Posted on 04/30/2014 3:17:10 AM PDT by SoFloFreeper
A FEW thoughts on the Donald Sterling scandal....
....My sympathy for Sterling is nonexistent. His racist remarks are odious, and they couldn’t have come as a shock to anyone who has followed his career. Yet the most alarming part of this story has less to do with basketball or the racial prejudices of an 80-year-old plutocrat than with what it says about the rapidly disappearing presumption that things we say in our personal lives will stay personal.
(Excerpt) Read more at bostonglobe.com ...
How about this, gang ? What say you ?
In the News/Activism forum, on a thread titled Sterling’s racism is ugly, but the loss of privacy will be even worse, WellyP wrote:
He and his girlfriend were having an argument. She wanted to have it both ways, his money and her boyfriends on the side. How would you feel? His girlfriend set him up and he was dumb enough to fall in the trap.
That’s pretty much the way I see it. A silly,stupid,(perhaps even lonely, but really a jerk,)old fool. Was being serviced by a young female gold digger who was in turn being was being serviced by much youger black bucks at his expence which she paraded in front of him. Just to piss him off. Somehow after speaking with her lawyer sets up a situation where the dotting dupe seeing what little loyalty to him he expected from her being destroyed. Vents his frustration over a taped phone conversation that suddenly gets made public.
This is a one-way street. Whites cannot get away with “racist” words or actions, while Blacks get away with it all the time. Spike Lee has not been banned from attending Knicks games for his racist comments, and Jay-Z was not banned from attending Nets games for wearing a racist medallion. Undoubtedly, many blacks in positions of power have made racist statements or done things that would be considered racist if they were white. Obama and Holder palling around with Al Sharpton for example. Hypocrisy rules this country.
There is worse racism coming from America’s first and foremost victim group.
And how racist is he actually when his girl “friend” is half black? The old fool might actually be a nasty racist, but so what? The league has now created a situation where anybody making what is considered racist remarks has to be removed. But what do you bet it will only be one-way?...whites will be kicked to the curb while blacks will get away with making similar statements.
My prediction is that it will land up in a court, as in a court of LAW.
Now, with the Kenyan communist as president we have no laws at all...only what he and his minions pick and choose at will.
Which law are we talking about?
Who set him up ?
Well said. This is just more distractions from what the politicians are doing to us.
Geez, talk about over the top. I’d rather not have people like you commenting on this board. Get a grip.
I want freedom. And that means if someone dislikes something, then it's no big deal
There's so much more clarity when people have freedom of speech and thought. Without them, we lose everything. The issue that he was taped in his own home AND the media played that probably illegal disclosure (who knows what the courts would say?) is beginning to get some attention.
Meanwhile, I've decided to be outraged today....about babies killed through abortion, about US warmongering, arming the badguys and coverups, about the number of murders in Chicago and other cities on a regular basis, about veterans who die homeless in the streets,......
:: the liberals in Boston have no issues with losing ones privacy. ::
Which is funny because, in Massachusetts, Sterling’s hooker-friend would be the one serving jail time for recording him with out his express written permission.
Good grief, chill out.
I see nothing in this person’s post that mentions he is for discriminating against a class of people.
So what, the guy is an old fart degenerate who doesn’t care who this tart sleeps with as long as she doesn’t get in a picture with the guy so that he has to be reminded, and broadcast to his buddies who will snort and chuckle, that he is an impotent sugar daddy and was cuckolded by a guy who could be one of his players.
That was the reason that probably motivated his private conversation with the tart.
It is kinda sick, but it is not a crime.
Seems like none of the players in this episode are worth a tinker’s damn. I hope they all suffer, including those leftists who took his money knowing he is a scum. NAACP are as bad as the money grubbin’tart.
Very well said.
Stuff it up your butt, idiot.
It will happen mark my words, and I speak with CONFIDENCE that Mr. Sterling will take the NBA and the woman to a court of law.
Please see post number 54. Thank-you.
Besides, the guy has MONEY anyways.
Except online.
We're now finding out that it may not have been an illegal recording. Sterling was apparently recorded with his knowledge. V. Stiviano, the mistress, apparently taped many, if not most, of their conversations with his knowledge. She allegedly has 100+ hours of audio.
However, it was a private conversation that became public.
The lifetime ban and $2.5 million fine have already been announced by the NBA Commissioner. These are pursuant to the NBA Constitution & Bylaws, which were a private document until yesterday, when the NBA released them. (How private? ESPN was stating that the NBA C&B were dated 10/05; the current C&B are dated 5/12.) The NBA Commissioner rules as an emperor.
