Ok...but how much power does that lease give them? They certainly can’t violate the civil rights act, and ban blacks from attendance.
“discrimination based on race, color, religion or national origin”
But how about women? Could the NBA ban women from a game? Are they any more or less protected than Sterling?
And what is Sterling’s real misdeed? What action on his part got him banned from the arena? Being recorded (most likely illegally)? Being disliked? He sure hasn’t done anything in the arena, at the game, that caused a disturbance.
Lets take it a step further. Maybe the Clippers will have a “ban global warming deniers night”. How would that be any different than banning Sterling?
Or even further. Maybe the NBA will ban President Bush - not because he got drunk and spilled beer on people in the stands...but because some owner thinks he’s a ‘war criminal’.
I think its a slippery slope.
In the original post you replied I said the limit was at violating discrimination laws.
Sterling’s real misdeed is generating a lot of bad press, much of which dredged up his sullied past that involves a lot of racial stuff some of which he’s even been taken to court over (and the NBA knew about, but since it didn’t hit the press hard they opted to ignore). What got him banned from the arena is that the NBA no longer wants to be associated with him.
Global warming deniers since they’re a political persuasion might be a protected class. Former unpopular presidents are not.
It’s not a slippery slope at all. Teams have been banning people from the stands as long as there have been stands. Sterling’s is a little grandiose since it’s a whole league ban, but it’s really not that unusual, just look at the Vegas Black Book.