Of course he said that, saying prior incidents played into it would be throwing Stern (the guy who hand picked him as successor) under the bus. But let’s face it, prior incidents are playing heavily into this issue, one of the big questions that’s been asked is why nothing has been done about him in the past. The decision won’t be in breach of NBA bylaws, guarantee everything in the punishment is allowable, Silver is a lawyer and he’s been with the league for 22 years, he knows the bylaws and he knows what his limitations are. Also he surely ran it all by the other owners so he’s got plenty of backing. Next owner’s meeting there will be a vote to eject Sterling from the league and the worst it’ll get 25 votes, well more than the 3/4 it needs to pass.
See my post 24. The tape will be inadmissible in any court proceeding.
If Sterling challenges the decision, it will be on the basis that the bylaws do not allow Sterling to be sanctioned for something that never happened. And legally, the words uttered by Sterling on those tapes never happened. The tapes can't be used, the transmissions of what's on those tapes can't be used, and the person who created and anyone who disseminated those tapes can be prosecuted. (Not that they would be in LA, but that doesn't make it not a crime.)
So, posit a scenario where the bylaws allow the league to act if an owner does X, Y and Z. The league will not be able to demonstrate that this owner did X, Y and Z.
You keep bringing prior acts into it. Silver explicitly stated (and I'm sure his written decision makes clear) that the evidence on which the league acted, the X, Y and Z of this decision, is the tape and what Sterling said on the tape. If the tape cannot be evidence in any legal proceeding, the league can't say a valid reason why it sanctioned Sterling.
The league can always bring a new proceeding, and try to prove that Sterling is a racist. There may be issues under the bylaws with a new proceeding, or with the X, Y and Z of that investigation, but it is entirely possible they could find a way to get rid of him after an investigation that found what the bylaws require. But that's not the state of things right now.
As for being kicked out by the owners, there will be tremendous pressure on the owners to vote to kick him out. Nearly irresistible pressure. The same race mongers who are after Sterling will come after any and all owners who even think of voting to let him stay in the league, no matter the reasoning. And that issue will come down to what the bylaws say as to the grounds on which an owner can be forced to lose his team. I am not privy to the NBA bylaws. I can venture to say that, whatever the bylaws say, the owners will not be able to use the tape or anything said on it as part of their "official" reason. If they do, they will run afoul of California law on evidentiary use of illegally obtained recordings, just as Silver has.
As for Silver being a lawyer with 22 years in the league, that may be his problem. He knows the bylaws through and through, no doubt. He appears not to be aware of the evidence code, and I doubt he's ever been a trial lawyer. Guys who do deals and who work in house for decades often lose sight of some of the key issues that a litigator spots instantly. This may be one.
I appreciate your layperson's perspective. Keep an eye on events, and see if what I am talking about do not become the issues in this dispute.