BANNED FROM NBA FOR LIFE
(Photo from http://a57.foxnews.com)
NIT – Acting in a swift manner, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver today banned Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life from any association with the Clippers or the NBA, it was announced today at a press conference in Manhattan.
Commissioner Silver has also fined Sterling $2.5 million, the maximum amount allowed under the NBA Constitution. The fine money will be donated to organizations dedicated to anti-discrimination and tolerance efforts that will be jointly selected by the NBA and the Players Association.
As part of the lifetime ban, Mr. Sterling may not attend any NBA games or practices, be present at any Clippers office or facility, or participate in any business or player personnel decisions involving the team. He will also be barred from attending NBA Board of Governors meetings and participating in any other league activity.
Commissioner Silver also announced that he will urge the Board of Governors to exercise its authority to force a sale of the team.
The discipline issued today is based on the Commissioner’s conclusion that Mr. Sterling violated league rules through his expressions of offensive and hurtful views, the impact of which has been widely felt throughout the league.
The story blew up over the past weekend, when a recording turned over to the celebrity website TMZ was released to the public. A man, now fully believed to be Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, tells his girlfriend – who is half-black – not to bring black people to Clippers games and made other outlandish and insensitive remarks about black people and minorities.
The next move against Sterling may come from the owners of the other 29 NBA teams, who could force Sterling to sell. Reports say that when Sterling bought the team a number of years ago, it was worth about $15 million. It is now worth somewhere win the neighborhood of $500 million.
Sterling has a record of facing lawsuits from and of making remarks about minorities for years. A former lawyer, Sterling sometimes refused to honor contracts, and instead would face court, where he often would have to pay less. He was set to receive his second lifetime achievement award from the NAACP next month, but reports said he had paid money to the organization for the honor. The NAACP has revoked the second award and will not give it to Sterling, it reported.
See video of the news conference here.
This was all done from a recording without his knowledge.I thought you had to be told if you are being recorded.Seems to be very odd Looks as if stupid comment led to gold digger turning on him.She is on to the next one to ruin.Don’t really agree with lifestyle choices but that is the price he
Is willing to pay.Dumb old man.
Yes it is illegal in CA to record a person without his/her knowledge. The recording would never hold up in court. However… the court of public opinion is different. It took only 3-4 days since the recording was released to the media for Sterling to be tried, convicted and punished.
Peter, I do not agree with what he said but it is HIS right to have his own opinion and if you don’t agree with me then you are a socialist.
I think some people are missing the point, nobody is challenging the freedom of speech in this case, but just because you can whatever you want doesn’t mean there won’t be consequences for what is said.
I agree, there are aspects that are shady, he was in his own home, she framed him etc. But he admitted it was his voice on that record and it doesn’t deny that he is a racist bigot.
I say good for Adam Silver and the NBA
OK..Sterling may be this, and he may be that..and he clearly has shown very poor judgement, but I doubt very much if you (sk) would consent to having your private thoughts and/or conversations captured on tape and made public. Sterling has every right to hold and express his opinions in private conversations without fear of them being published. I hope his lawyers shred this woman and force the NBA to overturn it’s decision. No matter what,ya can’t un-ring a bell..the Clippers need a new…
So much for the first amendment. They should put her away for releasing a PRIVATE conversation. She is nothing but a damn whore anyway. I hope he sues the crap out of her and the NBA. He has the money if he decides to do it. He is entitled to his opinion. Even a lot of blacks are saying that.
It’s no surprise you feel this way LVS. You’re obviously racist, but we all already know this. His comments were egregious. He is entitled to his free speech, but he is part of a private organization known as the NBA, and they decided to vote him out. At that level, your comments carry weight, and you’re held accountable. Sure some black people probably talk the same about whites, but they aren’t the owners of NBA teams, who were just busted by their gold digging girlfriend.
@Philly-Blah, Blah, Blah. That is always the first words out of cowards mouth is racist. You are such a idiot that you don’t even know I have been fighting racism for decades. Stupidity like your is the one thing I keep on fighting.
The girlfriend set him up with leading questions on a hidden recorder, and served him up like a Christmas goose. I hope Sterling’s lawyers are at least able to squeeze out everything she took from him and put her back on the street corner.
Sterling himself is an accomplished lawyer. He is very litigious. She will be sued and destroyed, I am sure. He already lost in the court of public opinion, though, which cost him what is left of his reputation, which I hear was more less at rock bottom. He will be forced to sell the team buy the other 29 NBA owners, which will net him hundreds of millions of dollars. He can’t be hurt financially.
wow. welcome to the new america. Freedom of speech no longer exists aparently. Im not saying its right what he said but it was said in private and he was expoited and recorded unknowingly. Its gonna be a crime to be a non gay white person soon with all this “equality” crap going on.
His gold digger girlfriends spigot just ran dry. Now she can go suck off someone else.
Yeah, literally. Get a load of the flaps on that ugly thing he called a girl friend. I wonder if Sterling paid for those too?
As far as I’m concerned, the NAACP showed everyone what they are about by virtually selling their “prestigious” awards anyway. What a joke.
So what’s that saying about the NAACP ? Wow. What a corrupt organization apparently.
Good catch. The LA chapter of the NAACP admitted the payoff. It was widely reported on the sports talk shows. Now, the leaders of that organization say they abhor Sterling and won’t give him another award.
Good Riddance!