They took a hard nosed stance because it's 2014, not 1964. They are trying to show people that racism won't be tolerated in this day and age. It's a good thing. They should do this to anybody who gets caught making racist comments like that. The NBA is trying to set the right example so that others won't say stupid things like that. Any other position is indefensible and they should probably prosecute Sterling's parents as well!!
If his parents were alive I'd agree with you. The point is, this goes well beyond whether the league can or will show that they have been damaged by the loss of a single dollar but rather whether the entire image of the league has been harmed by this fiasco. Legal analysis is not the deciding factor here no matter what some arm chair lawyers would have you believe. Whether the league can show it has lost even a dollar in this episode is irrelevant- the league cannot stand to have this bigot continue to own a team. The league and celebrity society and America will not stand for it. He is a toxic figure and even if revenues and profitability skyrocket due to the outstanding playoffs and the reverse notoriety the Sterling affair has brought, the other owners are going to shit can this guy and he can either go peacefully (which I hope he does not--I love anarchy) or he can stand to lose a ton of value. _
It goes beyond that. You can't tell going black players hey no headphones, no sweatpants, no white tees. Business casual, no hip hop blasting, and essentially say, no acting like you came from "the hood" then expect ir to be ok an owner makes a statement like that Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk
So untrue, its all about the money. If he talked about native americans the way he talked about african americans, NO ONE would have cared and nothing would have been done.
Sounds like Sterling is taking legal advice from the TGG Bar Association. Sounds like he thinks someone is trying to take one of his buildings or a car or a piece of art away from him. Not a franchise that has structure in place that an owner has to adhere to in terms of conduct, that the failure to do so will impact every other franchise owner, whether they can show a monetary loss or not. I sure hope he tries to litigate. I will love this mess. Please insert irrelevant Supreme Court reference here. http://nypost.com/2014/05/08/sterling-denies-hes-a-racist-in-new-phone-conversation/ Sterling: I won't sell the Clippers Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling said there’s no way he’ll be forced to sell his team — not in the land of the free. “You can’t force someone to sell property in America!” the disgraced boss snapped in a telephone conversation with a friend, a recording of which was posted Thursday by RadarOnline. “I’m a lawyer, that’s my opinion,” said Sterling, insisting he’d keep his team despite NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s decision to ban him for life and demanding that he sell. Sterling has been in hot water since he was caught in a taped chat with his ex-girlfriend, V. Stiviano, made public last month, making racist comments over a picture she posted online of herself posing with Magic Johnson. “In your lousy f–king Instagrams, you don’t have to have yourself with — walking with black people,” Sterling said. “Admire him, bring him here, feed him, f–k him, but don’t put [Magic] on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me. And don’t bring him to my games.” The latest taped phone call marked the first time Sterling could be heard addressing the controversy, and he maintains he’s not a racist despite the nearly worldwide condemnation of him as such. “You think I’m a racist?” Sterling snaps at his pal, who is not identified. “You think I have anything in the world but love for everybody? You don’t think that! You know I’m not a racist!” The Clippers owner maintained that, by definition, someone can’t be a racist and be involved in basketball. Modal Trigger V. Stiviano outside her lawyer’s office in LA.Photo: Splash News “I mean, how could you think I’m a racist knowing me all these years?” he said. “How can you be in this business and be a racist? Do you think I tell the coach to get white players? Or to get the best player he can get?” Sterling, a 1952 graduate of Roosevelt HS in East Los Angeles, goes on say he has always been popular with minorities. “I grew up in East LA — East LA, you die to get out of there!” Sterling raged in the phone call. “I was the president of the high school there. I mean, and I’m a Jew! And 50 percent of the people there were black and 40 percent were Hispanic. You ever been to [East LA neighborhood] Boyle Heights? So I mean, people must have a good feeling for me.” The pal also asked Sterling whether he had spoken to mixed-race Clippers star Blake Griffin since the Stiviano tape became public. “I didn’t talk to anybody! I’m in my house in Beverly Hills,” Sterling insisted. And Sterling even chided Magic Johnson for not coming to his defense. “It breaks my heart that Magic Johnson, a guy that I respect so much, wouldn’t stand up and say, ‘Well let’s get the facts. Let’s get him and talk to him.’ Nobody tried. Nobody!” Sterling said on the new tape. Silver maintains he has the power to force a sale if he gains the backing of three-quarters of NBA owners, which Silver said he was certain to get. Sterling bought the Clippers in 1981 for $12 million. Despite a long, laughable history of losing, they are now one of basketball’s hottest franchises and could be worth anywhere from $575 million to $1 billion. Meanwhile, Sterling’s estranged wife — and Clippers co-owner — Shelly Sterling said she intends to fight for her rights to the team. “Commissioner Silver made it clear, that when he announced sanctions against Donald, that the NBA was taking no action against me or my family,” Shelly Sterling told ESPN in a statement Thursday.
It's about both really. Many folks aren't going to support organizations that are owned by biggots, so they show the world that hateful behavior is not tolerated in hopes not to lose revenue. I think in today's world, people would care if he dissed the natives. They are still fighting in congress to change the Redskins team name so it would be similar. If they do take a stance like this, they need to do it universally for all races, ethnicity and creeds.
