In other news, she (as a whore) will never work again in this town.
I guess there is always someone so blind as do attempt to defend the indefensible.
This is the understatement of the year. His tack record is horrendous. I honestly don’t know anyone not actively involved in a hate group who is more clearly an open racist.
He (or his people) donated money to various minority groups and charities to help his image. He was being sued for housing discrimination against Black people, so he (or his people) donated money to the NAACP for appearances. Clearly, there was a pretty egregious mistake on the part of the LA chapter of the NAACP, but as someone who has to raise money for charity on a regular basis, I can understand the desire to take any donation offered. That said, I would have drawn the line elsewhere.
Because he owns a team in LA (a major TV market) that was underacheiving on and off the court. A huge part of the last collective bargaining agreement was gaining more economic parity between the teams via luxury taxes and other means. Part of making that system palatable to big market teams is maximizing revenue in major markets, growing the NBA pie, and avoiding superteams created via trades and free agency. Stern, wrongfully in my opinion, thought that part of that was helping LA have another premier team. Stern knew Sterling is a dirtbag, but he thought he could prevent his character from becoming part of the public discourse.
What are you implying?
But we have years of solid evidence about the guy. You keep acting as if what he did was out of character or unexpected. Even in the ridiculously remote chance it’s not him on the tape, he would still be the racist scumbag that people think he is now. It’s just amazing the lengths people will go to give the benefit of the doubt to people in clearly don’t deserve it. Honestly, what is you angle here?
Marge Schott? Incidents?
Pffft. Mr Sterling, much like Marge indicated about Hitler, is not a bad man. Just misunderstood and like Hitler was for Germany, good for the NBA.
I don’t think I am the blind one here. My eyes are wide open. You, however, seem to have already not only made up your mind, but you think you know what should be done. There is not one thing I have said that is defending Sterling or defending the “indefensible”. You read that into my words to make yourself feel good, but there is not one thing I have written that is pro-Donald Sterling. Unless, of course, suggesting that due process is pro Donald Sterling.
You are asking me what my angle is. Why do I need to have an angle? What is your angle? Anyone that says that due process is the way to go is much worse than just deciding that you’ve seen enough and he should be drawn and quartered?
So, why not get your group of PC-thinkers that know all the answers and just find him and lynch him? Rid the world of this scum-bag. No one would blame you, obviously, as this is a justifiable homicide if I ever heard of one. Remove the world of racists! Don’t worry if we haven’t received all the facts, yet! Screw facts! He is a racist and therefore, he is an undesirable and has to go!
You have not explained to me how the NAACP has awarded him two lifetime achievement awards… Well, he won’t receive the second one, but it was announced. You and others have stated that there is a 30 year track record of behavior. So, did he just write the NAACP a big fat check and all was forgiven? What does that say about the NAACP? And taking money from Sterling is one thing… Giving him an award is entirely something else. And to do it twice? WTF does the NAACP stand for, anyway? “If you give us a bunch of money, we don’t care if you really hate black people!”
I have not once said that what he did was unexpected or out of character. I have heard Donald Sterling stories for years. I don’t know the man, but this, if it turns out to be true, would not exactly shock me.
Your explanation of why Stern gave Paul to the Clippers is a joke. Really? He’s in a big market? Where exactly are the Lakers? They play in the same building. What did Stern owe Sterling? Why not give Paul to the Lakers, an organization that has done a ton of great things for the league, and hasn’t had a joke of an owner?
And since when is it up to the commissioner to help out an owner who has had 30 years to figure out how to run a basketball team? Screw that. If it is all about the money, as you so eloquently said it, well, then you get what you deserve. And the NBA’s owners and Stern have only themselves to blame for this clown.
All I have said is let’s wait for the whole story to come out. How that implies I have an agenda is beyond me. Or does someone that disagrees with how you would handle something obligated to have some nefarious “agenda”?
My “agenda” is due process. Something I would want and something you would want if you found yourself or a loved one in a situation where public opinion matters and where mistakes are often made. If you can’t grasp what I am saying, imagine you were the parent of a Duke Lacrosse player when that rape scandal broke.
