12-13-2010, 04:49 PM
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#1
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Diamond Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 7,002
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Donald Sterling *shakes head*
http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angele...ory?id=5915935
Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has taken to heckling Clippers guard Baron Davis during games over his play and conditioning, according to a Yahoo! Sports report.
Sterling's taunts at Davis have included the following, several sources said, according to the report:
• "Why are you in the game?"
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Sterling When they make shots, it's great. When they don't, we're all disappointed.
” -- Clippers owner Donald Sterling
• "Why did you take that shot?"
• "You're out of shape!"
Sterling said little when asked about his comments, according to the report.
"When they make shots, it's great," Sterling said during the Clippers' loss to the Orlando Magic on Sunday, according to the report. "When they don't, we're all disappointed."
Asked to explain further, Sterling shrugged and ended the interview, according to the report.
Sterling has heckled other Clippers players, but he's razzed Davis the worst, according to the report.
"There's nothing I can say," Davis said of Sterling's comments, according to the report. "I have no comment on that. You just get to this point where it's a fight every day. It's a fight. You're fighting unnecessary battles. I'm fighting unnecessary battles.
“
Davis There's nothing I can say. I have no comment on that. You just get to this point where it's a fight every day. It's a fight. You're fighting unnecessary battles. I'm fighting unnecessary battles.
” -- Clippers guard Baron Davis
"It's frustrating because I know and my teammates know I'm capable of getting it done, even dudes on the other team. It's frustrating."
Davis, who has three years and almost $42 million remaining on his contract, has struggled this season. He's averaging 7.4 points per game, has missed 14 of 25 games and had his conditioning questioned earlier this season by Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro.
It's not uncommon for sports owners to voice their displeasure about their teams -- though usually it happens through the media. Late New York Yankees owner George M. Steinbrenner was famous for his willingness to call reporters and vent about his unhappiness about his team's play.
Public criticism in front of the fans is less common, though not unheard of. At the San Diego Padres' 1974 home opener, the late Ray Kroc took the public address microphone and apologized to the fans for his team's play.
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12-13-2010, 04:55 PM
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#2
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Diamond Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 9,224
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Donald Sterling attended a game?
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12-13-2010, 04:57 PM
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#3
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Inactive.
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
Posts: 43,084
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Go Mavs (section)!
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12-13-2010, 04:57 PM
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#4
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Guru
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 23,242
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Why is this in the Mavs section?
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"Cream of the crop gon' rise to the top." -Jaden Hardy
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12-13-2010, 05:00 PM
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#5
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Moderator
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 19,413
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go away mavs777
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12-13-2010, 05:04 PM
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#6
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Diamond Member
Join Date: Jul 2001
Posts: 8,668
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I'm still at a loss for words at how this is the same guy who took down our 67 win team. He's been absolutely horrible since then, and this year he's playing like a guy who should be the 12th man on a roster (if that). It's amazing that Baron and Nellie were able to take us down that year when you consider that they have been stealing paychecks ever since.
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"Ok, Go Mavericks!"
-Avery Johnson
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12-13-2010, 05:06 PM
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#7
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Diamond Member
Join Date: Jul 2001
Posts: 8,668
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Cut mavs777 some slack here. It's in the wrong section, but I think it's a great story. When have you ever heard of an owner heckling his own player? It's why the Clippers continue to be the biggest joke in the sport.
__________________
"Ok, Go Mavericks!"
-Avery Johnson
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12-13-2010, 05:10 PM
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#8
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Diamond Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Germany
Posts: 7,276
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart
Why is this in the Mavs section?
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Because this moron mavs777 doesn´t have a clue what he is doing...
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12-13-2010, 05:23 PM
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#9
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Moderator
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 19,413
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It's kind of like when Barea tries to take a bad shot and makes it. Just because he makes the shot doesn't excuse the horrific trend (making millions and millions of threads).
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12-13-2010, 06:19 PM
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#10
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Member
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 322
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Couldn't understand the article as it was poorly written on the post, but I understood the points anyway.
