NBA Discussion

[The Stryker]

Originally Posted by Redeemer

Whats worse is they gave hime (2) count it two lifetime achievement awards
NAACP really dropped the ball on that one

My only concern about the entire thing is will the NBA get sued???? The 1st amendment guarantees the right of free thought and speech. Even despite how vulgar his views are or the obscene his comments may scene it is still covered under the first amendment.
The man doesn't deserve to be a owner, but to impede on basic constitutional rights is concerning to say the least.

The NBA isn't the government. That's all the first amendment protects you from.

[Katie]

That's right. The 1st amendment protects you from government persecution for saying certain things. It does not apply to idiots who get told by the organization they belong to to stay the f&ck away.

[BubblyShell22]

I think Sterling deserved what he got. He's a scumbag and he shouldn't be the owner. I'm glad the NBA is finally standing up to this guy, and I think that Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan should get the team next. That would really be awesome.

As for being a fan of the NBA, I used to be a huge Bulls and Pacers fan back in the days when Michael Jordan and Reggie Miller played. Those were the days when it was actually fun to watch. Now, not so much anymore. I'd rather watch pro wrestling.

[The Stryker]

Jordan already owns the Bobcats.

[TigerClaw]

Originally Posted by The Stryker

Jordan already owns the Bobcats.

Who just got swept by the Heat in the playoffs.

[The Stryker]

Originally Posted by TigerClaw

Who just got swept by the Heat in the playoffs.

And? They're a team that made a huge leap this year and have a solid base for the future.

He's not going to dump the team just because they didn't win this year. A relatively inexperienced team ran into the defending champions headed by the best player in the league. Big whoop. They got beat.

[Wildcat]

Like I said before Im not into the NBA as much as I used to be but of course I am watching since its the playoffs now.

Im so tired of hearing about Sterling. He's banned, good, move on. I know he owns the team and theres still things to be decided but everyone is giving him way too much attention.

One of the most ridiculous things Ive heard is Clippers boycotting and not playing. Thats seriously one of the most absurd things Ive heard. Youre gonna allow these stupid comments to get to you that youd jeopardize your chances of winning the first round and for that matter a title? Im not even a Clippers fan.

In the regular season fine but after all the hard work its pointless. Youre playing for the city and the fans. Yeah its still supporting the owner by default but nobody went in thinking...I wanna play for Sterling. They wanted to play for the overall franchise. Let him have his stupid opinions. He knows everyones against him now. Id wanna win.

[The Stryker]

It's almost as if they value their self-respect and pride in their race over a basketball game.

[Wildcat]

Originally Posted by The Stryker

It's almost as if they value their self-respect and pride in their race over a basketball game.

Oh you.

Yes lets give in to this stupid racist and forget all our hard work, the fans and a title. We'll try again next year.

Great way to keep your head up

[The Stryker]

Originally Posted by Wildcat

Oh you.

Yes lets give in to this stupid racist and forget all our hard work, the fans and a title. We'll try again next year.

Great way to keep your head up

Actually. Giving in to the racist would be being "good boys" and playing the game with a smile on their face. Putting more money in his pocket. Yessir master!

The issue is way more important than some basketball game. No matter how big the game is.

[Wildcat]

Originally Posted by The Stryker

Actually. Giving in to the racist would be being "good boys" and playing the game with a smile on their face. Putting more money in his pocket. Yessir master!

The issue is way more important than some basketball game. No matter how big the game is.

The guy is already filthy rich.

You can't seriously think by them continuing to play that they're playing FOR him.

The game and league is bigger than any single person.

[Refractive Reflections]

Inside Edition clip: http://bcove.me/3qkfo9q4
The Guardian article: http://www.theguardian.com/commentis...clippers-owner

An excerpt:

...
Decades of racist policy renting housing in Los Angeles, which turned Sterling into a real-estate mogul wealthy enough to buy and run a professional sports team, didn't elicit any such furor. But decades of lousy Clippers basketball under Sterling's stewardship turned the Clippers into the butt of late-night TV jokes. The Clippers were laughed at for losing, laughed at for being cheap, laughed at for moving in with the star-studded Lakers, laughed at for being a second-class franchise in a first-class sports league.

But all those years, not enough people looked at Donald Sterling as the racist landlord the law so bore him out to be.

Neither the league, nor the players, nor the sports media paid much if any attention to Sterling's agreement in 2003 to pay upwards of $5m to settle a lawsuit brought by the Housing Rights Center charging that he tried to drive non-Korean tenants out of apartments he bought in the Koreatown section of Los Angeles. Only a few observers noted in 2006 that the Justice Department sued Sterling for allegations of housing discrimination in the same neighborhood. The charges included statements he allegedly made to employees that black and Hispanic families were not desirable tenants.

And while a handful of us in the media excoriated Sterling and the NBA in 2009 when Sterling settled the lawsuit by agreeing to pay $2.73m following allegations he refused to rent apartments to Hispanics, blacks and families with children, the story didn't resonate – despite it being the largest housing discrimination settlement in Justice Department history.

There was no investigation from the NBA, like the one new commissioner Adam Silver announced under pressure this weekend, promising to move "extraordinarily quickly".