Innocent until proven guilty is an important concept to me. It goes no further than that.
Jesus, seriously, what are you talking about? Could you maybe say in fifteen or so words what “something more is at work” is supposed to mean?
Stink Fish Pot, maybe argue on the guy’s behalf without repeatedly using the word “lynch?” It’s just galling.
A hilarious picture going around on Facebook:
Two Golden State fans at the game last night, one white, one black.
Black guy holding up a sign over his head that says “I’m BLACK!!” with an arrow pointing down towards himself. Next to him, the white Golden State fan with a sign held over his head saying “I brought a BLACK guy to the game!!”
[QUOTE=Stink Fish Pot;]
You have not explained to me how the NAACP has awarded him two lifetime achievement awards… Well, he won’t receive the second one, but it was announced. You and others have stated that there is a 30 year track record of behavior. So, did he just write the NAACP a big fat check and all was forgiven? What does that say about the NAACP? And taking money from Sterling is one thing.
[/QUOTE]
Does the NAACP give out “Definitely Not a Racist Trust Us We Checked” awards or what?
I am not going to discuss this with a bunch of hysterical children.
If you want to ask me what should be done IF all of this is found to be true, fine. That’s one thing. But to discuss how he should be suspended immediately without even an investigation seems like you all feel like you have all the info you need.
Jesus, seriously, why is this so complicated? All I am saying is that until we hear the entire tape recording, and until we find out that it is actually Sterling and the tape wasn’t altered in any way, let’s reserve judgement. “Something more is at work” just means that there may be other factors that will need to be taken into consideration. For instance, the conversation was illegally recorded. Can that illegal recording be used to take action as drastic as some are suggesting? I don’t know. If a cop makes an illegal search and finds the murder weapon, and that weapon is needed for a conviction of the murderer, guess what? If the gun was obtained illegally, he walks.
I also have questions regarding the other owners. If his racist behavior was so well known, why did they not take action before this? Where was Stern for the past 30 years while a well-known racist was owning an NBA team? And what does Sterling know about the other owners? He is the oldest owner in the league, so he has been around for the application process for all the other owners in the league. My guess is he knows a number of things about other owners that the public doesn’t have a clue about.
If he decides to fight this in the courts, do you think he will keep his mouth shut, or will he come out swinging?
Why you all interpret this as a defense of Sterling is a mystery, but I guess not for the politically correct. You must all be seen to be on the “correct side” of the issue, just so you can’t be thought of as racists.
Pathetic.
You either are or aren’t a racist. Jumping on the right side of something so obvious as this doesn’t prove anything.
Are you galled? Really? 'Cause that would be a shame. What’s the matter, can’t you stomach killing Sterling in the same way that blacks were dispatched in the US? I would think that lynching him would be the perfect way to kill a racist.
Tell me, what kind if way is it PC to kill a white guy? I think lynching is a perfect metaphor, but since he’s a racist, I shouldn’t use it? OK, he’s Jewish. Can I use gassing him? Or how about taking him out back and shooting him? Tar and feathering?
Marley23, you pick the metaphor. Only make sure it doesn’t offend ANYONE. Remember, you can’t offend anyone, so don’t suggest “whacking” him. That would upset Italian Americans weary of that stereotype.
And I’m not arguing on the guy’s behalf. I haven’t done any such thing. But it is precious how these types of threads go.m if you keep saying it, others will read what you wrote and repeat the same error. I have asked each person accusing me of supporting him, or arguing on his behalf (that is a good one), or whatever to show me where I have done that. You can’t because I haven’t.
Folks, all I have suggested is waiting until all the facts are in. By saying that, I am defending him?
Whatever. Please, flail about in your world of politically correct superiority. A bunch of white people all proving to each other that you couldn’t possibly racists because you want to take Donald Sterling out and … What exactly do you want to do to him, anyway?
How can you even have a discussion about this when you aren’t willing to let the process take its course?