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12-14-2010, 07:02 AM
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#11
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Diamond Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: now, here
Posts: 7,720
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Hilarious. I don't feel bad for Baron though as he's getting a 600k paycheck cut every week.
I can see Sterling's racist ass seething as not being able to evict Baron.
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watch your thoughts, they become your words
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12-14-2010, 10:41 AM
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#12
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Golden Member
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,874
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Sterling should just buy the dude out. Plain and simple.
__________________
"They better not put me in the All-Star Game. I won't shoot, but I'll dominate that easy game. I'll be playing hard defense. I'll be foulin'. I'll be flagrant fouling. Everyone will be like, 'What are you doing?'" -- Ron Artest.
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12-15-2010, 04:53 PM
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#13
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Golden Member
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Richmond, VA
Posts: 1,648
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Just how bad does cheapskate Sterling want out from under B-Diddy's deal?
Butler, Ajinca or Jones, and the Najera trade exception, plus cash
for
Baron Davis & Eric Gordon
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12-15-2010, 08:40 PM
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#14
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Diamond Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 7,002
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Meh, Butler>Baron
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12-16-2010, 11:23 PM
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#15
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Golden Member
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Richmond, VA
Posts: 1,648
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but Gordon is better than both of them, which is really the point of the deal.
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12-16-2010, 11:28 PM
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#16
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Diamond Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: North Laredo
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobatundi
Just how bad does cheapskate Sterling want out from under B-Diddy's deal?
Butler, Ajinca or Jones, and the Najera trade exception, plus cash
for
Baron Davis & Eric Gordon
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Throw in Blake Griffin and I think we can get it done.
__________________
"Dirk Nowitzki is now a household name in every locker room in this world.
You say it in Brazil, you say Dirk, they know Nowitzki. You say it in China,
they know Nowitzki. Kobe, Michael, DIRK." - Jeff Van Gundy
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04-26-2014, 01:55 PM
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#18
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Diamond Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Hudson, WI
Posts: 3,938
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"Is it just me or is the lobby full of negroes?"
Last edited by spreedom; 04-26-2014 at 01:55 PM.
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04-26-2014, 02:04 PM
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#19
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Guru
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Posts: 23,242
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky
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To an NBA game of all places. You could at least expect it with the Yacht Club, but don't bring black people to an NBA game? That'd be like saying don't bring white people to the new Coen Brothers film.
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"Cream of the crop gon' rise to the top." -Jaden Hardy
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04-26-2014, 02:10 PM
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#20
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Golden Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,715
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Do we think it's the young lady on his left or on his right?
Whichever one it is, Donald Sterling's wife Rochelle is suing her for the return of all cash, property, and gifts (plastic surgery?) that Donald Sterling made to her during the course of their relationship, since all such cash/property/gifts would be community property under California law.
Ain't no fool like an old fool.
Ain't no racist like an old racist.
Ain't no old racist fool like an old racist fool.
Last edited by Jack.Kerr; 04-26-2014 at 02:13 PM.
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04-26-2014, 02:17 PM
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#21
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Moderator
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: 41.21.1
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Donald Sterling, the Cadbane of the NBA... Too bad they can't ban him.
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These days being a fan is a competition to see who can be the most upset when
your team loses. That proves you love winning more. That's how it works.
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04-26-2014, 02:41 PM
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#22
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Golden Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,715
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Staples Center as Tara
From Elgin Baylor's 2009 wrongful termination lawsuit:
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"While ignoring my suggestions and isolating me from decisions customarily reserved for general managers, the Clippers attempted to place the blame for the team’s failures on me," Baylor said in the declaration. "During this same period, players Sam Cassell, Elton Brand and Corey Maggette complained to me that DONALD STERLING would bring women into the locker room after games, while the players were showering, and make comments such as, 'Look at those beautiful black bodies.' I brought this to Sterling’s attention, but he continued to bring women into the locker room."
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So clearly he's not racist.
Last edited by Jack.Kerr; 04-26-2014 at 02:42 PM.
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04-26-2014, 04:46 PM
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#23
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Inactive.
