Donald Sterling. Clippers Owner, banned for life

[Pogues]

http://www.nba.com/2014/news/04/29/n...s=iref:nbahpts

I wanted to post something at some point the past couple of days, but didn't really know the right words. But now the lifetime ban has been handed down, now is the time.

"I fully expect to get the support I need from the other NBA owners I need to remove him," Silver said.

The league moved swiftly to deal with Sterling, and to a meaningful conclusion. They need to get his guy out of the league...he has the mentality of part 1950s bigot and 1850s slave owner. For years they overlooked his transgressions: sexual harassment, refusal to rent to minorities, mistreatment of minorities in his organization and so forth. A bit like steroids in baseball, it took something that angered the public and fans of the NBA to finally clean up a nasty part of the league.

"We stand together in condemning Mr. Sterling's views," Silver said. "They simply have no place in the NBA."

And not in this world.

[Erik]

Specifically, it took something that angered ADVERTISERS to boot him from the league.

The preponderance of tech and hedge fund billionaires that comprise the newer owners may have something to do with it as well. Not only do they not share Sterling's views in the slightest, but they have a lot more at risk if league revenues are damaged by something like this.

[chancellor]

Given Sterlings past associations, I hope Silver has really good bodyguards.

[heyelander]

i don't know. I'd like to see him gone and wouldn't root for his team (although I feel bad for the players) but I don't know how comfortable I am with taking away a person's property based on speech. If he was being sued based on defying protected hiring practices or some action then I'd understand it, but for opinion, I'm not quite there.

Fan boycott, yes, players refuse to play, yes, no free agents go there, yes, advertisers pull out, yes... you state an opinion and people have the right to react, but I don't think they should be able to take away your property for being an asshole unless you do something that is actually illegal.

I guess I'd be okay if the NBA contracted his team (if there are mechanics to do so) stating it was bad for the league, but I don't know if they should be able to force him to sell.

[mjl]

I don't think they're taking away his property per se, just forcing him to sell it. I am quite sure that if he ends up getting less than market value, which is still going to be a zillion dollars for a good team in LA, he'll be happy to sue the league claiming that he got a worse price than he should have because they publicly forced him to sell.

[Erik]

He bought the team for less than $14 million in 1981. He'll make a hell of a profit regardless.

[Trader Mac]

With his horrible track record, how did he (almost) get the NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award (or whatever the name of that award is)?

[Judge Jude]

this was to be his third big award from the LA NAACP in the last 6 years

http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/04/29/308054638/the-naacps-less-than-sterling-intentions

as one of Sterling's no-doubt favorite entertainers once noted, "It's all about the Benjamins!"

he's mainly forced to sell because his loss of sponsor and ticket revenues next season would be a bloodbath. but on the block, the franchise has never been more valuable because the Clippers have almost never been good and the Lakers have almost never sucked - until now.

[Pauly]

the franchise has never been more valuable because the Clippers have almost never been good and the Lakers have almost never sucked - until now.

This is 100% David Stern's creation...

[Trader Mac]

Great article from Kareem about this:

http://time.com/79590/donald-sterling-kareem-abdul-jabbar-racism/

[heyelander]

Do you think a Subway franchisee should lose his franchise if he puts a swastika flag on the front door? I think that businesses have a right to protect their image.

I don't think they should be able to take the building away... They just say your shop is no longer affiliated with subway. You are now just Joes sub shop.

[chancellor]

Oh, Silver has the votes. No matter how an owner feels about this, there's no way any of them will risk a no vote.

But that will merely be the start. After that, to paraphrase Warren Zevon, will be the lawyers, guns, and money. And a lot of lawyers and money .

[cardboardbox]

i don't know. I'd like to see him gone and wouldn't root for his team (although I feel bad for the players) but I don't know how comfortable I am with taking away a person's property based on speech. If he was being sued based on defying protected hiring practices or some action then I'd understand it, but for opinion, I'm not quite there.

Fan boycott, yes, players refuse to play, yes, no free agents go there, yes, advertisers pull out, yes... you state an opinion and people have the right to react, but I don't think they should be able to take away your property for being an asshole unless you do something that is actually illegal.

I guess I'd be okay if the NBA contracted his team (if there are mechanics to do so) stating it was bad for the league, but I don't know if they should be able to force him to sell.

I agree. Its scary that in this country of freedom, if you say something stupid in private you get fined $2.5 million and are forced to sell your property.

I think the market could have better solved this problem. Loss of revenue, coaches, players, fans, etc. The value of that team would have plummeted. That would have caused a lot more pain for Sterling than being forced to sell his team at a massive profit.

[Gregg]

I agree. Its scary that in this country of freedom, if you say something stupid in private you get fined $2.5 million and are forced to sell your property.

I think the market could have better solved this problem. Loss of revenue, coaches, players, fans, etc. The value of that team would have plummeted. That would have caused a lot more pain for Sterling than being forced to sell his team at a massive profit.

I see your point however this is swift and prevents even more people from getting hurt. Fans, players, sponsors are not the guilty ones here.

[mjl]

I agree. Its scary that in this country of freedom, if you say something stupid in private you get fined $2.5 million and are forced to sell your property.

I think the market could have better solved this problem. Loss of revenue, coaches, players, fans, etc. The value of that team would have plummeted. That would have caused a lot more pain for Sterling than being forced to sell his team at a massive profit.

He's only being forced to sell his property because he has a contract with the league that stipulates that this can happen. If he was a McDonald's franchisee they could make him sell the store; if he owned his own restaurant he wouldn't have to do anything.

The market would solve this problem but it might have a lot of collateral damage that the NBA doesn't want to deal with. Reductions in the value of his team, losses of advertisers, having players unwilling to go there, etc. all indirectly affect other teams and the overall quality and perception of the league.