Acsenray, i suspect your message was just another attempt at humor while taking a shot at my question, but yeah… I think as an organization, the NAAPCP has some responsibility to check the background of the people they are honoring. As I understand it, this isn’t some national NAACP sitting in Washington. This was the LA chapter of the NAACP, for crying out loud. Sterling’s back yard.
Reading this thread, the man has been doing racist things his entire life. He’s now what, 80? The NAACP giving him a lifetime achievement award is pretty freakin’ hypocritical, wouldn’t you say? Or flat out ignorant.
I think with all the google-fu in this thread, someone in the LA NAACP chapter just had to do a quick google before this incident and they would see a number of things that may make them reconsider honoring him. I don’t care if they take his money… That’s fine with me. But honoring him? That’s a joke.
$$$$$
Makes the world go round. Funny how the LA chapter of the NAACP gets a donation and decides that maybe an award is in order (it wasn’t the national body).
I’m not even sure what the argument is supposed to be here. That the NAACP can’t possibly be on speaking terms or even friendly with racists? Really? History says otherwise.
The NAACP isn’t the arbiter of all that is or isn’t racism in this nation. It’s a bizarre and completely unconvincing appeal to authority to even make this argument.
The guy gives tickets to kids. Ok, that’s a good thing, and I can see the local chapter encouraging that sort of behavior. But throwing around a few bucks and giving tickets to kids doesn’t give you a pass on your other behavior. Nor does association with the NAACP give sufficient benefit of the doubt in this case.
Because talking about lynch mobs and “PC ways to kill a white guy” is not hysterical.
No. It is called hyperbole. Your cherry picking does not surprise me, though. It’s what I’d expect, actually. You don’t address any of my points, because that would be too difficult.
Stink Fish Pot, I will attempt to address some of your points that you feel others may or may not have considered:
First of all, in CA it is totally legal to record a conversation with another person WITHOUT their knowledge. Only thing you CAN’T use it for is evidence in a court. There’s no court here. Your comparison of a cop finding a murder weapon that’s needed for a conviction… WHA–?? There’s no murder here. This is regarding Sterling’s professionalism in a worldwide sports league. Call someone a faggot at work, and you may be fired. Hell, you will be fired due to lack of professionalism.
I may guess that the entire conversation is not there, it’s possibly edited, but for what purpose? Unless his sentences are edited to make him sound racist-- I listened to this recording. As doctored as it may or may not be (as you claim as a possibility only, I’ll point out), these are nonsensical statements made concerning a “proper image”, according to Sterling’s statements.
And yes, IMO, that recording is totally legal to be used in limiting or ending his NBA team ownership, again, entirely due to his lack of professionalism in a professional sports league.
[QUOTE=Stink Fish Pot]
I also have questions regarding the other owners. If his racist behavior was so well known, why did they not take action before this? Where was Stern for the past 30 years while a well-known racist was owning an NBA team? And what does Sterling know about the other owners? He is the oldest owner in the league, so he has been around for the application process for all the other owners in the league. My guess is he knows a number of things about other owners that the public doesn’t have a clue about.
[/QUOTE]
Okay, so let’s pretend Sterling knows Mark Cuban fucks dogs in the mouth, but only after their teeth have been removed, and that only happens on a full-moon night in temperatures below 50 degrees. Okay, that’s gross. Erase that from your memories, Dopers. Seriously. 
(Cuban irks me.)
Maybe a better example is how Sterling might know five or ten owners who bet against their teams. He’s known this for years. He DOESN’T have a recording or bank statements, but hey, he smokes Cuban cigars with these guy for over ten years. (Not a Mark Cuban reference this time.)
Let’s pretend something more believable: Sterling has proof that all the other owners are from Alpha Centauri, drive Yugos-- WHO CARES?? This particular issue is only concerning openly spouted racism, which certainly does have a direct effect on his players, fans-- IOW, the people who make the team possible. He’s a boss showing blatant disrespect to his employees and supporters.
