In an unexpectedly swift and final move, the NBA bans Donald Sterling for life for being a racist and slaps him with maximum fine. Twitter explodes accordingly.
—-
When TMZ shared an audio recording of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling (allegedly) telling his girlfriend that he didn’t want her bringing African Americans to games, or sharing photos on Instagram of herself with African Americans, people were outraged. But it wasn’t until a forensic analyst was able to verify that the recording didn’t appear to be doctored that the NBA was able to act.
Now, in some of the best news of the week, Donald Sterling has been banned for life from the NBA. He is, of course, still the owner of the Clips, and will continue to amass wealth from them (not that he needs it, he’s reportedly worth $1.9 billion), but it is telling of the ways in which the powers that be are starting to stand up against racism that they are willing to punish someone so very powerful.
From the New York Times:
Donald Sterling, the longtime owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, was barred from the N.B.A. for life and fined $2.5 million by the league’s commissioner, Adam Silver, on Tuesday for making racist remarks. Silver said that Sterling would be barred from any contact with his team and the league and that he would urge the league’s board of governors to force Sterling to sell the team.
Don’t like ads? Become a supporter and enjoy The Good Men Project ad freeThe fine, Silver said, was the maximum allowed by the league’s constitution.
“The views expressed by Mr. Sterling are deeply offensive and harmful,” Silver said. “We stand together in condemning Mr. Sterling’s views. They simply have no place in the N.B.A.”
Of course a $2.5 million fine is to Sterling what throwing a quarter in a wishing well is to the rest of us, but it’s the symbolic power of the maximum fine that matters here.
Twitter exploded at the news with witty, sarcastic, touching and powerful tweets that trended to the top almost instantly, and articles praising Adam Silver and the NBA appeared all over the Internet.
#bannedforlife THANK THE LORD. No room for prejudice of any kind. NOW let’s get that win CLIPS!
— Alex Aiono (@alexaiono) April 29, 2014
The Clippers just updated the team web site and social media profiles with a powerful message: “WE ARE ONE.” pic.twitter.com/17Yit4W4pn — Eli Langer (@EliLanger) April 29, 2014
Wow. I wish the @nba had been in charge of punishing Paula Deen http://t.co/i9dW1ktzuO #Silver #bannedforlife — Tim Molloy (@TimAMolloy) April 29, 2014
BREAKING: @NBA shows it will not tolerate racism & discrimination; bans @LAClippers owner Donald Sterling for life. http://t.co/BfvZV2OVRS — NOH8 Campaign (@NOH8Campaign) April 29, 2014
Adam Silver became his own man today. He did today what could have and should have been done decades ago. #bannedforlife — Michael Holley (@MichaelSHolley) April 29, 2014
–
In an interesting turn, soon after the news of Sterling’s ban broke, and #BannedForLife and other related terms starting trending, so did the name Dan Snyder. How are these related? Dan Snyder is the owner of the Washington Redsk*ns (a name that is widely recognized as a racial slur), who despite the urging of the President and many Native American groups like the National Congress of American Indians and the EONM, has said he will never, ever change the name of his team.
–
NFL Commissioner Goodell – what’s the difference between Redsk*ns owner Snyder and Sterling? http://t.co/ZjyxULjH6A — Jacqueline Keeler (@jfkeeler) April 29, 2014
Dan Snyder sweeping everything for bugs right now. — 29thduggar (@aTerribleMuriel) April 29, 2014
Now when will the NFL ban Dan Snyder? #fb
— elisa nader (@elisanader) April 29, 2014
Wait! Sterling can be co owner of the Redskins with Dan Snyder.
— Michael Deneen (@This_Is_Mike_D) April 29, 2014
What do YOU think of the fine and the ban? Will Donald Sterling ever change his mind about being a racist? Will this change set precedent for huge organizations like the NBA to expel other racists and reject racist systems and names?
