Donald Sterling Story Is Multi-Demographical Awesomeness

[Little Red Wagon Repairman]

One of the messed-up things is a hooker gets elevated to ********* status. Possibly a career in movies, music, or television. Hopefully she descends into porno.

 

[Ace Bandage]

I understand what you're saying, Bob. I realize that Sterling is set financially and losing an NBA franchise isn't going to leave him destitute.

The problem he ran into is that 85% of the players in the NBA are Black. And if there's a perception out there that you as an owner do not like Blacks, it would be very hard to attract free agents and top draft picks and have them buy into your team. Plus, some of the players had mentioned boycotting if swift action was not taken immediately. So from that standpoint, if he stays on as the owner of the team, they're going to have a tough time being competitive. Would CP3, Griffin, Granger etc. stick around when their contracts expire if Sterling is still around? Probably not. So from that standpoint, he almost has to go. And it looks like his estranged wife is going to seek ownership of the team. Could he transfer majority owner status to her and then still stick around as a minority owner? Would they go for that? Basically, he's at the mercy of what the players decide. How far do they want to take it?

So while I understand that he will probably be removed out of necessity, I don't have to like it. This all transpired from some remarks he made in private. He wasn't convicted of a felony, he didn't beat his wife, and he didn't ****** anyone. And apparently, you can still play professional sports even if you do those three things. But you can't be an owner if you make some off-color remarks.

Look at Jim Irsay: DWI, 4 counts of possession of a controlled substance, and $30K in cash in the car with him. Dude was ***** and going to buy more pills. Anybody out there calling for him to resign or step down? Does he seem like the sort of person you'd want running your NFL team? Well, he's off in rehab now and apparently all is forgiven. Apparently, people don't get as riled up over ***** driving as they do over some racist remarks. But who am I to question if our priorities are out of line?

One last question: if the owner was Black and he made these remarks about Whites, would there be any outrage at all? I don't know, but I doubt he'd be losing his team...

 

[D-rock]

He's a gigantic slimeball and I don't feel sorry for him.

I also don't know the limitations on the NBAs power to act in this. Somebody more familiar with the leagues rules would have to answer that. I'm sure he will probably fight it though considering millions if not billions of dollars are at stake.

It does also raise some philosophical questions, mainly how bad must somebody's political or philosophical belief, and not any breaking of the law, be in this situation for a sports league to act and ***** the person out, especially considering it wasn't really a public statement like a press release or anything like that. I would even have to imagine any league rules broken are of the extremely vague kind. If he said he was against gay marriage, for example, would the NBA be just as justified in banning him. What if an owner is against a popular war and says so privately when somebody overhears or likes a certain political candidate the other owners don't? Are they justified in ******* him out then? It makes me wonder where the line is, how that line is determined, and how much of a slippery slope it could be.

 

[Will E Worm]

One last question: if the owner was Black and he made these remarks about Whites, would there be any outrage at all? I don't know, but I doubt he'd be losing his team...

Not much at all would be said and he would keep his team.

Hypocrisy.

 

[knowone]

Just mentioned on MSNBC: 25 teams have come out for ******* Sterling to sell his team. 20 votes are needed to ***** the sale.

 

[Deepcover]

It was unethical the way he was recorded without his knowledge. On the other hand, it sickens me that there are still people out there who arbitrarily **** other people simply due to their race or ethnicity so I don't feel sorry for him. Wasn't he also cheating on his wife with this chick? Guy deserves to be brought down. What a douchebag. And Bob is right....the other NBA owners won't tolerate it. He's done. Good riddance.

Agreed! Goodbye Mr. Bigot!

 

[Ace Bandage]

And probably the most absurd thing in all of this:

UCLA will return $425,000 recently donated by the Donald T. Sterling Charitable Foundation for kidney research and will cancel an agreement that would have brought Sterling’s gift to $3 million over seven years, the university announced Tuesday.

“Mr. Sterling’s divisive and hurtful comments demonstrate that he does not share UCLA’s core values as a public university that fosters diversity, inclusion and respect. For those reasons, UCLA has decided to return Mr. Sterling’s initial payment of $425,000 and reject the remainder of a $3-million pledge he recently made to support basic kidney research by the UCLA Division of Nephrology,” UCLA spokeswoman Carol Stogsdill said in a statement.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/...s-gift-20140429,0,2760188.story#ixzz30JhbEly7

Yay, because fuck using this bigot's money to improve humanity. Do you think he just acquired these views last week? No, he's had them for awhile... you know, like back when you initially accepted his money. Who exactly is benefiting from your decision not to accept $425,000 for kidney research?

 

[Little Red Wagon Repairman]

One last question: if the owner was Black and he made these remarks about Whites, would there be any outrage at all? I don't know, but I doubt he'd be losing his team...