There was no condemnation from black players who predominate the league like the one that erupted Saturday and Sunday from current superstars, including LeBron James and Chris Paul, and from retired icons like Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. Paul, the Clippers star and head of the National Basketball Players Association, joined his teammates Sunday in stripping their warm-up gear and throwing it unceremoniously into a pile in a demonstration to disown the team's nickname in protest of their owner's loathsomeness.

And there was certainly no President Barack Obama to denounce Sterling, as he did Sunday. The comments with which the owner had been charged with spewing, the president said, showed how "the United States continues to wrestle with the legacy of race and slavery and segregation."

But pro sports have their own legacy of ignorance as bliss.
...

As much as the NBA wants to claim they are doing "the right thing", it seems more or less PR damage control when this man has had documented racist behavior from the past.

[shuriken]

I think its more of a combination of a PR move and the straw that broke the camel's back sort of deal. Dude was a scumbag plain and simple, that belongs back in the 1930s with his antiquated mindset. that because a lot of the stuff he did wasn't necessarily public knowledge the Media, much less the NBA didn't give 2 $h*ts about because LOLZ Clippers suck.

Originally Posted by The Stryker

And? They're a team that made a huge leap this year and have a solid base for the future.

He's not going to dump the team just because they didn't win this year. A relatively inexperienced team ran into the defending champions headed by the best player in the league. Big whoop. They got beat.

Pretty much. Jordan is smart enough to make that team better, and has. He got the team from losing 64 games to winning 40+. The Bobcats did give em a good fight all things considered.
As for the Bulls as much as I want them to win, they probably won't. But one can dream...

[The Stryker]

Originally Posted by Wildcat

The guy is already filthy rich.

You can't seriously think by them continuing to play that they're playing FOR him.

The game and league is bigger than any single person.

No crap. But them protesting and sitting out would not be this dumb move you think it would be.

They'd be refusing to play under the banner of a guy that clearly thinks of them as lesser beings that should be happy they're getting money from the master. Race issues and personal beliefs are bigger than basketball.

If a fan was honestly offended by the team doing that? That's alittle messed up. You'd think people would understand and not say "play for me now! Me me me! Your emotions don't matter!"

[Redeemer]

Originally Posted by The Stryker

The NBA isn't the government. That's all the first amendment protects you from.

I am not a expert on legal matter whats so ever, but know in the past people have sued for discrimination of beliefs before in the past, but I wouldn't be surprised if the NBA has some sort of ethics policy a potential owner must sign before buying the team which is why they can probably fine him without risk of being sued.

[Wingnut]

Originally Posted by Redeemer

I am not a expert on legal matter whats so ever, but know in the past people have sued for discrimination of beliefs before in the past, but I wouldn't be surprised if the NBA has some sort of ethics policy a potential owner must sign before buying the team which is why they can probably fine him without risk of being sued.

Donald Sterling CANNOT, I repeat, CANNOT sue the NBA.

He might have a case against his mistress for recording him in private and without permission, since that is against the law. That's a totally separate matter.

[Wildcat]

Originally Posted by The Stryker

No crap. But them protesting and sitting out would not be this dumb move you think it would be.

They'd be refusing to play under the banner of a guy that clearly thinks of them as lesser beings that should be happy they're getting money from the master. Race issues and personal beliefs are bigger than basketball.

If a fan was honestly offended by the team doing that? That's alittle messed up. You'd think people would understand and not say "play for me now! Me me me! Your emotions don't matter!"

Ya I understand that. Im just saying, for me at least if I was a player, I wouldn't throw the season just because of his stupid prejudiced views.

Plus he's gonna make alot of money no matter what. Selling the team is going to make him a fortune in itself. Whenever it happens. I know right now he doesn't wanna sell.

[shuriken]

^^ Put yourself in their shoes. Let's say your boss tells someone else that to him you are beneath him in more ways than one and "you people" shouldn't associate with him or anyone close to him. You're helping this guy make tons of money and you aren't worth associating with. Don't you think you'd be a little upset?

[BubblyShell22]

Originally Posted by Wingnut

Donald Sterling CANNOT, I repeat, CANNOT sue the NBA.

He might have a case against his mistress for recording him in private and without permission, since that is against the law. That's a totally separate matter.

TMZ reported that Sterling knew he was being recorded, so he can't sue anyone if he had prior knowledge.

I agree with Shuriken here. Why play for a boss who ultimately hates you because of your race and only hired you to make money for him? It's like he's the owner and they're the slaves, and that's how he sees them. I wouldn't play for a guy like that no matter what's at stake. Screw a championship. No one should be forced to play for a bigoted jerk.

[Wildcat]

Originally Posted by shuriken

^^ Put yourself in their shoes. Let's say your boss tells someone else that to him you are beneath him in more ways than one and "you people" shouldn't associate with him or anyone close to him. You're helping this guy make tons of money and you aren't worth associating with. Don't you think you'd be a little upset?

I understand what youre saying and yes I would be offended. I just think its a little different in the NBA because its such a huge organization that the game and the reasons you play trumps one person's negative views.

I know they are still technically supporting him and making him money and that in itself is the moral dilemma but this guy knows everyone is against him and no matter what he's going to profit from it either way...me playing and/or selling the team.

In a regular job my boss may own the entire business and nothing could be done. Id most likely just be working to make a living. No branch or other division is gonna join me for some big crusade. So yeah Id probably quit and find another job.

I didnt mean to get into a big discussion. If you guys don't agree with me thats fine...I just thought Itd be a waste to forget the season like that.