will EVERY owner (and by extension, official and player) in the league be held to the same "no tolerance" level of racist remarks?... Will everything said by everyone in the league be held up to

permanent scrutiny? Or is it strictly aimed at this moron?...

The NBA recently fined The Raptors GM $25K for a single F-bomb. It stands to reason that his racist rant would be much more costly

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Where is the line to be drawn between political correctness and free speech, especially private free speech?

In this case I don't think it's a free speech issue but rather a legal issue. The NBA franchise agreement without a doubt has a code of conduct clause that allows them to impose fine, sanctions, suspensions or forcing him to sell

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I really don't care about what he said. His opinions are his own and he obviously doesn't let them get in the way of business(considering basketball is primarily a black sport). I wasn't aware the NBA had a constitution, but if he broke any previous legal agreements by getting caught on tape saying those things then I guess it's his own fault.

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In this case I don't think it's a free speech issue but rather a legal issue. The NBA franchise agreement without a doubt has a code of conduct clause that allows them to impose fine, sanctions, suspensions or forcing him to sell

Does that agreement include every player and all of their private conversations too?

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I agree the guy's remarks were clearly racist. And that if the owners vote him out, and it is all legal, then that is what should happen.

I'm wondering about the GF. She taped him without consent, which is a Felony in Cali. She also OBVIOUSLY was leading him on and fishing for particularly nasty quotes that she could use against him. She should probably get 5 years in jail for her work here.

Edited by DieChecker
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Sterling's an octogenarian billionaire. He has a right to make politically incorrect remarks. The NBA is a business. It has the right to react to his remarks as it sees fit. The girlfriend, one V. Stiviano, did not have the right to record him. I'm not defending Sterling's words here, but he didn't do anything illegal, just witless and bigoted. What will happen to Stiviano?

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Probably nothing will happen to her. She's very likely a "Celebrity" now and we'll see her on Dancing with the Stars.

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Does that agreement include every player and all of their private conversations too?

The company I work for makes us sign a yearly business code of conduct. We are responsible To protect our company brand by our actions in public and possibly private life, ie social media.

I am assuming as an owner he is legally obligated to protect the NBA brand and that would be written into his franchise agreement.

Players sign a contract too, I would expect that should a player do something that causes such a media uproar and sponsors to drop him like hot potatoes he would be penalized too.

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I think hes admitted what he has casued, he wont take a lawsuit and its not Free Speech thats hate speech. If he said no disabled people allowed or no Jewish People, I'd leave whether its his opinion or not

this is hate speech though

Sometimes Free Speech IS hate speech....and that is completely fine. But, I don't think this is a free speech issue. He agreed to play by the 'constitution' of the NBA, and that is what he is being punished by.

I've no problem that he is banned from an organization that polices itself.

Although I do find it odd that people put so much 'shock' to it. Good god, he's a billionaire elitist, and we're surprised he doesn't want to associate with 'the help'?

Edited by supervike
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His comments definitely were boorish and racist. They, worst of all, demonstrated disloyalty to Black colleagues who thought that they had cordial relationships with him. His statements about Black tenants were especially grotesque. He said that they stunk and were likely to attract vermin.

The NBA should deal with him as it sees fit. It's a business, not constitutional, decision. It's hard to justify his continued ownership of and involvement with the team. This is a *real* example of racism.

That said, I question how and why the taped conversation made it out to the sleazy tabloids. Sterling's trophy likely betrayed him just like he betrayed the Black players on the Clippers. I condemn his slurs, but I also condemn the surreptitious taping of them. One wonders who will be next.

I have mixed emotions regarding the media reaction in that they place more importance on scandalous gossipy stuff (24/7 coverage) than they do on more important news. Jabbar and Johnson make great points, and their comments carry moral weight. Obama has no business commenting on such *relative* trivialities at a time like this, though. I could say the same thing for a slew of Black hypocrites, like Big Al, the FBI informant.

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I'm not defending what he said at all, but how will this change the way that people talk to each other in the future?

Usually in our private conversations with family and friends, we can be at least a little "politically incorrect", and I'm sure that everyone does it from time to time...

So now, imagine every person in power, every manager, owner, etc can now be secretly recorded in private conversations with family and friends, and brought down for what they say? Remember, this isn't in an "official capacity" but in a private conversation...

Where is the line to be drawn between political correctness and free speech, especially private free speech?

Well, his penalties were business decisions based on his inexcusable slurs. I agree with your larger point, though. Person 1 can blackmail and entrap Person 2 in all kinds of ways, for all kinds of reasons, under all kinds of circumstances. It's especially troubling when you think about world leaders with real authority. "Rule this way or we release the photos of you with the cows and sheep." It doesn't even have to be about making comments that aren't PC. Not only that, concerns about bugging, hacking, spying, taping, etc. chills the free exchange of ideas that are nothing like Sterling's insults. There could be instances of selective editing of your communications, to put you in an unfavorable light, too.

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I think it was a good punishment. If 75% of the owners vote for it, he will be forced to sell the team as well. Judging by the comments of the other owners from around the league, they will have enough support.

if for some reason 75 percent dont vote for it, then Adam Silver will look to resign, especially going in as confident as he did today.
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The company I work for makes us sign a yearly business code of conduct. We are responsible To protect our company brand by our actions in public and possibly private life, ie social media.

I am assuming as an owner he is legally obligated to protect the NBA brand and that would be written into his franchise agreement.

Players sign a contract too, I would expect that should a player do something that causes such a media uproar and sponsors to drop him like hot potatoes he would be penalized too.

But his testimony was taken criminally. So he had no idea it was going online.

I agree that he is a racist, but is this actually any different then those illegal undercover recordings made involving ACORN, or The Obamacare Exchange Navigators? There was uproar that those were taken illegally and that they should not be considered evidence therefore.

It could be argued that since the recording was illegal, no legal actions can/should be taken against Mr Sterling.

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Well the NBA does have a Constitution, but it is secret so I have no idea what punishments they can hand out. In a sport that has around 80% African-American players, with a large African-American following, the damage done to the NBA could be in the millions if they all decide to boycott so I expected the punishment to be harsh. Is it too much? I can't honestly say, but Sterling is worth about $2 billion, so it won't exactly break him.

They said the fine of 2.5 Million dollars, against his 2 Billion dollars is equivalent to 51 dollars in his eyes, compared to the avg wealth of the middle class, if that makes sense.
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But that is his net worth, right, not his yearly salary. So it would be more like 500 dollars if you ask me. Still not a lot, to my thinking.

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