Massive double standards and hypocrisy with race. Some of my Whiteys on my side of town are so manipulated and guilt-ridden they'd probably congratulate racism as long as they were the target of it with a "Thank you! Can I have another?" attitude. That's my neighbors in their Prius' tooling around with the most trendy Obama bumper sticker they can find proudly displayed.

 

[SabrinaDeep]

Fuck Adam Silver and and his Silver boys. If i was Sterling i'd sell for 2$ to the first walking person and let the Clippers die. It breaks my heart to see America going down like this. Freedom of speech my FUCKING ASS! R.I.P.

 

[Little Red Wagon Repairman]

Billy Crystal say anything? He's like the Clipper's Jack Nicholson. If he does he'll read cue cards. Hollywood, Land Of Make Believe.

 

[TheAdmiral]

Donald Sterling didn't lose his team because he was racist. He lost because he trusted these ho's.

 

[Little Red Wagon Repairman]

How's this for hypocrisy? Someone complaining about racism while being a racist. Guess you consider the source who is a douchebag.

Wonder what kinda glass jaw Snoop Dogg has in real life. Talk about a face made for a fist.

 

[BCT]

Donald Sterling is definately not Jewish.

 

[Ace Bandage]

Fuck Adam Silver and and his Silver boys. If i was Sterling i'd sell for 2$ to the first walking person and let the Clippers die. It breaks my heart to see America going down like this. Freedom of speech my FUCKING ASS! R.I.P.

Freedom of speech and the first amendment protect you from the United States government. Sterling is not yet involved in any legal entanglements. His right to free speech also has not been infringed upon. He had the right to say whatever he wanted, and goddammit did he ever. And as a result of his remarks, he is now facing consequences.

The NBA is privately owned. Their own constitution allows for the removal of an owner with a three quarters majority vote. The constitution also allows for the commissioner to ban someone for life if their behavior has proven to be detrimental to the league and the image it wants to project. In both cases, the provisions in the constitution were exercised accordingly.

I don't agree with the decision either, but saying that his rights are being ******** is flat out wrong. He knew that he was subject to a code of conduct when he bought the team. And if the commissioner and a majority of owners think he needs to go, then they are well within their right to remove him. Whether or not it was the right decision is certainly debatable...

 

[Little Red Wagon Repairman]

Donald Sterling is definately not Jewish.

That's what the Anti-Defamation League has been trying to convince people.

 

[SabrinaDeep]

Freedom of speech and the first amendment protect you from the United States government. Sterling is not yet involved in any legal entanglements. His right to free speech also has not been infringed upon. He had the right to say whatever he wanted, and goddammit did he ever. And as a result of his remarks, he is now facing consequences.

The NBA is privately owned. Their own constitution allows for the removal of an owner with a three quarters majority vote. The constitution also allows for the commissioner to ban someone for life if their behavior has proven to be detrimental to the league and the image it wants to project. In both cases, the provisions in the constitution were exercised accordingly.

I don't agree with the decision either, but saying that his rights are being ******** is flat out wrong. He knew that he was subject to a code of conduct when he bought the team. And if the commissioner and a majority of owners think he needs to go, then they are well within their right to remove him. Whether or not it was the right decision is certainly debatable...

So you are saying that a private organization can rule over the freedom-of-speech constitutional right ? Then the world is really upside fucking down. That's like saying that according to the government i cannot steal, but as part of The Stealers private club i'm entitled to grab whatever the fuck i want from people without the government moving a finger against me. Is FoS a constitutional right yes or not? Because if it is, discriminating me based on my speeches should be *******. And i would like to add: period. Oh i'm wrong, no period yet: the President of the US Mr. Obama should go on TV and take Mr. Sterling case, yet disagreeing with his words. Because that is not the issue and we all know it: i disagree with his words. I don't disagree with his right to say whatever the fuck he wants without being ruled off society because of his words. Racism will never die as long as this is the approach we have against it. Never.

 

[Ace Bandage]

You have the freedom to say whatever you want, yes. Sterling did as well. You are not always protected from the consequences.

For example, let's say I work at a different privately held company. Let's say I work the drive thru at KFC. During my shift, I walk up to the manager and say, "Can you believe how many Black people come in here? Do you think there's any way we can keep them out? I really don't like any of them."

I would be fired on the spot. All I was doing was exercising my right to free speech. How can I be terminated? Because that's incredibly offensive, and I'm sure it ******** the values of the restaurant chain. If we went to court, KFC would talk about how I could not work there and hold those views. They would say that I was not fit for that job. And that would be damn true. Would anyone argue that my first amendment rights had been ********? No. KFC is a business, and they have an image to uphold. The NBA is in the same boat.