Should Sterling be forced to sell the Clippers, if Adam Silver can find a way to make that happen?
homophobic slurs from players gets you a 75,000 fine. DUIs get you about 5-10,000 fine. Physically assaulting another player can get you 25 – 75,000 fine. racial slur – 2,500,000 fine. sure you wanna argue players that have made homophobic remarks weren’t specifically using the slurs against homosexuals so it really isn’t that damaging. really? it all stems from the same callousness. he’s a bigot. he always has been. the nba has always known this. he refused to sell properties to minorities and blacks b/c of how they “smell” and what did the nba do? a) this is not news.… Read more »
I think society tends to take moments like these, and people like Sterling, and use them for scapegoating. Sure, there’s a part of me, too, that wants to see Sterling get punished for his indecency; he can twist in the wind for all I care. But I agree with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on this. Big deal. It’s just another example of what we know exists. We do know that, don’t we, that racism still exists? And there are much more important ways that racism is institutionalized. Sterling isn’t any different than anyone’s racist, idiotic, drunken uncle: except for the billion dollars… Read more »
The link below has an intelligent piece by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on this train wreck.
http://time.com/79590/donald-sterling-kareem-abdul-jabbar-racism/
Sigh. Here come the “yes, he made a racist comment but…” posts.
What are you talking about Mark? He didn’t say anything of the sort. I personally think he will end up selling and should do so. However, I’m buying a bucket of popcorn to watch the inevitable rationalizations and mental gymnastics that will take place when general society applies the same standard across the spectrum.
As far as equality in Sport? I cannot wait to hear how that gets defined.
I said nothing of the sort of “yes, it’s racist about what he said, but..”, Mark What I said is whathe said was crass, ignorant, incredibly stupid. It has become fashionable to accept racism in one context, but abominable in the next. I certainly would like to see all forms of ism’s decried for thee obvious stupidity for what they are. But there is simply room for both/and if we are to move forward. You either accept racism as free speech, with perhaps consequences, or you denounce it in all its forms. jabbar’s points reflect that. He points also to… Read more »
FWIW, I take a different approach. Like Dixie, I don’t care all that much about sports. I think we’vee turned alot of kids through sports into an entitled species whose major contributuins are to run with a ball, shoot it through a hoop or hit it with a stick. And we pay them millions to do it, and when they don’t perform to our level of expectations, and we aren’t on the playing field, we burn our cities in riot. Heck, we even do that when they win. But having said that, this country has become a set of hypocrites… Read more »
Interesting point – it not only makes a statement, it sets a precedent. I care very little about sports, but I do care about respect and equality. And sports have long been a place where it doesn’t exist, and then it does. And by existing there it changes everything.
Can we just take a breath for a moment and look dispassionately at some of the facts of the case? He made remarks in a private conversation to someone not affiliated with the league. Those remarks were racist, no doubt about that. But, we’re still talking about a private conversation. Not a company memo. Not a press conference. Not a tweet. We’re talking about millions of dollars and a lifetime ban for remarks made in a private conversation. So, what we’re saying is that owners also have to be held responsible for anything they say in private, no matter what… Read more »
Obviously the NBA has a right to boot whomever they want. He is talking in a private conversation about his JOB, though. And his thoughts about his job. Also, he’s been racist WITH his job in the past. I hate this argument that saying something in private somehow makes it not as bad as saying it in public. If you are going to do something shitty, expect that perhaps someone’s going to call you on it. If you don’t want to be called out, don’t be a fucking racist asshole. Doing it privately or publicly changes nothing. If you’re a… Read more »
@ Joanna Schroeder I think the concern is how far do you take it. Can I deny a woman a management position within my company because she chose to go to an all women college? What if her college and degree were on her resume? Should we not vote for a woman who chooses to work out at a women’s only health club because her job would allow her the ability to vote on allowing gender segregated / discriminatory policies of companies? What about people who go to “ladies’ nights” at bars / clubs? Should they be held accountable for… Read more »
Indeed- defending the right to one’s opinion does not mean you condone it.
I think that Silver WILL find a way to make him sell the team. I don’t think that the NBA considers the possibility of having him as an owner of a franchise, even if he is banned from training sessions and games and shouldn’t look for it. The main focus here is to really distance him from basketball for good.