the Fox Sports legal analyst seems to disagree that this can't go to court, but what does he know, he is only an online legal analyst, and one for Fox at that. http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/video?related=50707c79-2447-4545-bf16-166a3e010a53 This is going to go to court. It will be heard in court. And Sterling will have a strong case if it does. Sterling will absolutely fight this ruling, and any attempt to ban him, through whatever means necessary. And this will get very ugly for the NBA if they attempt to justify their actions by some zero tolerance to any type of bigotry. You think in the 30 years Sterling has been associating with other NBA owners he likely doesn't have any stories or evidence of racist or bigoted comments by other people currently in the NBA? I doubt it. This would be very embarrassing information that could be exposed during any pre-trial discovery, because it is certainly relevant information applicable to Sterling's defense that his actions do not warrant the punishment. What if he argues and wins a request to include any bigoted remarks by players? you don't think there are bigoted black players in the NBA? Now you have a potentially wide spread culture of bigoted comments that the NBA will have to address. Will they be able to defend banning Sterling while not the others? Or will they ban everybody? This will get very ugly, and I look forward to it. Silver seems to have won the battle but potentially at the sake of the war. He was so desperate to make the positive public ruling to appease the players that he may open Pandora's Box on the entire league, rather than negotiate a settlement with Sterling that could have had a similar result and saved them all the trouble. the idea that owners have no legal recourse against the league just doesn't hold any logical merit IMO. if so, then the owners could vote to strip an owner of ownership for whatever reason, even if it violates the terms of the constitution, because it isn't subject to any judicial jurisdiction to over rule. the owners could collude with one another and the commissioner, and by the fact that the ruling was made it would be 100% enforceable with no legal means to dispute it. unless I am mistaken in my interpretation of the claims that Sterling has no judicial recourse to fight any of the NBA's rulings.
Yeah, I would have been surprised if it didn't see a courtroom. It's a panic move by Silver to save revenue, acted upon within three days because the playoffs are in full swing. The league had no choice, but it doesn't mean they acted correctly. Everyone in the media is saying he is a boss because of his swift action, but this situation portrayed in a courtroom could end up making him look like an idiot.
LOL, do you know how stupid folks sound when the say things like "personal rights" or "individual" or your beauty (LOL) "property laws"? You make dumb people sound not dumb. I've seen more by-laws, limited partnership, limited liability corporation, articles of incorporation, strategic alliance, partnership, s corporation, association, sole proprietorship, joint venture documents than you have coloring books--which I'd imagine from your posting style is quite alot. I don't need to see the actual NBA association formation documents and by-laws to have a pretty good sense of what they say. But you're the legal expert here, why don't you give us your [opinion] on what they say. I mean, I'm not REALLY a lawyer and apparently you are. Know why I bracketed [opinion]? Indulge us oh legal eagle. _
This will get ugly and he will still lose. And he will have lost tremendous value in the process. He will absolutely fight this and he will have frittered away millions and that's exactly what I'd like to see. Freedom of speech and personal rights are so LOLworthy. Non-lawyers giving legal analysis. Like me weighing in on my 4 barrel carbeurator's efficiency. Your concept of "logic" in the face of what he's admitted to is so naive it's sad, really. And BTW, I don't think what he said was so bad, it's just a public cruxifiction at this point, which he deserves for trusting a skank. Believe, say whatever you want. Just not to someone who could destroy you. "Hey, I'm an 80 year old billionaire but I'm pretty sure this 25 year old skank loves my crinkly old balls--maybe I'll tell her my views on blacks and hispanics." GFY Stirling. Be a bigot all you want, just don't tell someone after your money (and not your crinkly old balls, as majestic as you imagine them to be) that you are. Too funny, he deserves all that's coming to him. _
It'll see a courtroom for a very brief moment and then it will be gone. He'll be forced to sell or lose millions. Better call the tax lawyers about how best to protect the estate. But I love anarchy so I'm not complaining. _
Stokes, I think you're a smart guy and I'm sure you can hold your own in a courtroom, but I think you are underestimating Donald Sterling. It's not like the NBA just waged war on Mark Cuban, they are now about to go into a legal battle with a man that has been a very successful attorney for close to half a century. It's likely that they will be able to force him into selling the team. It's not likely that they will be able to avoid a very costly and very difficult legal battle over a monetarily hastened decision to do what they are doing. I'm sure that the NBA consulted some legal experts on how best to proceed before Silver's presser, but that was no doubt influenced by the impending walk-off of players in a playoff game and also the waterfall of sponsors making overtures of abandonment. The NBA did what they needed to do to protect immediate investments, but the real facts are that they just made a huge legal mess for themselves based on a cellphone recording made by a money-grubbing whore that was sucking Sterling's cock at the time in his bedroom. That could be convincing evidence of conviction against Joe Public who has no means or understanding of the legal system, probably less against a man who has made the world of law his bitch for 50 years.