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
Posts: 43,084
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack.Kerr
From Elgin Baylor's 2009 wrongful termination lawsuit:
So clearly he's not racist.
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He also gave his mixed-race hooker/girlfriend permission to sleep with black guys, so again, not racist.
That's normal, right?
Last edited by EricaLubarsky; 04-26-2014 at 04:52 PM.
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04-26-2014, 07:07 PM
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#24
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Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 43
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Sickening comments by this guy. Such prejudice and ignorance. And to make it worse he sulks like a baby about how he is so upset he doesn't feel like flying to Europe anymore. What a sad case. Not fit to lace Magic's shoes.
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04-27-2014, 03:32 PM
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#25
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Diamond Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 8,841
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I'm more disappointed by the Clippers players who will play for him. All they did was turn their jerseys inside out.....granted, they are millionaires and are in a position that most of us will never see. But goodness. If you don't stand for something you stand for nothing.
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04-27-2014, 04:20 PM
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#26
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Golden Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,715
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dtownsfinest
I'm more disappointed by the Clippers players who will play for him. All they did was turn their jerseys inside out.....granted, they are millionaires and are in a position that most of us will never see. But goodness. If you don't stand for something you stand for nothing.
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Are you advocating a boycott of today's game v. GSW?
I think the players have a lot of leverage with regard to how the league ultimately disciplines Sterling, both short- and long-term. But I think that a disruption of the playoffs with a one-game boycott (or 2 games, or 3 games), would have less impact than a deliberate consideration of the circumstances, and an orderly, well-thought-out, thoroughly-considered response that Sterling's comments deserve.
I don't think that the responsibility for sanctioning Sterling lie with the players/employees. I think it's the league's primary responsibility, and ultimately the public's. The silence of an empty Staples Center for a nationally televised game would deafen the league into action.
Should also be pointed out that as repugnant as Sterling's comments are, he has acts in his past that are arguably even worse, that tangibly damaged actual people. And neither a jury (in the case of Elgin Baylor) nor the NBA did anything to hold him to account. And a paltry couple-of-million dollars fine by the U.S. Justice Department for housing discrimination is of little more consequence to a billionaire like Sterling than a mosquito bite.
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04-27-2014, 04:26 PM
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#27
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Diamond Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 8,841
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack.Kerr
Are you advocating a boycott of today's game v. GSW?
I think the players have a lot of leverage with regard to how the league ultimately disciplines Sterling, both short- and long-term. But I think that a disruption of the playoffs with a one-game boycott (or 2 games, or 3 games), would have less impact than a deliberate consideration of the circumstances, and an orderly, well-thought-out, thoroughly-considered response that Sterling's comments deserve.
I don't think that the responsibility for sanctioning Sterling lie with the players/employees. I think it's the league's primary responsibility, and ultimately the public's. The silence of an empty Staples Center for a nationally televised game would deafen the league into action.
Should also be pointed out that as repugnant as Sterling's comments are, he has acts in his past that are arguably even worse, that tangibly damaged actual people. And neither a jury (in the case of Elgin Baylor) nor the NBA did anything to hold him to account. And a paltry couple-of-million dollars fine by the U.S. Justice Department for housing discrimination is of little more consequence to a billionaire like Sterling than a mosquito bite.
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Well let me say this. I never once thought that anyone would boycott. My opinion of these guys is they don't care. Now whether they should or not? That's not for me to say. Its easy to speak on this on the outside looking in so i'm aware of that.
But they do try to send a message.......and it was turning their warm up jerseys or whatever inside out. It looks silly and childish. That sends no message if that was the intent.
If you wanted to go out there and send a message than do it.
But it takes a certain individual to play for the Clippers and like it has been stated, this isn't his first time doing something like this and this is one of his lesser offenses. So if you were playing for him prior to these comments and rooting for the Clippers you probably should still do it. You've been supporting a bigot for this long.....
And I hate to take this approach to this but this whole situation just rubs me the wrong way........its almost like the "slave master" approach. You're good enough to work for me but not good enough to sit at the table and eat with me. Very disgraceful.
