Posted on 04/29/2014 9:53:16 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
With the lifetime ban by the NBA of despicably racist Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, the door is wide open to further sports bans on people who say offensive things in private.
That, of course, is why Sterling was ousted. Everyone knew for decades that Sterling was a disgusting pig racist – he had federal lawsuits led by the Department of Justice against him for discriminating against blacks, Hispanics, and Asians in housing (one allegation in the 2006 DOJ lawsuit: he said black people “smell”). That would have been an excellent reason for ousting Sterling years ago. The NBA did nothing. Neither did the NAACP, which gave him a lifetime achievement award. But now that his 31-year-old consort has released tape of him saying racist things, the thought police have sprung into action – and the NBA has followed.
Good riddance to Sterling. But let’s understand that ginning up the mob based on private feelings is a dangerous business. We now live in a world in which racial feelings are more important than racist acts (as Sterling’s housing discrimination non-ban shows), and in which bad thought trumps bad action.
Here, then, is a brief list of things that will not get you banned by a sports league for life. The good news: if we tape record all of these people and then hand the tape to Harvey Levin, presumably we can get them banned relatively quickly. Because privacy now extends only to comments with which we agree as a society.
1. Discriminating against black people in housing. Donald Sterling, as mentioned above, settled a lawsuit from the Department of Justice in 2009 in which the DOJ alleged that Sterling had discriminated against Hispanics, blacks, and families without children in housing....
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Uh, 5% medallion?
Ploy to get Magic Johnson the owner of the team.
What the Hell ever happened to freedom of association. Sterling doesn’t want Black people to come to his luxery box. This is a silly thing, but it is his right to restrict whomever he wants from coming into his home, suite or car. It is his right in a free society to be a bigot.
As far as the NBA is concerned, good luck getting his franchise. I suspect that the court case will outlive not only Don Sterling, but also the league President by at least a decade. No way that they can force a sale for anything less than what Sterling is willing to sell and no eway can they even force him to sell.
2. Strangling somebody. In 1997, Golden State Warriors All-Star Latrell Sprewell, playing for coach P.J. Carlesimo, decided to go berserk after Carlesimo
3. Being a publicly vicious racist while black. Spike Lee has stated that white gentrification of Harlem has been horrible, has posted the address of George Zimmerman’s parents online to spur violence, has explained after visiting South Africa in the early 1990s, “I seriously wanted to pick up a gun and shoot whites. The only way to resolve matters is by bloodshed.”
4. Using anti-gay slurs, at least while black. In 2011, Kobe Bryant called referee Bennie Adams a “faggot.” He received a $100,000 fine and no suspension. In 2012, current Clippers forward Matt Barnes called an officer a “f***ing faggot,” then made an attempt to handcuff him. There was no fine. He was suspended for one game. The suspension was unrelated to the slur.
5. Attacking patrons of your sport. In 2004, Stephen Jackson and Ron Artest of the Indiana Pacers leapt into the stands in Detroit to attack fans. Jermaine O’Neal fought fans on the court. A full-scale melee ensued with players fighting fans and fans fighting players. The result: Ron Artest was suspended the remainder of the season, Jackson was suspended for 30 games, and O’Neal was suspended for 15 games
6. Pushing your girlfriend to have an abortion, then harassing her about it. In 2013, the press reported that current Clippers guard JJ Redick had an abortion contract with girlfriend Vanessa Lopez. When she became pregnant, the contract stipulated, she would have to have an abortion, and Redick would then have to “maintain a social and/or dating relationship” with her for a year or pay her $25,000. When she refused to have an abortion, he pressured her to do so. So far, there have been no repercussions.
7. Drawing your gun on a fellow player. Gilbert Arenas was suspended for 50 games, and his teammate Javaris Crittenton was suspended for 38 games after they drew firearms on each other while arguing over gambling debts. In the locker room.
8. Reckless driving resulting in a passenger’s death. In 2009, JR Smith, then of the Denver Nuggets, pled guilty to reckless driving. His reckless driving resulted in one of his passengers dying. He was suspended a total of 9 games.
Sure, Magic has around $400- $500 million in wealth. However, he lacks the wealth necessary to buy the team now that it is a contender. He will need at least a few investors. No way Sterling sells for less than a billion and he could choose to never sell and there is very little the NBA could do about it.
As for the players. They couldn’t hold out in the strike. They will work for him as long as the check clears.
ping
Lying about your country of origin and your citizenship won’t get you banned; in fact, you might even get elected President of the United States!
I can’t get too het up over a louse like Sterling’s statements when we have a president who hosts a scoundrel like Sharpton in the White House. A pox on all the hypocrites.
Magic Johnson, who likes to give “black power” salutes during games. Not racist...
Proof?
Off shoot of screwy louie’s “church”. jayzee and beyonce love Whitey’s money they just hate Whitey.
Shhhhh - the only proof is in the White House.
Does Ben Shapiro really believe that settling a DOJ discrimination lawsuit is ipso facto proof that the settling party acted in a discriminatory manner?
It was intimated that the league could grant free agency to the payers, screw around with the draft and pre season games.
Think the boys should be nice to the old gal, she might control the team.
The black mafia set this up, IMHO..
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