Donald "Piece of Crap" Sterling at it again

[INFORMER]

Why stop there, Mark Jackson? Why not call for the Clippers players to not play the game?

[Mori Chu]

Jackson is like, "The Clippers should send a message to Sterling by not rotating on defense and not getting any defensive rebounds. They should just let us beat them down the court on every fast break. Yeah, that'll show him. Hand down, man down! Mama, there goes that racist man."

[In2ition]

Some ideas that have been bantered about against the Clippers include allowing all the Clippers to become free agents this summer, along with Doc.

I like the idea of getting a larger talent pool available, but then I wonder what would happen if all the players just decided to walk to the other locker room to be Lakers next year with Kobe.

[TOO]

NBC says indefinite suspension and 5m fine. Meh.

[INFORMER]

I'm just not buying this whole game 4 distraction-reason-for-loss.

[TOO]

NBC was wrong, lifetime ban, 2.5m fine.

[TOO]

I'm just not buying this whole game 4 distraction-reason-for-loss.

I'm like 75% sure that Sterling had nothing to do with GSW and them making more shots than the LAC.

[INFORMER]

We're talking about a man that has very little contact with the players. The players don't play for Sterling. They don't end their huddles with "1-2-3-Sterling!" Sterling's name isn't on the jerseys, and I would bet they the majority of players haven't had more than a handful of conversations with the man.

If it were the head coach or a teammate, then I would buy into the distraction angle.

The Clippers got blown out because GS's back was up against the wall, they were at home, and because they played great. Again, the Warriors took game one at LA. There is not a large gap of talent, ability, or quality between these two teams.

[In2ition]

This is going to end up(maybe not this season) as a great thing for the Clippers franchise. BOOO!

Sterling will sell for $1 billion and come out of it an even richer man than he was before. Also, BOOOO!

[Mori Chu]

We're talking about a man that has very little contact with the players. The players don't play for Sterling. They don't end their huddles with "1-2-3-Sterling!" Sterling's name isn't on the jerseys, and I would bet they the majority of players haven't had more than a handful of conversations with the man.

If it were the head coach or a teammate, then I would buy into the distraction angle.

The Clippers got blown out because GS's back was up against the wall, they were at home, and because they played great. Again, the Warriors took game one at LA. There is not a large gap of talent, ability, or quality between these two teams.

It's intangible and almost impossible to quantify, but I do think the Sterling news had an impact on their play. It was a distraction. Distractions are bad. I think of some examples like the (I think it was) 2009 or 2010 Cavs, they're playing in the ECF and then some rumor comes out that Lebron's mom slept with Delonte West. And suddenly the Cavs freefall and lose the series. Then if you look at the Pacers this year, there are a ton of rumors about various infighting between the players; did somebody sleep with somebody's girlfriend? Did somebody punch somebody in practice? Etc. Distractions. I totally agree that they shouldn't use it as an excuse, but I think it had an impact.

The funny thing is, though, if they had somehow blown out the Warriors in Game 4, everybody would have said that the bad news "galvanized" or united the team to fight harder. So whatever happened, people were going to connect the outcome to Sterling.

[TOO]

America, where its always someone elses fault.

[Superbone]

A strong and correct ruling by new commissioner Adam Silver. The NBA is in good hands.

[Doctor_G]

Thank you Kareem!

...for putting the whole Sterling thing in it's proper context.

Link to Kareem's article http://time.com/79590/donald-sterling-k ... ar-racism/

Nice to see there are still people that have the capacity to peel the layers and get to the WHOLE truth. Very impressive Mr. Jabbar (Sterling was a piece of shit decades ago, and obviously still is).

Sterling's given millions to the NAACP, and many other outfits thru the years. Truth be told, Sterling BOUGHT the NAACP years ago, and they were giving him a friggin humanitarian award this week before the news broke. LMAO!!! He has bought boatloads of silence from organizations, basketball players, executives, and even the damn media. He's a registered Republican (an obvious front), since he's given campaign donations in the millions to Democrat candidates thru the years.

Sterling money, sure bought a whole lot of cover and manipulation over the years.

[JeffreyLee]

Has he made a statement yet?

[Phoenix219]

Sterling is a piece of shit. No one is denying that. No one is denying that he is a known racist.

