Posted on 04/30/2014 5:12:50 PM PDT by Red Steel
While Silver said he had not polled the owners, he expressed confidence there will be sufficient support to oust Sterlin. Silver's bold prediction suggests he has the necessary votes. That said, expect there to be some debate among owners. No owner will defend Sterling's racism...
1. Neither the Clippers nor Sterling is in financial trouble. Article 13 was designed as an extraordinary remedy for such a problem -- not other problems. While sponsors have dropped their deals with the Clippers and players have contemplated boycotts, the team appears to be in strong financial shape with a deep-pocketed, if reviled, owner. There is no reason to believe that Sterling has committed financial fraud, and while he has been sued over allegations of race, those cases were either settled or unsuccessful.
2. The Clippers are not run in a racist way. Sterling may be extremely bigoted and hold reprehensible views, but there is no reason to suspect that the team itself operates in a racist way. ... devoid of allegations by players or other employees that they have experienced racism. Similarly, there are no reports that the Clippers have directed ticket sales and marketing efforts away from minority fans. ...
3. Lack of 'morals clause'. Article 13 lists a series of enumerated wrongs, some of which are specific but none of which seem directly relevant to an owner whose racism expressed in a private conversation sparks national outrage. Some owners might argue that if the NBA wanted ouster as a remedy for a situation like this one, the constitution and bylaws' drafters would have included it. Along those lines, there is no "morals clause" in these documents that empowers the ousting an NBA owner. ...
4. Precedent. While Sterling's actions seem unlikely to be replicated by another owner, some owners could worry
(Excerpt) Read more at sportsillustrated.cnn.com ...
My predictions is coming true, this will all land up in another court, the court of LAW.
What is next? My guess is greed. That way the confiscation of wealth will go into high gear.
Once Magic takes the stand, all bets are off!
Sterling loses, immediately, at that point.
Appears so.
http://nba.si.com/2014/04/29/donald-sterling-clippers-not-for-sale-adam-silver/
“Report: Donald Sterling says Clippers are ‘not for sale’ “
“...I just spoke with Donald Sterling on the telephone just moments ago,” Fox News Contributor Jim Gray reported. “He is unaware of what is going to happen to him. He has not been notified [of his impending punishment by Silver]. He also said he really didn’t want to comment on the record, however the team is not for sale and he will not be selling the team. ...”
......If Magic has anything to prove.
Margaret Unnewehr Schott (August 18, 1928 – March 2, 2004) was the managing general partner, president and CEO of Major League Baseball’s Cincinnati Reds franchise from 1984 to 1999. She was the third woman to own a North American major-league team without inheriting it ... She is perhaps most well-known for her controversial behavior during her tenure as owner of the Reds, which included slurs towards African-Americans, Jews, and the Japanese. She was banned from managing the team by the MLB from 1996 through 1998 due to statements in support of German domestic policies of Nazi party leader Adolf Hitler; shortly afterwards, she sold the majority of her share in the team.-wiki
Trust me, the prosecution (NBA) will find a way to put Magic on the stand; it will be “good television” to do so.
Is there any evidence that sterling wants to fight?
This Sterling/Silver fight is already boring. The first amendment wasn’t written to protect popular speech; it was written to protect offensive and repugnant speech.
I hope they sue each other into mutual bankrupcy. But since the NBA is quasi public entity, that’s impossible-they’ll just get a gubmint bailout.
Crony socialism.
That is not entirely true. Check how he treated Elgin Baylor.
They may get their pound of flesh from this old bigot but they are going to need a few transfusions before he is done with them.
Doubt it, doubt it, really.
He has not been notified [of his impending punishment by Silver]Silver better follow though with the formalities. It doesn't cost much to hire a process server, even though what is being delivered isn't for the benefit of court function.
Sterling is a lawyer too, or so I am led to think, so I am sure he is most interested in reading the contractual/bylaw basis for the commissioner's edict.
Reading some of the relevant sections, I don't think the penalty of "suspension" makes any sense against an owner. If a coach is suspended, may they coach the team other than at competition or exhibition games?
The thing is, the NBA is in serious decline and this will get interesting.
It’s the Clippers. Why is the fight going to be so vicious? Because the stakes are so small.
RE: Once Magic takes the stand, all bets are off!
Sterling loses, immediately, at that point.
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Forbes estimates the 80-year-old Sterling’s fortune at $1.9 billion.
Magic Johnson’s net worth is a “mere” $0.5 Billion. Not enough to buy what the Clippers are worth today. If Magic is serious in buying, he’ll need partners with deep pockets (e.g. Oprah Winfrey)
Seems like the senile old coot billionaire was illegally recorded, entrapped, and conspired against to have his team removed from his control and subject to sale against his will with the perpetrators braying about it in plain sight.
I assume even if he is forced to sell, the co conspirators can’t name the price.
Whats to stop him from saying sure the team is for sale, FOR A TRILLION DOLLARS.
The NBA is going to wish they never opened up this can of worms, a three day investigation by that dweeb Silver isn’t going to stand up very well in court.
Pathetic bunch of losers and imbeciles from top to bottom, even Chavez and Maduro wouldn’t try to pull a stunt like this.
The owners are about to experience an unprecedented drop in attendance to boot, EBT cards don’t buy many tickets.
Magic has saved the NBA from decline before.
I’d not hold my breath thinking they won’t find a way. Magic will be convinced...
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