Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.[1]
Key word being CONGRESS
A PRIVATE organization like the NBA is fully within its rights to sanction a fellow franchise owner
Ha you beat me to it.
Please tell me where in the 5th Amendment it states that if someone is a racist and expresses those views, he loses his right to acquire, use, and own property as he sees fit.
Be specific.
I don’t know how “equal protection” applies in non-governmental situations, but I suspect that Sterling’s lawyers will make a strong case that the NBA has applied these sanctions “unfairly”. I’m sure there are plenty of glass houses among NBA owners, and they should be very cautious throwing stones at only Donald Sterling. Mark Cuban has said as much. If Sterling sues the NBA, the discovery process could be very interesting.
Donald Sterling undoubtedly harbors racists thoughts, and occasionally voices them. Bad on him. But his stupidity is the bigger issue here. Sharing a girlfriend with Magic Johnson, the one person most likely to want the LA Clippers and in the best position to profit from Sterling’s woes, shows bad judgment. Sincerely sharing his racist thoughts with said girlfriend, even in private, is dumber.