I do agree with you that this shouldn't even be up tot he players or employees. This should be the league. But these players.....they have to stand for something. Guys like Jim Brown, Bill Russell, etc. before them? They all stood up.....and they all use to. Then this certain type of athlete started to come into the league that started with the MJ era. It started being about the $$$ over social awareness. Now no one cares. I guess people are comfortable now in their 20 million dollar houses.....
Last edited by Dtownsfinest; 04-27-2014 at 04:28 PM.
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04-27-2014, 05:38 PM
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#28
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Guru
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Location: sport
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They need to get over it. The league will take care of it... former players/fans/owners will all force it. The players need to go out and play the game.
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04-27-2014, 10:23 PM
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#29
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Golden Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,715
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Murphy3
They need to get over it. The league will take care of it... former players/fans/owners will all force it. The players need to go out and play the game.
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No, they don't need to "get over it". They do need to let the league address the situation first, and if the league's response is inadequate, then a more acute response by the players association might become necessary.
But they don't need to "get over it". Not now. Not anytime soon.
Last edited by Jack.Kerr; 04-27-2014 at 10:24 PM.
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04-28-2014, 12:01 AM
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#30
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Guru
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 11,820
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack.Kerr
No, they don't need to "get over it". They do need to let the league address the situation first, and if the league's response is inadequate, then a more acute response by the players association might become necessary.
But they don't need to "get over it". Not now. Not anytime soon.
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A racist said something racist. Its not really a shock to me. How often you think the players actually have contact with that piece of shyt? Theyre playing a sport. Im not saying they should alreayd be over it, but how long does one have to dwell on an ignorant person saying something ignorant?
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04-28-2014, 01:39 PM
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#31
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Golden Member
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You're welcome.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Melonhead
How often you think the players actually have contact with that piece of shyt?
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That's actually an interesting question, because apparently Clippers Team President Andy Roeser doesn't know the sound of his employer's voice well enough to be able to authenticate the tape recording: "We do not know if it is legitimate [the tape] or it has been altered."
Roeser does, however, recognize the voice of the owner's companion/girlfriend/mistress/hooker well enough to be able to identify her as the defendant in a civil lawsuit brought by Sterling's wife seeking return of cash, jewelry, cars, real estate and other gifts that Sterling dispensed to her during the course of a 4-year extra-marital affair/relationship. #UnemployableAnywhereInTheNBAFormerTeamPresident
Nor is Sterling's wife of 60+ years familiar enough with the sound of her estranged husband's voice to be able to tell for sure if it's him on the tape, according to ESPN's Lisa Salters. #chutzpah
At least one person, one Mr. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was previously in Stering's employ as recently as 2000, was willing to go on record as saying that he recognized Sterling's voice:
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NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was a Clippers special assistant coach in 2000, told CNN: "I know him. I know his voice. I am not surprised by this very much."
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Funny how that works isn't it?
But if you go back to the very first post in this thread from nearly four years ago, you have accounts of Baron Davis being heckled from courtside by Sterling for being out of shape, and for playing poorly. So there's that. And maybe we should all be blaming Baron Davis right now for not going over mid-game and snapping the old man's neck like a twig. #PlayOn!
And then, if you read a couple of posts back, there's the information that came out in NBA legend Elgin Baylor's wrongful termination suit regarding player complaints [by former Maverick Sam Cassell, former Maverick Elton Brand, and Corey Magette] of Sterling bringing women/ girlfriends/ companions/ mistresses/ hookers into the lockerroom after NBA games while players were showering and encouraging the women to ogle the naked athletes as if they were livestock with comments like " Look at those beautiful black bodies." So there's that too.
And if you read some of the decades-long stack of allegations of racist statements and attitudes attributed to Sterling by former players and employees, you'll find where he allegedly said of/(to?) Danny Manning during contract negotiations " That's a lot of money for a poor black kid." So apparently Sterling injects himself into contract negotations, at lest to some degree.