"Am I entitled to one mistake?" -- Donald Sterling, several years after his racial discrimination settlement. But it gets even better. On why it took so long for him to apologize "I'm emotionally distraught." Refused to answer whether he apologized to Magic. Went on to call Magic a bad example for children and claimed that Magic hasn't done much to help minorities.
He's going to be able to stay. No "provable" damages to the other 29 independent businesses, just to the Clippers. Dude is alright, he hasn't harmed anything but his own property, it's as if he pee'd on his own house. Nobodies business but his. Look forward to a long and lasting business relationship between Sterling and those other teams his independent team plays against, and if not with them, he'll just take his property elsewhere. Maybe the Croatian League. It is his property, after all. _
I'm just amazed how anyone in charge of the PR in the Sterling camp allowed this interview to go on as long as it did. Whatever happened to that old adage: "when you find yourself in a hole, stop digging". If the point was to present a more sympathetic Donald Sterling to the public, it failed miserably. What it portrayed was an 80 year old man bordering on senility not really knowing what will come out of his mouth next. His handlers f'd this up big time. Then to top it off, pick a fight with Magic Johnson using race as a backdrop. The man obviously is taking stupid pills everyday and so is his PR team.
this could very well be the most brilliant interview he could have possibly given. the guy is clearly out of his mind. is he even competent enough to be held accountable for what he said? is he going senile? that is what his lawyer should argue. your honor, clearly my client is suffering from a deteriorating mental medical condition, and we certainly accept the lifetime ban because he isn't capable of running the team any longer. but do the bylaws allow an owner to be stripped of his franchise because of a clear medical condition? I don't believe so.
that is not what I said and you now have proven you are both ignorant of basic laws but what business are required to prove to validate any claim of harm to their business. got it. the poor Strawman still has no brain.
Yeah, it's what you said. Talk about ignorant. Whether or not the league can show even a single dollar of damages--the other owners are going to kick him out. And given how he's handled this situation the last 2 days, the sooner it will happen. _
wrong again. I am discussing the specific claim of being damaged and requiring legal recourse. of course they also have a broader interest in league perception but that doesn't mean they have been damaged or harmed. no, we should talk about your continued stupidity and confusion. yes they are, but not because what you have claimed. you claimed there was a broad legal basis for why they will kick him out based on the false claim that they are a single entity and have a vested interest in how each run their individual teams, which has been proven false. of course you continue to ignore that to try and save face with anyone equally as stupid as you who may be reading this thread. they are going to kick him out because of a specific contract he signed, which is not what you argued. you were arguing broader legal principles that were wrong. and that contract is still open to interpretation. In case you missed it, even the NBA has claimed that they believe their interpretation of the contract is correct, not that it is absolute and beyond dispute. ignorant law school graduates shouldn't discuss law if they don't even grasp that contract disputes hinge on interpretation of the contract, especially when the contracts are stated in broad concepts, like the NBA constitution, and do not lay out explicit terms.
And there you go AGAIN changing your tune backtracking AGAIN. The league isn't going to sue him for damages, they are going to kick him out if the league UNDER THE TERMS OF THE NBA CONSTITUTION. Has always been the case and whether or not the league can show one DOLLAR of monetary damage they will succeed. You've claimed the league hasn't been harmed, that the league will need to show monetary damages through the loss of viewership or ticket sales or other revenue. You've claimed that the only entity Sterling had harmed is the Clippers. You can continue to change your story and call folks ignorant but you sound like a fool. I get it. You don't think what Sterling said damaged the league, only the Clippers and therefore the league won't be successful in booting him. It's his property after all, who is the league to quarrel if they haven't lost any money? Other franchises have no interest in his affairs because, well, it's an independent business after all. _
This thread is giving me a headache. JetBlue, the true "strawman", getting owned in here LOL You ever think about changing your username to Strawman? You must use that word four thousand times in every thread you post in.
He's changed his original position again and again and continues to argue irrelevancies. It's comical. Boarding a flight to Chicago, will read his folly and outrage when I land. By the way, you're stupid for disagreeing with him. Straw man. _
Wouldn't Sterling be running one helluva risk by taking that course of action? He can't be both suffering from a deteriorating mental condition and not be held responsible for his statements or actions but still be competent enough to run not only his Basketball franchise, but his other businesses as well. You have to think the sharks smell blood in the water already and if Sterling by some miracle gets a pass for being incompetent, the sharks will use that exact same reasoning for having him removed from all everyday administration of all his businesses and the court may not have any recourse but to grant it. I'm not a lawyer by any stretch but it certainly seems like using the mental defense will bite him in the ass short term.
that wasn't what you argued. I already addressed the difference between what you claimed and what the NBA's tactic is. there has been no change to my position that the league has not been damaged and it isn't what the NBA is claiming either. it is what you claimed, and every attempt by you to defend that claim has been proven false with actual evidence disputing your argument. you continue to avoid providing any evidence to support your argument and actually address what I have stated with evidence to dispute it. because you can't. there is no backtracking on my part in any of that. it has nothing to do with suing him for damages, it has to do with the fact that any claim of harm isn't going to be accepted in any legal battle simply because the claim has been made. the claim has to be supported by proof -- tangible proof, and unless a business suffers a tangible loss there is nothing else to support the claim that the business has been damaged. negative press doesn't equate to being harmed if the business does not suffer any actual loss.