[QUOTE=Stink Fish Pot]
If he decides to fight this in the courts, do you think he will keep his mouth shut, or will he come out swinging?
[/QUOTE]
As answered, a court of law will find this recording inadmissible, but only if there’s no proof he consented to having a conversation taped. He’s so old and pathetic he may have thought that his girlfriend said “consummation” or “confession” instead of “conversation”. Still, no court of law involved. His past lawsuits show us that racism isn’t a new thing for Sterling.
I understand how many, many, many people-- maybe including some of us Dopers-- might like to jump on what’s perceived as the “correct side of the issue.” Lots of Facebook posts about this very issue seem to be self horn tooting responses, like, “Hey, 'cause of what I typed, I’m all for equal rights” kind of thing…
…but I see no evidence of that here on this thread.
What irks me so much about Sterling is his obvious disregard towards the Clipper players who have not been given a free ticket to stardom and millions of bucks. Knowing that thousands of kids who try out for this career and a handful that actually make it is basically telling everyone in an NBA uniform, to hell with you. You’re just lucky. Oh, and black. Shame, shame, shame! And stay away from my girlfriend!
No, you’re not defending him. I get that. And the NBA is investigating this recording. If/when they authenticate the recording, (the due diligence you’re asking for), then let the pins fall. i wholeheartedly doubt this tape is altered, and that’s Sterling in the raw.
Maybe they should interview the [del]prostitutes[/del] girlfriends to get a different perspective from the wives involved.
The NAACP’s function is pretty much associated with the elimination of racism. I would think if this guy is the POS he’s made out to be it would be common knowledge.
Thank you.
According to Mike & Mike, who are sports talking heads for ESPN radio this morning, they reiterated what i heard last night. It is not legal to tape a private conversation without all parties being aware of the taping in CA. Now you say it cannot be used in court, and that i think we can agree. But if you are saying that it is legal for someone to record another person without their knowledge and release it to the public, without it being involved in a court case, ok. I don’t know CA law, but for the sake of this discussion I believe you.
Yesterday, when this was being discussed on a sports channel. It was said that this woman could face criminal charges for doing this recording and releasing it. However, what you are saying contradicts that. Again, whatever the law is here, I will cede this point to you until someone can Say differently.
And to be honest, once it is out, it is out. I know that. Legal or not, it is out there, and the fallout is real.
However, one person (who was a legal analyst, forget his name) said something interesting. He said that if this was a private conversation (in Sterling’s mind, anyway), this was essentially his private thoughts. Something that he said in the privacy of his own home (or perhaps over the phone) but not something clearly meant for public consumption. That doesn’t change what he said, but the lawyer said this is a slippery slope if it is viewed at punishing someone over his private thoughts. And he wasn’t sure if the NBA owners could legally do anything.
We agree. The “to what end” obviously, would be to make him look as bad as possible. And she succeeded with the snippets that have been released.
But that is the only thing I can come up with for a possible motive to release only these sections, or if there was any dialog cut from what we heard.
I am sure the tape will be analyzed and this question will be answered. As will the question “is it actually Sterling”, which anyone who has heard the tape and knows Sterling’s voice is convinced it is.
That was gross, and I am not a Cuban fan. But that is a visual I will have a hard time erasing for a while.
I agree with you, and the “who cares” is not in relation to Sterling’s racism. It might be the owner that has bet on the games, or whatever transgression he has committed would not want that known because of the bad PR and negative fallout. This might cause him to not want to vote Sterling out of the league, if it would come to that.
Agree. His past actions certainly indicate how he feels. No question about that.
Not like you describe, no. But many folks that reply to threads like this, by agreeing completely with the mob mentality, get their position out there, and make sure everyone knows they are on the “right side” of racism. Seriously, what educated person would be for Sterling or what he said? But when I suggested that we should wait until all the facts are in, people have replied nonsense like they feel a need to “explain to someone who is defending the indefensible”. If wanting to wait until the evidence is all in before moving forward is indefensible, then the alternative is mob rule. That’s not a good approach to anything.