And while Mrs. Sterling may not have been able to authenticate her husband's voice on-tape, she did have this to say: " The team ( which is, or at least was worth an estimated $600 million) is the most important thing to my family." If true, does that sound like a family who is detached from the day-to-day goings-on of the franchise?
Maybe Sterling isn't as hands-on an owner as Cuban, but I'd say judging from a quick scan of available evidence that Sterling crossed paths with the players on more than an intermittent basis.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Melonhead
A racist said something racist. Its not really a shock to me.
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So you'd just ignore it? Keep your head down, and keep on working for someone, making a lot of money for a man who obviously didn't respect you or regard you as an equal person? Here's the thing: Sterling isn't just 'a racist' like any guy off the street. He's the longest tenured owner in the NBA, which is one of the highest-profile sports leagues in the world. He's the owner of an NBA franchise with a decades-long history of oncourt failure largely attributed to his unwillingness to pay (mostly African-American) athletes enough to remain with the team.
If Sterling feels like that about the players his team employs, can you imagine what he must feel like about the fanbase with a large number of African-Americans and Mexican-Americans who come to his games?
Oh wait! You don't have to imagine! Sterling's past comments on people like that are part of the public record in the form of court proceedings. Because in addition to being an NBA owner, Sterling is one of the wealthiest men in Southern California (net worth nearly $1.5 Billion), with a real estate empire and an extensively documented record as a slum lord, with numerous tenant complaints over unfair housing practices that resulted in a near $3 million fine by the U.S. Justice Department.
Quote:
When Sterling first bought the Ardmore, he remarked on its odor to Davenport. "That's because of all the blacks in this building, they smell, they're not clean," he said, according to Davenport's testimony. "And it's because of all of the Mexicans that just sit around and smoke and drink all day."He added: "So we have to get them out of here." Shortly after, construction work caused a serious leak at the complex. When Davenport surveyed the damage, she found an elderly woman, Kandynce Jones, wading through several inches of water in Apartment 121. Jones was paralyzed on the right side and legally blind. She took medication for high blood pressure and to thin a clot in her leg. Still, she was remarkably cheerful, showing Davenport pictures of her children, even as some of her belongings floated around her.
___
Davenport reported what she saw to Sterling, and according to her testimony, he asked: "Is she one of those black people that stink?" When Davenport told Sterling that Jones wanted to be reimbursed for the water damage and compensated for her ruined property, he replied: "I am not going to do that. Just evict the bitch."
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While Sterling's attitudes toward Asian-Americans are, in a perverse way, not quite as toxic:
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Sterling's preference for Asians extended to the people he wanted in his buildings. "I like Korean employees and I like Korean tenants," he told Dean Segal, chief engineer at a Sterling property called the Mark Wilshire Tower Apartments, according to testimony Segal gave in the Housing Rights Center case. And Davenport testified that Sterling told her, "I don't have to spend any more money on them, they will take whatever conditions I give them and still pay the rent … so I'm going to keep buying in Koreatown."
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...still they can't be characterized as positive.
And while Sterling apparently quite enjoyed the company of women other than his wife, LOTS of women, his attitudes toward them were not, shall we say, 21st-century enlightened:
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But it's the people who work for Sterling and live in his buildings who say they bear the worst of his unconventional behavior. For years he has run semianonymous ads (crude design jobs he reportedly mocks up himself) seeking "hostesses" for Clippers events and his private parties. In a Times ad last summer, Sterling's company solicited "attractive females" to bring a résumé and photo to his address, where employees reviewed their looks. Some of the women who have gone through this process found it humiliating. "Working for Donald Sterling was the most demoralizing, dehumanizing experience of my life," says a hostess from the 1990s who says she helped set up "cattle calls" to find other women to work the job. "He asked me for seminude photos and made it clear he wanted more. He is smart and clever but manipulative. When I didn't give him what he wanted, he looked at me with distaste. His smile was so empty."
