L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling has been captured on tape going on a racist rant against Black people after his bi-racial girlfriend posted pictures of her and Black people on Instagram, reports TMZ.
Sterling’s girlfriend, V. Stiviano, who is Black and Mexican, posted a picture of herself with Magic Johnson, prompting Sterling to say that she was embarrassing him. He told Stiviano that she was supposed to be a “delicate” Latina and that he preferred not to think about her Blackness. He also told his girlfriend, who said that she could not be racist in her heart, that he does not want her to acknowledge Black people publicly.
Read more from TMZ:
– “It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people. Do you have to?” (3:30)
– “You can sleep with [black people]. You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want. The little I ask you is not to promote it on that … and not to bring them to my games.” (5:15)
– “I’m just saying, in your lousy f******* Instagrams, you don’t have to have yourself with, walking with black people.” (7:45)
– “…Don’t put him [Magic] on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me. And don’t bring him to my games.” (9:13)
Magic Johnson called Sterling’s remarks a “shame.”
“It’s a shame that Donald Sterling feels that way about African-Americans,” Johnson told TMZ.
“He has a team full of amazing African-American basketball players that are working to bring a championship to Clippers fans. The Clippers also have a strong minority fan base.”
Sterling has a documented history of allegedly racist behavior — he’s been sued twice by the federal government for allegedly refusing to rent apartments to Blacks and Latinos.
ESPN reports:
The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday sued [Sterling] for housing discrimination, claiming he refused to rent apartments to blacks and families with children.
Federal prosecutors contend that Sterling, his wife, Rochelle, and their family trust refused to rent to many prospective tenants, treated them poorly and misrepresented the availability of apartments to them in the city’s Koreatown section.
The defendants also are accused of refusing to rent to black prospective tenants in Beverly Hills as well as families with children looking to rent apartments that the defendants owned or managed in Los Angeles County.
“Here in Los Angeles, where housing is already at a premium, it is imperative that no one be denied housing simply because of their skin color, ethnic background or because they have children,” said U.S. Attorney Debra Wong Yang.
A message left with attorney Michael Kennick, who has represented Sterling in previous lawsuits, was not immediately returned Monday.
Claiming violations of the federal Fair Housing Act, the lawsuit seeks an end to “discriminating on account of race, national origin and familial status,” plus unspecified monetary damages and penalties. The lawsuit also names as defendants the Sterling Family Trust and the Korean Land Company, which owns multifamily rental properties throughout the county.
In November, a federal judge ordered Sterling to pay nearly $5 million in fees to plaintiffs’ attorneys in a lawsuit accusing him of discriminating against black and Hispanic tenants.
He was also sued by former Clippers exec Elgin Baylor for racial discrimination, TMZ reports.