Hypocrisy involved with Sterling's comments

[mjs34]

Clearly what Sterling allegedly said in the (illegally?) recorded phone call shouldn't be tolerated, but what can anyone actually do. The NBA can fine and maybe suspend him, but what authority does the Players Union (Chris Paul) have?

When looking at the situation as a whole I started to have some questions. Isn't recording someone without their knowledge illegal? It seemed clear that the woman was leading Sterling (?) through the conversation. Doesn't TMZ have some responsibility to make sure the recording was obtained legally before airing it?

I remember the TNT talking about the SVG/Howard situation, and Barkley being very upset that management had taken a private conversation with Dwight and went to SVG with it. I didn't hear Charles making the same designation last night. I ask myself what Dwayne Wade's comments or phone calls would have sounded like during the NBA lockout. Would any of the players private phone calls reveal these same type of views.

What bothers me most about the whole situation is the hypocrisy involved with the players. Sterling being a racist is old news. You can't be a part of the NBA and not realize that, but yet Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, as well as Doc Rivers were all happy to take his money and play for him. Now they are talking about boycotting a BB game, that truthfully means way more to them then it likely does to Sterling at this point.

I don't doubt that it is Sterling on the recording, and I am not surprised by his comments. I understand that a man in his position is going to draw a lot of attention, but doesn't anyone else find it odd that the NBA is so up in arms over this compared to the news that Dante allegedly tried to strangle his gf. What does it say about our society, and why weren't the NBA players more offended by Dante's actions as compared to some racist comments made by a known racist in a private phone call?

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

You make some interesting points, sjm, and I'm going to leave the legal aspects to the lawyers.

The overriding takeaway for me is this: Donald Sterling is an ugly man by any definition of the word. He is human pond scum.

But there is a Wolves angle to this. There has been much discussion about Love possibly leaving the Wolves, and that his criteria for a new team might include chance of winning a championship and being in Southern California. Since the Lakers don't appear to meet the first criterion, the Clippers became a destination that I was worried about. Not any more. Yes, Sterling has been a dick for a long time...but he has somehow been able to stay largely under the radar. This ugly incident is going to linger for a long time...at least through the period of Love's decision...and the Clippers are not going to be a desired destination for a long time. In fact, I think we will see Clippers players demanding trades soon...nobody is going to want to play for this sociopath The Clippers better enjoy this year, because starting next year they are going to go back to being the woeful Clippers we knew for many years. And it couldn't happen to a more despicable owner.

Justice...

[TAFKASP]

Double standards are the new standard in this country. Sterling is a horrible human being and nobody is likely to debate that point. Dante did something terrible but I don't think he has a history of thuggish behavior and although I believe no man should ever assault a woman in the heat of the moment good people have been known to occasionally do stupid things. Dante deserves all the ridicule he received and then some, but unlike Sterling he has no history of being a repugnant human being.

[mjs34]

Long, I disagree with the outcome. I think it is more likely that Sterling will receive some sort of suspension from team activities and day to day operations, and everything else will be swept under the rug. Ultimately the players will ignore these events going forward, and continue to take the big contracts and stack the west coast team.

[kms789 [enjin:6694798]]

Couple differences-

1) The Cunningham situation were allegations made by his girlfriend that weren't confirmed by anyone. It's different than a 10-minute rant on a phone recording that everyone can listen to. If the Cunningham allegations are true, I don't think he should play on an NBA team, but you have to withhold judgments until the legal process confirms it when it comes to private disputes. Like when Chris Andersen had that attempted extortion thing against him with the child pornography. Everybody jumped to "well that doesn't surprise me," and it turned out to be a total hoax.

2) As Barkley pointed out, and this is the biggest thing- it's one thing to be racist in your own life. It's a big difference to be openly racist and be in a position of financial power, where your decisions are actually affecting sectors of the economy. Griffin was drafted by the Clippers. Paul was traded there. He owns one of two teams in the most desirable market in the US. To turn it around and try pin fault on the players for this is just stupid.

[mjs34]

Unless the DC's gf strangled herself at 3am, I would take the marks on her neck that were confirmed by the police as some confirmation. Then there were his text's that he sent a couple days later as well. I don't have a problem with letting the process play out, but that isn't happening in Sterlings case.