In 1996, a former employee named Christine Jaksy sued Sterling for sexual harassment. The two sides reached a confidential settlement, and Jaksy, now an artist in Chicago, says, "The matter has been resolved." But The Magazine has obtained records of that case, and according to testimony Jaksy gave under oath, Sterling touched her in ways that made her uncomfortable and asked her to visit friends of his for sex. Sterling also repeatedly ordered her to find massage therapists to service him sexually, telling her, "I want someone who will, you know, let me put it in or who [will] suck on it."
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Sterling's testimony in another case, this one involving former associate Alexandra Castro, underscores his aggressiveness with women. When Castro, whom Sterling met in Las Vegas at Al Davis' birthday party over Fourth of July weekend in 1999, visited his Beverly Hills office, Sterling later stated under oath that she brought a lab report proving she was HIV-negative, freeing him to continue having unprotected sex with his wife. "The woman wanted sex everywhere," Sterling said. "In the alley, in her car, in the elevator, in the upstairs seventh floor, in the bathroom." And he paid her for it. "Everytime she provided sex she got $500," he testified in 2003. "At the end of every week or at the end of two weeks, we would figure [it] out, and I would, perhaps, pay her then."
"When you pay a woman for sex, you are not together with her," he further testified. "You're paying her for a few moments to use her body for sex. Is it clear? Is it clear?"
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So, Melonhead, you say, "But I'm not African-American. I'm not Mexican-American, I'm not Asian-American, and I'm most definitely NOT a woman! What does any of this have to do with me? Anyway, they're playing a sport!"
And let me hasten to say, Melonhead, that I understand your confusion. I have seen and heard attitudes like yours expressed often by people who are not African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Asian-Americans, or women--i.e. white males who've never been on the business end of the discrimination stick, and who, thus, have not developed any sense of empathy for people mistreated by incorrigible, unrepentant, elitis, classist, bigoted, chauvinistic, sexual predators like Donald Sterling. (Now, I'm not necessarily assuming that you're a white male, but I will observe that your perspective sounds very similar.) So maybe your sense of empathy for people in that situation isn't finely honed, but surely you have a mother? A sister? A wife? A daughter? Maybe a non-white-male friend? Would you really want any of them to have to work for a man like Donald Sterling?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Melonhead
Im not saying they should alreayd be over it, but how long does one have to dwell on an ignorant person saying something ignorant?
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Even as a white male (correct me if that's wrong), would you yourself want to work for a man like Donald Sterling? Would you just politely bow your head when he became abusive and demeaning, and wait for that twice-a-month paycheck? When you pose the question "....how long does one have to dwell on an ignorant person saying something ignorant...", I think you're posing the wrong question. Instead the question is "How long do you ignore the behavior of a bigot like Donald Sterling? How long do you have to put up with it?"
And the answer is: "Not one second longer than you have to."
And guess what? The players (and coaches) on the Clippers and the players across the league have figured out they don't have to put up with it any more. Those recordings are game-changers. Current Clippers players no longer have to put up with what past players, and past employees, and past tenants of buildings owned by Donald Sterling have had to put up with for decades.
Those recordings (and the others that are sure to come) will force the league to address a problem (Donald Sterling) that it had allowed to fester for far too long. In retrospect, Donald Sterling may be the indelible blemish on David Stern's NBA legacy, the ugly sh!tstain that Stern managed to keep hidden while he was NBA Commissioner, but who became impossible to ignore once Stern retired. (To be fair, Sterling loves playing hardball. David Stern attempted to fine Sterling $25 million in 1984 for relocating the Clippers from San Diego to Los Angeles without league approval. Sterling in turn sued the league for $100 million, and Stern ended up penalizing Sterling a mere cost-of-business $6 million by withholding his share of new expansion franchise fees. Maybe King David's fingers were singed enough by that interaction that he was reluctant to lock horns with Sterling thereafter.)
So to the question: "...how long does one have to dwell on an ignorant person saying something ignorant ..."? When that person is Donald Sterling, the answer for NBA players right now is "You dwell on it until Sterling is out of the league, or at least disassociated from Clipper ownership."