I have this conversation with my students a few times a year in school. They don't understand how they can get in trouble for cussing out a teacher when they have first amendment rights. It's simple. When you go to school, you are bound by the rules of the school. One of our rules is to treat staff members with respect. We also have a rule against using profanity in the classroom. So calling your math a teacher "a stupid fucking cocksucker" is going to get you in trouble every time. You are bound by the rules of the school. You may have a right to say what you want, but that does not protect you from incurring any consequences.

Sterling is in a similar situation. He is an owner of an NBA franchise. As an owner, he is bound by the rules and regulations set forth in the NBA constitution. Now, if you're an owner, and you ******* those rules by making bigoted remarks about Black people, you could potentially get ****** and ****** to resign. The NBA's image is not about keeping Black people from attending their games. If that's the message you're trying to send as an owner, they're going to have a problem with that.

And that's where Sterling is at right now.

 

[bobjustbob]

Jim Irsay is in another club. They make their own rules. His escapades were judged by their commissioner and owners. Each club runs their own. Double standard? Don't the NBA about their decision, ask the NFL why the didn't slam Irsay? Somehow those owners weren't as threatened by his antics. No public option of outrage. This is today with it's own situation judged by a different group of owners. Why has the PGA tour gone through Augusta for so many years with their club membership rules? Not enough outrage to shut down The Masters. It is what it is, a business. The NBA owners had a perceived threat to their organization and they reacted. Tell me what would happed if the NBA didn't react or even stalled to react to this situation.

 

[Ace Bandage]

Oh, I completely agree, Bob. People (mainly the media) would have flipped their **** if it wasn't handled quickly enough.

But what does it say about the hypersensitivity of our society, that a story about an owner who was driving *****, had pill bottles all over his car, and was carrying $30K to go buy more pills receives less outrage than an owner making some off-color remarks? Irsay could have ****** someone! But we're all okay with that. Nobody is touching the NFL. I'm in Indy's television market, and it received one day of coverage. And then on to something else.

This Sterling story hasn't just been blown out of proportion, it's been torpedoed, atom bombed, and nuked out of proportion. The official statement from the Clippers today read like this:

We wholeheartedly support and embrace the decision by the NBA and Commissioner Adam Silver today. Now the healing process begins," the Clippers added in a statement released to the media.

Healing process? Are you serious, bro? Who the fuck needs healing? Was anyone so offended by this that they had psychological problems? Are people seeking treatment to move past this horrific incident? The fuck is going on here?

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills...

 

[SabrinaDeep]

You have the freedom to say whatever you want, yes. Sterling did as well. You are not always protected from the consequences.

For example, let's say I work at a different privately held company. Let's say I work the drive thru at KFC. During my shift, I walk up to the manager and say, "Can you believe how many Black people come in here? Do you think there's any way we can keep them out? I really don't like any of them."

I would be fired on the spot. All I was doing was exercising my right to free speech. How can I be terminated? Because that's incredibly offensive, and I'm sure it ******** the values of the restaurant chain. If we went to court, KFC would talk about how I could not work there and hold those views. They would say that I was not fit for that job. And that would be damn true. Would anyone argue that my first amendment rights had been ********? No. KFC is a business, and they have an image to uphold. The NBA is in the same boat.

I have this conversation with my students a few times a year in school. They don't understand how they can get in trouble for cussing out a teacher when they have first amendment rights. It's simple. When you go to school, you are bound by the rules of the school. One of our rules is to treat staff members with respect. We also have a rule against using profanity in the classroom. So calling your math a teacher "a stupid fucking cocksucker" is going to get you in trouble every time. You are bound by the rules of the school. You may have a right to say what you want, but that does not protect you from incurring any consequences.

Sterling is in a similar situation. He is an owner of an NBA franchise. As an owner, he is bound by the rules and regulations set forth in the NBA constitution. Now, if you're an owner, and you ******* those rules by making bigoted remarks about Black people, you could potentially get ****** and ****** to resign. The NBA's image is not about keeping Black people from attending their games. If that's the message you're trying to send as an owner, they're going to have a problem with that.

And that's where Sterling is at right now.

It's my understanding that he asked his ******** not to bring any black people to the game or something like that and it was not a public/working speech. That's a private conversation and does not fit into the KFC scenario you have exposed. Also, being fired is different from being expropriated: for what i know he owns the Clippers because he bought them with his own money and "being ******" to sell sounds pretty much like comunist Russia in the 70's. I'm sorry, but i rest my case. I would expect Mr. Obama to take the cause of Mr. Sterling, yet (as i already said) condemning his view. Today it's about black, tomorrow about gays, the day after tomorrow maybe it's just about whoever dislike us as individuals. This is a very very dangerous territory. Another one of those that ppl don't realize how dangerous it is until they one day find themselves personally involved and stripped of their rights. If this is how people fight racism, i don't want to be part of it; in fact i think they are fueling it.