The NBA has banned Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life and fined him $2.5 million for racial comments he made to his reported girlfriend. The NBA will immediately begin working to try to force him to sell the team.
“The hateful opinions voiced by that of the man [on the tape] are those of Donald Sterling,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. “…I’m personally distraught the views expressed by Mr. Sterling came from within an institution that has historically taken such a leadership role in matters of race relations.”
As part of the ban, Sterling is not allowed “to 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.” Sterling also will be barred from attending any Board of Governors meetings and participating in any other league activity.
The fine is the maximum the NBA can issue under the NBA constitution, Silver said. Seventy-five percent of the NBA’s owners must vote to oust Sterling to force him to sell.
“I fully expect to get the support needed,” Silver said.
Several groups hoping to purchase the Clippers are already stepping forward with a bidding war expected to exceed $1 billion for the franchise, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Among those groups, Magic Johnson and Guggenheim Partners will be front and center in pursuit of the Clippers.
R&B singer Tank has decided not to go ahead with performing the national anthem at Tuesday’s LA Clippers game. You see, Tank is black and based on what the Clippers owner Donald Sterling said, Tank – because of his color – is not allowed.
In explaining his decision to TMZ, Tank said;
“As an African-American man and artist, I must take a stand on a matter that is so deeply personal to me.
“In light of the recent disturbing and offensive allegations, in good conscience, I cannot move forward with my scheduled appearance at Tuesday’s Los Angeles Clippers game.”
The big story over the weekend was the racist comments allegedly made by the owner of the LA Clippers. Donald Sterling.
In a story that was originally reported by TMZ sports, Sterling is heard on audio in a very angry tone, saying that he doesn’t want black people brought to his games. One of the black people he was referring to, was magic Johnson. After hearing that he was a direct target of Sterling’s racism, Magic Johnson vowed never to step foot in the Clippers arena again.
But what if, just go with me on this one, but what if Magic Johnson wants to buy the LA Clippers? How great of a story would that be?
Well the story might really happen. According to report Yahoo Sports, Magic Johnson is looking into the possibility of buying the Clippers.
Magic Johnson and his billionaire backers, the Guggenheim Partners, want a chance to purchase the Los Angeles Clippers, league sources told Yahoo Sports. “Magic’s absolutely interested,” one source closely connected to Johnson’s business interests told Yahoo Sports on Sunday night.
To bail themselves out of the NBA’s worst crisis of credibility since the Tim Donaghy officiating scandal, the easy part for the NBA will be enlisting the eagerness and financial muscle of Magic Johnson and Mark Walter of the Guggenheim Partners – owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Make no mistake: Magic’s Dodgers group is angling for a Southern California sports empire. Magic Johnson and Guggenheim had been aggressive in pursuing a purchase of the Los Angeles Lakers – only to have the Buss family make clear to them the franchise isn’t for sale, sources told Yahoo Sports.
“This is 100 percent Magic’s plan,” a league official intimately involved in the buying and selling of franchises told Yahoo Sports.
Another famous black person is speaking out on the racist remarks allegedly made by the owner of the LA Clippers. In addition to Snoop and Labron James, President Obama, in a news conference with other leaders in Malaysia was asked to weigh in on the racist rants attributed to Donald Sterling, as broadcast by TMZ Sports. The president called the speaker in the audio ignorant, saying “when ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance, you don’t have to do anything, you just let them talk.”
Personally, I think all the black players in the NBA including the ones playing for the LA Clippers and their fans, should boycott the LA Clippers. If the racism expressed by Donald Sterling turns out to be true and he prefer blacks not come to his games, then shouldn’t that include the players?
I think it should. The way you hurt rich racists is in their wallet. A black boycott of the Clippers will not end Sterling’s racism, but it may starve the bastard for the duration.
Before taking on the Charlotte Bobcats in Game 3 of Miami’s first-round playoff series, James said that if the report is true, then “there is no room for Donald Sterling in our league.”
“It’s unacceptable and as a commissioner in our league, they have to make a stand, and they have to be very aggressive with it. I don’t know what it’s going to be, but you just can’t have that in our league,” James said, via the Miami Herald. The four-time NBA MVP also said he even contemplated not playing. “I kind of wavered back and forth whether I would actually sit out. If our owner would come out and say the things that he said, I would really have to sit down with my teammates, talk to my family because at the end of the day, our family, and our teammates are way more important than that.”
James also wondered aloud what would happened to a player who “came out and said something of that stature” and called on NBA commissioner Adam Silver to “do something very fast and quickly before this really gets out of hand.”
LeBron was not alone. TNT analyst and former NBA star Charles Barkley said Silver”suspend [Sterling] and fine him immediately.” Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson described Sterling’s alleged remarks as a “black eye for the NBA.”
In case you haven’t heard, the owner of the LA Clippers is trying to outracist the racist Cliven Bundy. News today from TMZ Sports had audio of the owner, Donald Sterling telling his girlfriend, “don’t bring black people to my games!”
Well, black people have ears to hear and sometimes we use them well. BlackTwitter went nuts dogging the racist and they didn’t leave anything unsaid. But when it comes to dogging someone, no one does it better than the head DOGG himself, straight from the doggpound – Snoop Dogg!
In an instagram message, Snoop addressed the racist Sterling, calling him a “bitch A** redneck, white-bread, chicken sh*t mother fu*ker!” And that’s just part of what he had to say!
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.
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.
Listen To Sterling’s Racist Rant Below
Black Twitter Weighs In On Donald Sterling Remarks
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