And after that? Is Sterling the only NBA owner with questionable social attitudes and business practices? Sadly, probably not. Is he the most extreme case? Gosh, you have to hope so. <...cough...Dolan...cough>
But if other similar examples to Sterling's years-long dossier of misbehavor come to light, the NBA Players Association should be prepared to point to Sterling as an example of the cost of doing nothing, and insist that the league be prepared to act.
As for the rest of us? When we hear with our own ears a billionaire, social- and power-elite like Sterling expressing an unequivocally bigoted mentality, and we see that mentality clearly manifested in his business practices over the years, we shouldn't bury our head in the sand and pretend that we're somehow 'post-racial'.
And when we see recent Supreme Court decisions that allow a majority of voters to abolish Affirmative Action programs; or that allow state legislatures to draw voting districts in such a way as to minimize minority political representation; or that allow state legislatures to pass Jim Crow-esque voter requirements that result in the suppression of racial minorities' voting rights, we should ask ourselves exactly whose interests the Supreme Court is protecting. If you're a billionaire, social- and power-elite without a conscience like Sterling, you can feel comfortable enough. But if you're a non-white-male, non-billionaire, non-social-and-power elite, chances are that Roberts, Scalia, & Alito ain't workin' for you.
Last edited by Jack.Kerr; 04-28-2014 at 01:56 PM.
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04-28-2014, 02:30 PM
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#32
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Diamond Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 9,224
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Filthy rich people tend to be a bit detached from reality because they can pretty much just buy a protective shield around themselves, and elderly folk tend to attach themselves to the previous paradigm.
The original TMZ clip seemed to indicate he was mainly concerned with being publicly associated with black people. A rather odd thing for an NBA team owner to say of course, unless he sees the whole system as a plantation. Who exactly is he afraid will scorn him when his girlfriend publishes pictures of herself with Magic Johnson?
He feels embarrassed about said public association, although ironically it's his non-association that he should be embarrassed about. But what else do you expect when one is as detached from reality as he is?
Last edited by Dirkadirkastan; 04-28-2014 at 02:34 PM.
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04-28-2014, 06:56 PM
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#33
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Inactive.
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
Posts: 43,084
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Clippers Sponsors Drop The Team Over Racist Owner
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...n_5226620.html
Call me a little cynical, but people have known that Sterling has been racist for 20+ years. Sponsors aren't pulling out because of the racist remarks. They're backing away because of the public outcry.
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04-29-2014, 08:27 AM
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#34
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Diamond Member
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Bee Cave, Texas
Posts: 3,248
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky
Clippers Sponsors Drop The Team Over Racist Owner
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...n_5226620.html
Call me a little cynical, but people have known that Sterling has been racist for 20+ years. Sponsors aren't pulling out because of the racist remarks. They're backing away because of the public outcry.
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very true.
Which is why I believe David Stern was a coward in not addressing Sterling's history of mistreatment of both players and coaches and team mgmt.
this very well written piece on Grantland was excellent.
"The Owner and the Owned: A Discussion About Donald Sterling"
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/th...nald-sterling/
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04-29-2014, 09:11 AM
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#35
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Golden Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,715
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky
Clippers Sponsors Drop The Team Over Racist Owner
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...n_5226620.html
Call me a little cynical, but people have known that Sterling has been racist for 20+ years. Sponsors aren't pulling out because of the racist remarks. They're backing away because of the public outcry.
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I agree with your point. But having a single negative personal experience with Sterling is one thing. Having 100+ hours of unfettered Sterling on digital recordings that you can broadcast on social media is quite another. Sterling is a reel-to-reel racist in a WAV world.
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04-29-2014, 09:49 AM
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#36
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Moderator
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: 41.21.1
Posts: 36,143
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Cuban not in favor of booting Sterling
The short & sweet of it: "freedom of speech" - it's a slippery slope to remove someone's property for having an unpopular opinion, even if he is a disgusting bigot.
Not a surprising viewpoint, considering that Cuban's opinions aren't always the most popular either. I mean, he ALMOST distributed Loose Change - a "documentary" about how the US government caused 9/11. And although he says that movie didn't reflect his own personal beliefs, simply being associated with something like that could be construed as a reason to take his team away... Where do you draw the line once a precedence has been set?
