Donald Sterling banned for life by NBA

• Gblock

  QuakerOats;1610784 wrote:Please explain the crime committed by Sterling.

  No crime. He is bad for the nba due to his unpopular beliefs that blacks are inferior. What don't u understand? That's a real reach to bring up spreewell. Desperate even for u
• Gblock

  If sterling would have been caught simply saying n word ie Riley cooper style this wouldn't have came to this level so the comparisons being made of no homo or other slurs players might say don't really equate for me. Also owners should be held to a higher standard imo
• Lovejoy1984

  

  Agreed.
  
  Trying to compare the two is a pretty big stretch.
• sleeper

  

  lhslep134;1610783 wrote:For those interested in the relevant legality of this whole thing, here's a good read.
  
  http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nba/news/20140429/donald-sterling-nba-adam-silver-clippers-lawsuit-lifetime-ban/

  Thanks. Come on Sterling. Fight!
• Gblock

  It has been well known that he was racist for years and it was ignored don't forget. It's not like it was a witch hunt or he is a victim. Or that if you get called racist you get kicked out of the nba. This was pretty agregious
• sleeper

  

  Gblock;1610786 wrote:No crime. He is bad for the nba due to his unpopular beliefs that blacks are inferior. What don't u understand? That's a real reach to bring up spreewell. Desperate even for u

  I think Sterling should just come out and apologize and explain that he values black people and was speaking in anger of his girlfriend hanging out with the wrong crowd. It would be a perfect PR move and absolutely embarrass those that have condemned him. Plus, apologies have worked well in the past for other bigoted remarks(see Kobe).
• Gblock

  As far as Kobe again that is a reach. Apples and oranges. Dude is an owner his words were way past Kobe saying ****** and it wasn't sterlings first offense. My opinion I could be wrong but most rational people probly see it that way
• Heretic

  

  QuakerOats;1610780 wrote:Sprewell was suspended for 68 games; subsequently he was offered a $21 million contract to play in the ........... you guessed it .......... NBA.
  
  
  So, you can be black and commit felonious assault against a white man, and get in line for continued employment at $21 million over 3 years; or you can be an old white geezer who makes a personal comment with racial overtones and be banned for life, fined $2.5 million and forced to give up hundreds of millions in property.
  
  
  
  Change we can believe in ...
  
  
  Carry on

  http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/sponsors-that-have-dropped-clippers-after-donald-sterling-s-racial-remarks-released-191739454.html
  
  That link includes a number of sponsors that stopped sponsoring the Clippers due to Sterling's comments. When a league that oversees 30 teams has one owner of one team who essentially turned himself into a toxic cancer as far as sponsorship goes, it is in that league's best interest to intervene because if one is in the business of making money for their organization (the NBA as a whole), having one of its assets in a horribly negative situation that looks to greatly detract from said money coming in is detrimental towards that.
  
  That's one of the aspects of a capitalistic economy -- looking out for the bottom line and taking actions based upon preserving, if not improving it. That you have issues with it seems to indicate you might be a closet socialist.
  
  Carry on, Obama!
• SportsAndLady

  

  Don't disagree with you heretic but these companies are just looking for attention. They'll be back sponsoring the clips in a month or two.
• Lovejoy1984

  

  SportsAndLady;1610800 wrote:Don't disagree with you heretic but these companies are just looking for attention. They'll be back sponsoring the clips in a month or two.

  Probably. Once Sterling is gone.
• Fly4Fun

  

  lhslep134;1610783 wrote:For those interested in the relevant legality of this whole thing, here's a good read.
  
  http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nba/news/20140429/donald-sterling-nba-adam-silver-clippers-lawsuit-lifetime-ban/

  Thanks for sharing. I guess it's not as clear cut as some people on here were suggesting earlier... go figure.
• QuakerOats

  Gblock;1610786 wrote:No crime. He is bad for the nba due to his unpopular beliefs that blacks are inferior. What don't u understand?

  
  I don't disagree. I am not condoning in any way what was said. However, Sprewell was bad for the NBA and as a role model for youngsters, yet after committing felonious assault he is rewarded with an offer for $21 million. Contrast that with the offensive and hurtful remarks made in a personal setting by Sterling, and here come PC mobs and the lifetime bans and millions in fines and attempts to force. Quite an interesting contrast; the thought police are having a field day.
• SportsAndLady

  

  Fly4Fun;1610803 wrote:Thanks for sharing. I guess it's not as clear cut as some people on here were suggesting earlier... go figure.

  Lol do you like the taste of your own ****?
• I Wear Pants

  sleeper;1610794 wrote:I think Sterling should just come out and apologize and explain that he values black people and was speaking in anger of his girlfriend hanging out with the wrong crowd. It would be a perfect PR move and absolutely embarrass those that have condemned him. Plus, apologies have worked well in the past for other bigoted remarks(see Kobe).