Making racist remarks on a private phone call shouldn't be considered being openly racist. My understanding of the law is that recorded conversations in Cali have to have both persons permission, which is what makes that phone call private. My point is that I am sure many would look just as guilty if some of their private phone calls were made public.

Griffin signed an extension with the Clippers of his own accord. Paul re-signed as a FA, an Doc just signed on as well. Sterling, as many have pointed out, has had many previous issues when it comes to race. Nobody is pinning fault on the players for Sterlings remarks, and to imply that is just stupid.

In no way am I excusing Sterling for what looks like some really egregious comments, but I would also point out that he signed Paul, Griffin and Doc to huge contracts so his private racist comments weren't really affecting his economic matters with the Clippers.

[repplile [enjin:8691898]]

I agree with SJM for the most part. It's common knowledge that Sterling is not a wonderful human being by any stretch but I think the most interesting aspect of this entire debacle is the way the whole incident is being treated by the media.

This woman secretly recorded a private conversation with the guy, probably in his own home, and leaked it to the tabloids. Furthermore it's crystal clear from the conversation, which he tries to end three or four times before the money quote asking her not to associate with black people, that she's fishing for racist comments. Racism is not cool, but neither is deliberately tricking someone you're supposedly close with into saying damaging things and then releasing those comments publicly at a time most calculated to hurt them. It's telling that the private comments of an 80 year old man whose unique brand of racism is an open secret are garnering attention and fake incredulity around the league but her equally despicable behavior isn't even mentioned. I don't know what that says about race relations or the kind of behavior that tweaks our sensibilities.

I want to clarify, it's a really personal recording and I'm not trying to excuse his behavior but it's also not a 9 and 1/2 minute racist rant which is how it's being construed. I'll be interested to see how the league deals with it as it's a good litmus test for how the league is going to police itself in the Silver era.

[thedoper]

I think the league has to force Sterling to sell. If the NBA can fine players for everything under the sun they have to step up in how they reprimand their country club of owners. Imagine if a white player in the NBA said those things. His career would be over. This looks bad in so many ways for the product, the past CBAs have been marred by assumptions of these undertones and now Sterling fulfills all of the players assertions of a class-based racism coming from the owners. Not only is Sterling a bigot, but he is a moronic business man in this sense. Some people really do get insanely wealthy with no common sense. If the NBA does not take Sterling's team away, I would expect a huge backlash from the players and the next CBA will be ugly.

[A Friendly Flatulence [enjin:8907904]]

I think the league should "strongly encourage Sterling to sell" with the emphasis on strongly. He is a business man and has to realize that his team could likely diminish in value as many basketball fans will no longer want to support him with attendance or merchandise as well as players no longer wanting to play in for his club, thus receding back to an NBA doormat.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

The Clippers staged a pre-game silent protest by wearing black arm bands and inside-out warm up jerseys, and then continued the protest by playing like mutts and getting blown out in Oakland. These are not happy guys right now, and it may get worse when they get back to LA. LA residents have long known what a jerk Sterling was, but it's embarrassing now that the whole world knows. Sterling talk is all over town. Tuesday's game will be quite interesting to say the least. I wonder if Billy Crystal will be there.

The point has been made here that the girlfriend is despicable too for secretly taping a private conversation. I don't disagree. She's a high-priced whore who doesn't seem to be bothered showing up in public with her married john, as long as he keeps draping her in bling. But I don't know why we need to be concerned about her behavior. She's nothing. Sterling, however, is a public figure who has the ability to impact a lot of other people's lives. And the question has also been asked about the legality of taping a private conversation without consent, but I find that irrelevant also. We're not interested in charging Sterling with any crime, we're merely using this unfortunate story to learn more about him...and it's not at all pretty.

There have also been comments that the league needs to force him to sell, but that has to be a complicated process too. First, I don't know what legal authority the league has to make an owner sell. Similar to the Wolves situation, there are likely several minority investors who don't want to have to sell their interest in a fire sale. This will take months, if not years, to unravel. And knowing the pride that most NBA athletes have, I think we will soon see guys like Chris Paul demanding a trade because they can't bring themselves to play for an exposed racist. I see this as a potentially tragic event for a franchise that hasn't given its fans many reasons to be happy. Good news for the Wolves though, because it gives them one less team that Love might find attractive, and one less team they have to battle for a playoff spot.