__________________
These days being a fan is a competition to see who can be the most upset when
your team loses. That proves you love winning more. That's how it works.
Last edited by Underdog; 04-29-2014 at 09:56 AM.
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04-29-2014, 09:55 AM
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#37
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Golden Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,715
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Underdog
Cuban not in favor of booting Sterling
The short & sweet of it: "freedom of speech" - it's a slippery slope to remove someone's property for having an unpopular opinion, even if he is a disgusting bigot.
Not a surprising viewpoint, considering that Cuban's opinions aren't always the most popular either. I mean, he distributed Loose Change - a "documentary" about how the US government CAUSED 9/11. And although he says that movie didn't reflect his own personal beliefs, simply being associated with something like that could be construed as a reason to take his team away... Where do you draw the line once a precedence has been set?
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So that's Cuban's pitch to the top-flight free agents who might consider signing with Dallas? Good luck.
I'd be leery of and absolutely opposed to any governmental entity coming in to try to force Sterling out.
I'd be leery of and absolutely contemptuous of any private business association that didn't.
Last edited by Jack.Kerr; 04-29-2014 at 10:02 AM.
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04-29-2014, 10:01 AM
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#38
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Moderator
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: 41.21.1
Posts: 36,143
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack.Kerr
So that's Cuban's pitch to the top-flight free agents who might consider signing with Dallas? Good luck.
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I don't see how that has anything to do with free agency... He repeatedly said that Donald Sterling is a disgusting bigot who he doesn't want to be associated with in the NBA.
But he does have a point about precedence. Where does it stop once you set a legal framework? Could an owner get booted for criticizing the league?
__________________
These days being a fan is a competition to see who can be the most upset when
your team loses. That proves you love winning more. That's how it works.
Last edited by Underdog; 04-29-2014 at 10:12 AM.
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04-29-2014, 10:15 AM
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#39
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Golden Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,715
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Underdog
I don't see how that has anything to do with free agency... And he said repeatedly that Donald Sterling is a disgusting bigot who he doesn't want to be associated with in the NBA.
But he does have a point about precedence. Where does it stop once you set a legal framework? Could an owner get booted for criticizing the league?
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I think Cuban's statements here will be used against him (or at least taken into account)--by players' agents and advisors, and possibly the GMs of other teams in some cases when it comes time to decide where to sign.
This is going to be such an extremely, primally emotional issue for so many players, at least for the forseeable future, that I don't think even a salesman like Cuban would be able to intellectualize or nuance away anything less then categorical opposition to Sterling's remaining an owner.
Given the Mavericks' recent record of success in attracting free agents such as Deron Williams, Dwight Howard, and LeBron James (who has already said he wouldn't play for Sterling and that there was no room for Sterling in the NBA), I'm not sure Cuban's comments here are tipping the balance in favor of the Mavericks in future decisions. Silence would have been a better option, IMO.
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04-29-2014, 11:31 AM
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#40
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Diamond Member
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Like you'd care
Posts: 3,013
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Underdog
I don't see how that has anything to do with free agency... He repeatedly said that Donald Sterling is a disgusting bigot who he doesn't want to be associated with in the NBA.
But he does have a point about precedence. Where does it stop once you set a legal framework? Could an owner get booted for criticizing the league?
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That's absolutely right. That slope gets mighty slippery.
What do you do then with everyday people who make racist remarks? What do you do if your employer makes such racist remarks?
The NBA can penalize Sterling by fining him, banning him from attending games, or withdrawing draft picks from the Clippers. I read somewhere that the Clippers' players might be able to opt for free agency and go play somewhere else. I think they can, and should, be afforded the opportunity to do so. It's just like if you find out your employer's a racist prick, you can always quit or even sue for discrimination, but forcing him/her to sell the business so that you can continue to be employed there and get a paycheck is nonsense.
One more thing, the person who obtained and leaked the audio of a private conversation between a man and his girlfriend is, imo, as big a scum as Sterling.
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