Donald Sterling Banned From NBA Games For Life

Donald Sterling has been banned for life from NBA Games and any activity concerning his team, The Los Angeles Clippers, and fined $2.5 million after a phone conversation between Sterling and his then girlfriend was leaked, containing racially-charged rhetoric. Discuss.

Hmm... I have a feeling this is more of a politics thread.

The NBA is hugely populated with people of African descent and he apparently has problems with those same people. That the NBA has banned him doesn't really bother me. I don't agree with holding arbitrary opinions about people on the basis of visual data, but if one must hold them, it'd be a good idea not to be making money hand-over-fist off the sweat of their brows.

He still owns the team, so he can continue to profit from the plantation even if he can't do his own whipping anymore.

Also, this isn't the first time he's done things like this. Granted, he'll die relatively soon, anyhow, but I can't get too upset when people are tired of watching him go over the line. A racist owner of a professional basketball team is bad for business, after all, and that's ultimately what the NBA is concerned about.

Harsh punishment, but it's not like nobody saw it coming. The guy has issues.

The guy is a complete scumbag, not only that, if you look at the job he has (not) done running the Clippers, he has to be the worst owner of all time in any sport. Plenty of former players have spoken out against his racist views and how he treated them. 86% of his employees are black, they must be miserable. Kudos to Adam Silver for running him out of the league, something that should have happened long ago.

It's one thing to make racist comments in a private conversation that is brought to light by the scumbags at TMZ. But to actually treat his players poorly because of their race is where the punishment is deserved. Still, I think the NBA should have taken at least a little more time to thoroughly investigate before handing out a lifetime ban.

Its been 3-4 days, and its hanging over the NBA, effectively ruining what has been a great first round of the playoffs. If it was the regular season, they might have taken a little more time, but this happened at the worst possible time for them. They had to deal with it.

I'm assuming Commissioner Silver had everything clear before making his announcement. He seemed confident in having the 75% vote to force Sterling out.

I'm a little perplexed here, I don't pay attention to basketball at all. So a leaked phone call from a private conservation with an ex girlfriend can get you fired?

Yeah, I didn't consider it being playoff time. I'm sure that was reason enough to expedite the process.

I harbour no good will toward the paparazi.

That said, no. It's not one thing to make racist comments in private conversation. Racism isn't okay. Even in private. It's simply not "illegal" unless you engage in an actual hate crime.

But it's never okay.

As I don't give a damn about basketball I've not been following this issue too closely, but his punishment is weak, in my opinion, just for what he said. If he actually engaged in racist business practices, I'd think that would be grounds for actual legal action.

Are we going to have another Duck Dynasty conversation?

You have the right to free speech, but you're responsible for what you say. And if your sanctioning body feels you're hurting business with your speech, they can shitcan you in a heartbeat.

This guy, sadly, gets to keep making money of the franchise on the backs of people he -- apparently -- hates.

I dont agree with the dude but hes entitled to his own opinions and views. his comments were not intended for the public, and he was not the one to make them public. Everyone should have the right to say what they want, especially in private.

That's what I thought.

It's your classic witch hunt with racism as the tool.

You're kidding, right?

How is it at all inappropriate for the NBA to place sanctions upon a member of their organization for racist beliefs and speech when a majority of their player base, aspiring players and a large portion of their viewing audience are likely -- to a person -- directly offended by this guy?

its just my opinion, everyone is entitled to their own views and opinions. when those happen to be offensive i do feel it's the responsibility of that person to keep those feelings and views in private BUT they are entitled to believe what they believe just like you and I.

As I said, I dont agree with his views what so ever, im a big Basketball fan. Although I dont agree with him, I also didnt care much for what he said. the damn media flipped out like it was trayvon all over again. the dude had his private opinions leaked to the world, wtf does it really matter? giving it all this attentions is doing more harm than anything imo.

hes obviously old, old people tend to have a lil racism left in them, its not like he goes around flaunting it and hating on every black person he sees. IMO He cant be that racist, he bangs black chicks, he was working with many non whites, and i hes not even throwing slurs out there.

People being persecuted for thoughts they shared with an ex-girlfriend? Has this country really gone this mad?

1996: Sued for sexual harrassment, exchanged money for sexual favors with many different women. Settled out of court.

2009: Sued for refusing to rent out property to Hispanics and blacks, and to any families with kids. He settled out for 2.75m.

2010: Accused of heckling his own player, Baron Davis, during games. Allegedly called Davis a "***, the devil, crazy, and other profane names." NBA didn't do anything.

2011: Sued by former player and Clippers GM Elgin Baylor for racial discrimination and harrassment, won the lawsuit.

2014: Being sued by his wife for allowing his girlfriend to embezzle 2m from the team.

All of this while being an NBA owner, his peers have given the commissioner their blessing to vote him off the island. Finally.

This guy is a great example of an American jackass, the type of person who amasses great wealth and treats everyone around him like grade A ***with a flair for arrogance, racial superiority and misogyny.

He's like the perfect storm of old white guy stereotypes and though he's been banned it pains me to say he's still won. 2.5M is *** peanuts and being villain for a week works wonders for the ego.

I'd probably throw a party and dare the press to come at me bro.

About damn time....

I'm all for free speech. I've spoken out in other threads where people were fired or coerced to resign based on their political beliefs. Still, this guy has a track record beyond a single phone call, and not acting in this case could cause a myriad of troubles for the NBA. It's a business decision more than a political one.

Whatever. As I said, sadly this piece of ***still has more money than an entire city block of poor kids growing up wanting to play for the NBA will ever see in their collective lifetimes.

So yeah. He still wins.

That is the only injustice here.

Say it with me now everyone: Freedom of speech does not guarantee freedom from consequences.

Pointing out his racism is the real tragedy here. Natch.

You sure about that, chief?

It's one thing to throw a first-time offender into prison for life, but it's quite another to let a repeat offender slide. He's the latter and, with the benefit of hindsight, he should've been barred from interacting with people he loathes a long time ago.

See this is the information I didn't know. Go after him for things you can prove, not private conversations that get leaked.

Its highly likely that he will be removed as an owner and forced to sell the team. He won't have a say in the matter, if 75% of the remaining owners vote to oust him, he is out. And if anything comes from the embezzling allegations, which is less likely, he could be in even more trouble. That said, he is still rich, and that won't change. But I don't think he is a winner right now.

Not only did the league look the other way throughout all this, the NAACP did as well and was about to hand him a lifetime achievement award. They yanked it, but say they're still willing to work with him.

Anyone who might feel bad for him really shouldn't. This is just karma finally catching up with him, and it still has much work to do.

The perfect thing for the public to get mad at, all while he still keeps his money.

About as surprising to see you defend him as it was finding out Cliven Bundy was a racist

something something free speech doesn't dictate how a company chooses to do business. the punishment is fair for the particular offense, butinadequite for the person. he'll still make piles of money, probably more now that he'll be forced to let qualified people run his franchise.

Like I said. I think it's too bad that gets to happen.

But this country's entire financial structure is built on the back of terrible people doing terrible things, so nothing's going to change.