Article 24(l):
"The Commissioner shall, wherever there is a rule for which no penalty is specifically fixed for violation thereof, have the authority to fix such penalty as in the Commissioner's judgment shall be in the best interests of the Association. Where a situation arises which is not covered in the Constitution and By-Laws, the Commissioner shall have the authority to make such decision, including the imposition of a penalty, as in his judgment shall be in the best interests of the Association. The penalty that may be assessed under the preceding two sentences may include, without limitation, a fine, suspension, and/or the forfeiture or assignment of draft choices. No monetary penalty fixed under this provision shall exceed $2,500,000."
Under Article 24(m), the Commissioner's rulings are final, and he has investigative abilities far beyond those of a normal prosecutor:
"Following an opportunity for the affected party to submit evidence and be heard, all actions duly taken by the Commissioner pursuant to this Article 24 or pursuant to any other 39 Article or Section of the Constitution and By-Laws, which are not specifically referable to the Board of Governors, shall be final, binding and conclusive, as an award in arbitration, and enforceable in a court of competent jurisdiction in accordance with the laws of the State of New York. In connection with all actions, hearings, or investigations taken or conducted by the Commissioner pursuant to this Article 24, (i) strict rules of evidence shall not apply, and all relevant and material evidence submitted may be received and considered, and (ii) the Commissioner shall have the right to require testimony and the production of documents and other evidence from any Member, Owner, or Referee, any employee of any Member or Owner, and/or any employee of the Association, and any person or Entity not complying with the requirements of the Commissioner shall be subject to such penalty as the Commissioner may assess."
It was a private conversation made public.
Only the NBA Board of Governors (the franchise owners) can terminate the ownership of a franchise owner (Article 13). That hasn't been done yet. The ground for termination are all specific, except for Article 13(a):
"The Membership of a Member or the interest of any Owner may be terminated by a vote of three fourths (3/4) of the Board of Governors if the Member or Owner shall do or suffer any of the following:
What violation? Early explanations from the NBA experts were that Sterling violated the obligation to conduct business on a "reasonable" and "ethical" level, as required by the 2005 C&B. That obligation no longer appears in the 2001 C&B.
What about the enforceability of a vote by the NBA Board of Governors to terminate Sterling's ownership? Contrary to what Sports Illustrated reported, franchise owners have not waived rights to sue the NBA. However, Article 18(e) of the NBA C&B says:
"All actions duly taken by the Board of Governors shall be final, binding and conclusive, as an award in arbitration, and enforceable in a court of competent jurisdiction in accordance with the laws of the State of New York."
Courts will generally honor an agreed-upon award in arbitration, but not necessarily so if the issue is an antitrust issue. Here, if the Board of Governors terminates Sterling's ownership, he would be forced to sell at a 'must sell' price.
All of this over a private conversation made public.
If Sterling is banned, who will run the Clippers? Probably Sterling's wife, Shelly. Sterling already has an agreement in place with the NBA that Shelly takes over the franchise if Sterling dies. Sterling has also been grooming his son-in-law to take over management of the franchise.
Who is V. Stiviano?
She met Sterling at the 2010 Super Bowl. She is half-Mexican/half-black and was born Maria Vanessa Perez. After she met Sterling, she legally changed her name to V. Stiviano, for the stated reason "Born from a rape case and having not yet been fully accepted because of my race."
She started her own line of hats and shirts under the V. Stiviano brand and promoted them on her Instagram account. In March, Shelly Sterling sued Stiviano for the return of more than $2.5 million in gifts Sterling gave Stiviano from California community property. Among these gifts are a $1.8 million duplex, a Ferrari, two Bentleys, a Range Rover, and $250,000 cash.
Stiviano is also being sued by the Clippers for embezzling $1.8 million, as announced by the Clippers on Saturday. Miss Stiviano's attorney, Mac Nehoray, was commenting on the audio and Ms. Stiviano's situation until yesterday, when his representative stated Nehoray was invoking the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, citing the statement issued by the Clippers regarding the embezzlement.
Private statements that were made public, and Donald Sterling's the center of attention.
Ah. Per a.m. news, the Sterlings apparently settled a lawsuit that involved Shelly Sterling and racial comments, and depositions and testimony in the don't-rent-to-blacks-Latinos-and-people-with-children lawsuits against Sterling swear Shelly also engaged in 'get 'em out' discussions and orders. This is just going to get bigger, folks.
The man is a complete bigoted jerk.
I still don’t see how a private group can fine him and prevent him from watching the games. Does he or doesn’t he OWN the team?
This is a private property ownership matter. How can he be denied access to his property? Someone cannot seize your business, simply because you exercise your first amendment freedom of speech right, even if it is in bad taste.
"Willfully violate any of the provisions of the Constitution and By-Laws, resolutions, or agreements of the Association."
All other permissible reasons to terminate an owner's ownership are specific. When's the NBA going to tell us what provisions Sterling violated with his private conversation?
Isn't that a little bigoted?
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