  How would it embarrass people who have condemned him? They've condemned him for being an asshole and they're right. Sponsors don't want to touch him, the public doesn't like him, and the organization doesn't want to associate with him. That's exactly how business is supposed to work.
• Fly4Fun

  

  SportsAndLady;1610806 wrote:Lol do you like the taste of your own ****?

  Butt-hurt much?
• TedSheckler

  

  Gblock;1610711 wrote:The nba is a brand. When you hurt the brand u can be forced out. If u own ur own pizza shop u can say whatever u want. If you own a papa johns and u put a swastika in the window u can be forced out. U run a business within a bigger business. This is all about the $$$

  This wasn't a swastika in the window. This was a private conversation. Look, the guy is a scumbag, no doubt, but if we're a country that can deprive you of your business because of a PRIVATE conversation, that's wrong. Emotion trumps logic.
• I Wear Pants

  TedSheckler;1610810 wrote:This wasn't a swastika in the window. This was a private conversation. Look, the guy is a scumbag, no doubt, but if we're a country that can deprive you of your business because of a PRIVATE conversation, that's wrong. Emotion trumps logic.

  Don't be ridiculous, nobody is depriving him of his business.
  
  If you say scumbag things people will think you're a scumbag. When people think you're an asshole companies no longer want to associate with you. This dude isn't a victim.
  
  
• SportsAndLady

  

  TedSheckler;1610810 wrote:This wasn't a swastika in the window. This was a private conversation. Look, the guy is a scumbag, no doubt, but if we're a country that can deprive you of your business because of a PRIVATE conversation, that's wrong. Emotion trumps logic.

  Agreed. Not to mention it was ILLEGAL what she did.
• queencitybuckeye

  TedSheckler;1610810 wrote:This wasn't a swastika in the window. This was a private conversation. Look, the guy is a scumbag, no doubt, but if we're a country that can deprive you of your business because of a PRIVATE conversation, that's wrong. Emotion trumps logic.

  Private or public, getting caught making disgusting comments like his is 100% avoidable by not making them. He is 0% victim here.
• TedSheckler

  

  I Wear Pants;1610813 wrote:Don't be ridiculous, nobody is depriving him of his business.

  What would you call being forced to sell your team?
• Gblock

  Nothing illegal about being racist. In fact he could make a great case that he's not. He has a black head coach, gm, etc.. But like I said he is now bad for business... It's all about the $$$ has nothing to do if he's an actual racist which I believe he is.
• IggyPride00

  

  Sterling is itching to bring an anti-trust claim against the league if they try and force him out. It will definitely make for high stakes poker.
  
  I read that he will fight tooth and nail against selling the team because he would be looking at a tax bill in the neighborhood of $330 million if the team sold for a $1 billion dollars since the cost basis on which he bought it was only $12.5 million. It is basically all gain, and since it's in California he'd be paying 33%.
  
  Getting $600+ million after taxes is nothing to sneeze at, but I am sure knowing how he is they had a succession plan in place that probably made taxes almost nil for the family and that multi hundred million dollar tax bill is something he likely has no interest in.
  
  Also, there is the issue of his wife owning half the team by way of California community property laws. They have been estranged, and I can't help but wonder if she files for divorce almost immediately now to put a halt to what the NBA is looking to do because the team would no longer be strictly Sterling's as far as him being the majority owner.
  
  Silver did a good job today, but the hard part begins now because Sterling isn't going to go quietly and there is enough procedural crap at his disposal to make this slow and painful.
• Mohican00

  

  It's a franchise in not-your-league
• Gblock

  Also owners get held to a higher standard than players. NFL players get caught w drugs and commit crimes not a huge deal. Jim irsay does it and gets a huge suspension and fine
• ts1227

  

  QuakerOats;1610784 wrote:Please explain the crime committed by Sterling.

  None. The only crime committed was by the mistress by recording the conversation in a two-party state. Should Sterling sue her, he will win easily.
  
  But the NBA is a private entity. Sterling has every legal right to be an amazing asshole and say what he did, but that doesn't mean the NBA affords him the same rights. They can punish those under their umbrella for whatever the fuck they want to long as it fits into their bylaws.
  
  
  
  In an unrelated note, way to tie Obama into something completely irrelevant again. You've like singlehandedly reinvented Godwin's Law, just substituting Obama in for Hitler. And just like in those scenarios, the person who does it automatically loses by default.
  
  

  TedSheckler;1610810 wrote:This wasn't a swastika in the window. This was a private conversation. Look, the guy is a scumbag, no doubt, but if we're a country that can deprive you of your business because of a PRIVATE conversation, that's wrong. Emotion trumps logic.

  It was a private conversation, but unfortunately it became public and it's really not the NBA's concern as to how it became that way. They have to act based on the fact that it is public, not based on how it became that way. As mentioned, Sterling can sue her ass and it's an open and shut case.
  
  Sterling's business interest happens to be a member of a larger organization which has a set of bylaws to follow. No one is stopping him from owning the Clippers, they are stopping him from owning the Clippers as a member of the NBA. In theory, he could pull them out of the NBA and join another league. Sure, in practice that's not going to happen, but that is the technical argument behind it.