Well I think you for the platitudes but to Soxx's point, I'm really not a lawyer (actually an attorney which is a semantic discussion for a different time--but I am both FTR), and I recognize that Stirling is an extremely smart and litigious guy. I think he is going to fight this tooth and nail. And it will no doubt be costly. But at the end of the day (kudos to Antrel Rolle) he will lose and he will decide (by force) to sell the team. This has nothing to do with "ownership laws" (lol), individual rights, freedom of speech, the constitution, and how successful he is as a lawyer. There are 29 really really good lawyers out there plus the league's lawyers fighting basically a divorce lawyer and slumlord. He will lose. But the fact that these conversations were supposed to remain private is irrelevant. This will not be the issue for the courts. It will be whether the arbitration clause and the rights of the other owners in the NBA formation documents and by-laws to disband/remove/replace/force to sell the franchise is unreasonable and there is no judge in the land that will decide that 30 billionaires do not have the right to police themselves. This is not a civil action that the rules of civil procedure will apply--that the conversation was taped it irrelevant. He has admitted that he said those things--it is IRRELEVANT that those conversations were supposed to be private. There is a different standard for arbitration hearings--it's not Law and Order or CSI Miami. This is a huge legal mess but the NBA is on the better side of winning (not, BTW on the better side of right) and he WILL be forced to sell the team. Go look at Selig and MLB versus McCourt. He had the same exact ownership rights, the same exact divorce stuff going on (although Stirling's is not yet ripe) and you'll see a precedent for how this will play out. Stirling is done. But I'll wait for the non-lawyers to weigh in, they know what's going to happen. You know, the Constitution, ownership rights and freedom of speech, as it were. Fuck it, let's go to the Supreme Court! They'll figure this shit out. _
Btw, I've never argued in front of a courtroom although I did file a notice of appearance in a bunch of DIP financing hearings in the early 90s in the Southern District for the retail bankruptcys that were filed back then (Macy*s, Ames, Federated, Barneys, Marvel Comics, Bradlees, Caldors, etc.). Kind of boring except for the Caldor's hearing. Was 2 days (not typical, there were a bunch of lease rejections to be heard before the DIP) and Tom Wolfe was working on his novel "A Man in Full" and my boss was the basis of one of his characters in the first few chapters (mentioned him in the forward). Wolfe wanted to get a sense what went on in a major bankruptcy restructuring and court hearing so we took him in with us and he and I spent 2 days just BSing in the back of the courtroom. A bit eccentric as you would imagine, came in the full white suit, spats, white fedora and walking stik.. Very cool down to earth guy. Please don't tell Soxx this story, he thinks I'm an astronaut. _
Massively different--believe me I know-- but the outcome will be very similar. Even worse that McCourt, that was a financial issue, this is a public cruxifiction. _
If there is any case won in this thread it is that soxxx can't help but be a blatant troll. Glad I could help you admit it, little buddy.
The only precedent I can recall in terms of something like this in the NBA was with the Knicks. The sexual harrassment case won by Anucha Browne Sanders. And the stuff that came out in that trial is worse than the things said by Sterling. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/02/sports/basketball/03garden-cnd.html?_r=0.Brown accused Isiah of not only sexual harassment but saying derogatory things about whites. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...ah-thomas-sex-harass-lawsuit-article-1.247237. Dolan had to pay Brown 6 mil alone because of a hostile work environment. Which he and Steve Mills (recently re-hired) knew about and fostered. Was there a bad work situation with the Clippers. If so nobody said anything about it. And if this was something known about in the NBA then why did Doc Rivers take the job. And work for a bigot (which Sterling is). So was Dolan or Isiah kicked out of the league. Why not then?