I think it was stranger than even you say. The first thing I heard sounded more like a hurt or upset boyfriend who was cheated on. He sounded like he didn’t like the Instagram picture because he had to “answer questions about it.” What those questions were, i didn’t hear, but that part sounded pathetic, like people were asking him if his girlfriend was sleeping with Magic Johnson, or whatever. You could interpret that part as being “I don’t care what you do or who you do it with, I just don’t want to have to deal with your actions.”
The second part I heard, where he talks about how he has fed and clothed and bought cars and houses for black people was much more telling, IMO. He sounded like I would imagine a slave owner might sound… Not that NBA players are slaves, but that he was providing these people the necessities of life, and they should be grateful to him. It seems in his mind, he can’t be a racist because he pays black basketball players millions of dollars. It just had a very weird perspective to my ear. Yes, a racist perspective.
The third part, when he talks about not wanting black people at the game or other minorities, I didn’t understand that rant at all. (I understood the words, but I’d like to know what she said that made him go off the deep end there). Again, very racist comments, no question. And if it turns out to all be true, he has a lot to answer for.
Thank you for acknowledging this. And i agree. Let the pins fall where they may. I don’t have a problem with him losing ownership if that’s what ultimately happens.
A couple of notes for folks that may not have heard the news yet.
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supposedly, Sterling and his estranged wife had dinner this weekend and were seen in a nice restaurant together. Reporters were peppering him with questions, and the wife defended him up and down saying “he’s not a racist.”
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yesterday, or last night, the family of Donald Sterling released a statement completely distancing themselves from his statements. They condemned the statements and said that they are not supporting him. This statement was supposedly from his estranged wife and kids.
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speculation is that this is going to set up a transition of ownership to keep the team within the family, with the wife taking ownership of the team.
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I also heard this morning that privately a number of NBA owners have said they were not sure if they would vote to have him removed.
I find this whole thing fascinating. Especially number 3. He is 81 years old. Selling the team to roll around in the money might sound fun, but if he has any children, he might want to leave the team to them. He certainly doesn’t sound like a guy who would give it up willingly.
That’s a great question. I’m not sure why it’s so complicated, either. Thing is, you didn’t say “there may be other factors.” You said
This is not the same as suggesting that there are facts we aren’t aware of, which is at best a truism, anyway. There are always other factors. What there isn’t is any plausible explanation for why, based on the facts we have available, anyone taking a rational approach to this story would think that the important point is that he was going to be given an award from the NAACP.
The reason you are being spoken to like you’re either a lunatic conspiracy theorist or someone trying to deflect attention from Sterling is because you have said things, like that quote above, which are things that don’t make sense from any other perspective. He was “baited;” she was trained in interrogation techniques. She’s much younger than he is and he’s rich. He was going to get an award. The NBA gave him Chris Paul. What if she doctored the tapes?
This is a great example. You started by talking about the lynch mob mentality and now you’re analogizing it to a criminal conviction. Based on what? Who has suggested anything drastic at all? It’s incredible that you can simultaneously be this reactionary about such a straightforward issue (he said these things, that’s bad) and accuse anyone else of hysteria.
The issue of due process is 100 percent not relevant in this situation.
White knighting! (pun)
Why should you think that?
Despite the fact that a few people knew this guy has a long (and documented) track record of racism, why is it only now that it’s reaching fever pitch? The answer is pretty simple - most people don’t usually pay attention and/or don’t care to lots of news items. It’s not like the guy was drowning kittens. The charges of racism might be bad enough, but “another older white guy turns out to be racist” is not a bit surprise and doesn’t always elicit much of a response beyond the token.
People just seemed to care a tad more this time. And honestly, beyond a few cases of internet outrage and some quippy soundbites, is there actually much of an uproar? To the point that most people will remember this in 5 years? I sincerely doubt it. I would not be the least surprised that if Sterling is accused of a similar act of racism in 10 years, people will have much the same reaction while hardly remembering what happened now.