BUT

So, something he was baited into saying, that was *illegally recorded* in the *privacy of his own home* is costing him a fine like that AND a life time ban??

How is this in ANY way correct???

[Doctor_G]

The "Illegal" recording of anyone is just plain wrong. Only exception IMO would be to - thwart a crime, or apprehend a KNOWN criminal or terrorist. Most everyone has said something behind closed doors, that if it was recorded and leaked, would have the media doing a colonoscopy on them, while the masses would be all tuned in like good little sheeple. We are living in a world with little to no privacy anymore. Pretty sad times indeed.

[In2ition]

I agree with privacy laws. It just seems that we are under the assumption that nothing is private any more, which is sad.

[TOO]

The "Illegal" recording of anyone is just plain wrong. Only exception IMO would be to - thwart a crime, or apprehend a KNOWN criminal or terrorist. Most everyone has said something behind closed doors, that if it was recorded and leaked, would have the media doing a colonoscopy on them, while the masses would be all tuned in like good little sheeple. We are living in a world with little to no privacy anymore. Pretty sad times indeed.

Thanks Obama.

[Mori Chu]

Sterling is a piece of shit. No one is denying that. No one is denying that he is a known racist.

BUT

So, something he was baited into saying, that was *illegally recorded* in the *privacy of his own home* is costing him a fine like that AND a life time ban??

How is this in ANY way correct???

I look at this as something akin to the "whistle-blowers" who leak information about a corrupt company or government they work for. Did you listen to the tape? The girlfriend does ask Sterling what he means, and asks him to clarify several times what exactly his beef is with her. But I don't think "baited" is a good choice of words. She simply asks him normal questions, like, "Why don't you want me posting a photo of Magic Johnson on my Instagram?" or, after he says not to bring blacks to the games, "What is it that you don't like about black people?" etc. I think 100% of the crud he says comes straight from him; none of it is spoon-fed by her nor twisted by her. He speaks from his heart and the deeply racist and discriminatory attitudes he presents are genuine.

Why is it correct to have him removed? Well, there are lots of reasons. For one, it's the right thing to do. He has a huge amount of power and influence over players, staff, coaches, fans, etc. A man with such a strongly racist attitude in a predominantly black league should not be granted such a position. Also, getting rid of Sterling is something the league needs to do from a practical or financial standpoint. if they didn't, it's a disaster for the image of the league. Several sponsors were pulling out; fans were threatening to boycott; players and coaches and staff of the Clippers wanted out of their contracts. It would have been a crushing blow to the success of the league if this guy were kept around.

Perhaps you are looking at it from a more legalistic perspective, like, "Even a jerk like Sterling has rights! How can they just take away something he owns (the team) with no due process?" etc. But being an NBA owner is not a "normal" job. There are only 30 of these teams and these ownership jobs, and there is a collective board of owners that decides the rules for said ownership. If Sterling breaks those rules ("conduct detrimental to the league" etc.), they can oust him. It's in the rules Sterling signed when he took the team.

I'd use an analogy of condo ownership. I own a condo in Seattle. I bought it; I own it; it's mine. But I signed a bunch of documents upon buying it, indicating that I understand that there are many constraints on my ownership and on how I can utilize my condo. I can't turn it into a business, a strip club with in the building. I can't just tear all the walls down. I can't let the unit get so run down and filthy that it harms the building for others. I have to follow the rules of the building and of the condo association, or I risk losing my condo or facing fines and/or other penalties.

Sterling owns an NBA condo. He can't just do whatever he wants with it, when that includes blatant discriminatory attitudes and statements that directly impact his most important employees. He has to go, and Silver + the owners have every right to vote him out. That's his due process; if he doesn't get enough votes, he'd stay. But they'll vote him out. If he doesn't like it, the lawyer will be happy to point him to the agreement he made when purchasing the team.

[Doctor_G]

Mori, none of this was earth shattering news regarding Sterling. The *NBA*, the press, the Democrat Party, the NAACP, the Government, Justice Dept, business executives, and close friends...have all KNOWN for years, aghh, rather decades - that Donald Sterling is a racist piece of shit.

The girlfriend needs to be sent to prison for invasion of privacy. She sure as hell doesn't deserve one dime for what she did. She should rot in prison for an appropriate time a sentence as such holds. But Kareem nailed it, she will be writing a book, and getting PAID millions instead.