Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

A Sterling Example
Townhall.com ^ | May 2, 2014 | Erick Erickson

Posted on 05/02/2014 4:15:39 AM PDT by Kaslin

The current owner of the Clippers, Donald Sterling, is not a very nice man.

He has been sued repeatedly for race-based discrimination. He has had to settle those cases. He is married and takes his girlfriend to basketball games, which too many people find acceptable. But what's more, it is pretty apparent his girlfriend goaded Donald Sterling into saying what he said for reasons that still are not necessarily clear.

No one should excuse what Donald Sterling said, but it is clear that Sterling's girlfriend spent a lot of time working Sterling up to making his now-infamous comments. In fact, in about 10 minutes of recordings there are not very many minutes of awful statements. It was somewhat striking that, for all of what he said, in the released audio he never hurled racial epithets. He referred to people as "minorities" and "black people."

But Sterling did tell his girlfriend that she should not associate with black people in public. It fits a long pattern of suits against him for racial discrimination. Donald Sterling has been this way for a long time. The NBA has known it and the NBA has turned a blind eye toward it until the public, and more importantly the players, demanded action.

Now the mob wants Donald Sterling's team forcibly removed from him, which would earn him several hundred million dollars in the process. Donald Sterling signed up to be an NBA owner. He knew the terms of the deal. And the NBA knew he was not a great person, but let it go on and on and on until public outrage forced their hand.

The incident that sets the precedent is never the problem. The precedent, however, is now set that if an NBA owner is outed as saying privately things that offend publicly while being surreptitiously taped, the public can force the NBA to force him to give up his team, fine him and ban him for life. Again, Sterling isn't being punished for being racist. We already knew his history -- which, by the way, begs the question of why the NAACP was going to honor him. It seems even groups like the NAACP were perfectly happy to coddle a man like this and take his money despite his documented history until it became inconvenient for them all.

Sterling is being punished for having his documented views made public in a recording that personalizes multiple sterile legal disputes against him from several years ago that the NBA chose to ignore. The NBA cannot ignore it now that the public is outraged.

But the public should also be outraged that the NBA had to be embarrassed. And the public should be embarrassed that so many are using a possibly illegally and definitely surreptitiously made recording that was pretty clearly designed to get the guy to say those things.

Within 48 hours, activists were running with this new precedent. Gay rights activists began demanding the owner of the Orlando Magic be forced to sell his team. Dick Devos, whose family owns the Magic, is an evangelical Christian. He supports traditional marriage. For this sin, he must be punished by the crowd.

It may be, however, that activists have overplayed their hand. While 3/4 of NBA owners can force one of their own to sell his team, the rush to attack other owners over their views may make the current owners second guess a forced sale. If the mob can go after one man, they can go after others, too.

Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, suggested last week that forcing a sale over private statements made in one's own home might not be wise. The owners could be putting themselves on treacherous ground and seem to know it.

If Donald Sterling is forced to sell his team, he would wind up making hundreds of millions of dollars as punishment. The issue is not now what happens to Donald Sterling, but what happens to the next person surreptitiously recorded in the privacy of his home.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; US: California
KEYWORDS: california; clippers; donaldsterling; donsterling; losangeles; losangelesclippers; naacp; nba; racist; rochellesterling; vanessastiviano

1 posted on 05/02/2014 4:15:39 AM PDT by Kaslin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: All

“it is pretty apparent his girlfriend goaded Donald Sterling into saying what he said for reasons that still are not necessarily clear.”

this, sharyl atkinsons computer, breibart conviently taking a heart attack, Michael hastings, etc etc, all this crapola is happening under Obama. scary and sickening.


2 posted on 05/02/2014 4:26:55 AM PDT by willywill
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

He is a mean, stubborn rich man worth 2 billion dollars.

He is going to drag the NBA through the legal muck and mire like nobody’s business.

Who knows what little racial tidbits about other owners will emerge during discovery?


3 posted on 05/02/2014 4:53:48 AM PDT by freedumb2003 (Fight Tapinophobia in all its forms! Do not submit to arduus privilege.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

On the Paul W. Smith Show on WJR-Detroit it was pointed our that just 9 NBA players “fathered” 72 children with 55 women. Majic Johnson, who has HIV, admitted on Oprah that he has had sex with 300 - 500 women.

But, when an owner privately asked his girlfriend to quit associating with these types of men, the black community and liberal panderers want him punished.

Blacks know that immoral and negative behavior is disproportionately represented in the black community. Feigning offense by this truth is a farcical attempt to hide reality or else it is proof positive that accusations of black ignorance are actually true.

Using political correctness as a weapon to bully, intimidate and punish anyone who dare point out their embarrassing truth actually adds to their embarrassment and disrepute, and does absolutely nothing mitigate the real problem, which nobody can do anything about but blacks themselves.


4 posted on 05/02/2014 4:55:30 AM PDT by Ex-Pat in Mex
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin
Mob rule is a scary thing.
5 posted on 05/02/2014 4:56:40 AM PDT by 2001convSVT (Going Galt as fast as I can.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

This woman is obviously a hustler and a bunch of other nasty things I won’t get into.

If anyone thinks anybody besides an “approved” black will be permitted to acquire this team after Sterling is personally and professionally destroyed, you’re nuts.

All this talk about Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson getting the team makes me suspicious. He has been connected with this woman as well, and both the league and the NAACP looking the other way, even honoring Sterling on numerous occasions, makes this thing reek, and not because of “racism”.

More like dirty $$.

There is more to this.


6 posted on 05/02/2014 5:33:10 AM PDT by Kodos the Executioner (.. the revolution is successful, but survival depends upon drastic measures..")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

Mark Cuban is correct.

This is more than a slippery slope.

When ‘the public’ can set the standards.....then ‘the public’ can keep changing the standards.

Soon, no one can have any opinion about anything for fear of upsetting ‘the public’.


7 posted on 05/02/2014 6:28:30 AM PDT by ridesthemiles
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ridesthemiles

The next person who wants to buy a franchise goes to the target and asks their views on traditional marriage, LBGTA, etc. Record answer, call TMZ, force sale of discriminatory owner.


8 posted on 05/02/2014 6:38:49 AM PDT by tbw2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: freedumb2003
Who knows what little racial tidbits about other owners will emerge during discovery?

The crucible has been lit.

9 posted on 05/02/2014 12:27:44 PM PDT by Mike Darancette (Do The Math)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson