Does anyone else think Donald Sterling is being unfairly persecuted here?

[RedElephants]

And just as I type the above, a story that confirms pretty much everything I typed.......

http://www.latimes.com/business/mon...ng-nba-20140429,0,2483274.story#axzz30NNOOShU

 

[ballerhanz]

Look, the guy bought the team years ago and has done far worse things than getting caught on tape saying a few sentences to a whore who probably had an agenda. The media has all of these past incidents that are far worse now, yet nothing was done then. And if anyone heard Larry Johnson this morning, he confirmed a conversation with The White House. The issue is not fining his ass, the issue is not banning him for life.....he deserves that and more. The issue is setting a precedent that someone can take away your property based on a sentence or two....because prior to this he was getting awards and people were taking donations. Everyone should stand behind black players but no one should stand behind bad comments from Larry Johnson and Charles Barkley, because they act like they can say what they damn well please.

What should be done is every advertiser should go to the Clippers and say we're done unless he's gone. Every black player and coach both present and future should say we will never work for this team as long as he is owner, and let the dumb ass man decide for himself whether he wants to sell now or ride it into the ground under his new terms with the NBA. But NO MAN should have his property taken away based on his opinion on blacks, gays, God, Immigration, or anything. It sets an dangerous precedent, it won't take place without the courts, and will simply take racial strains to the highest level in years. And on the Sale, the man has run this team team for years regardless of his opinions and sentences on tape and he should have the opportunity to to say, I will sell for a fair and reasonable price if someone wants to pay it. You can paint him into corners with fines and penalties....but not with selling his team for .50 cents.

Exactly my point. Cannot just force someone (especially an owner here) to sell an appreciated asset at a devalued price as a punitive measure. Major League sports owners certainly don't want that. It happens all the time in the real business world in forced takeovers and buyouts, but that's because of leverage the owner HAS to sell. That's an arguable point. However, I don't think it's right, fair, or legal to compel a sale simply because he's a racist asshole. He's a terrible owner but his team has grown in value am average of 12% a year since he bought them. I think we can all agreed he is an incompetent racist, albeit an entrapped one

 

[Dafinch]

Exactly my point. Cannot just force someone (especially an owner here) to sell an appreciated asset at a devalued price as a punitive measure. Major League sports owners certainly don't want that. It happens all the time in the real business world in forced takeovers and buyouts, but that's because of leverage the owner HAS to sell. That's an arguable point. However, I don't think it's right, fair, or legal to compel a sale simply because he's a racist asshole. He's a terrible owner but his team has grown in value am average of 12% a year since he bought them. I think we can all agreed he is an incompetent racist, albeit an entrapped one

MLB made things so uncomfortable for Marge Schott-including suspending her twice-that she eventually felt compelled to sell. Lester something-or-other, one of ESPN's legal experts, has a good track record of predicting how cases will go, and he said that Sterling has no shot to get this into court-it's an arbitration issue-and WILL be forced to sell...and soon.

 

[sportsfantatic44]

Sterling bought the team for $12 million and now the team is worth somewhere around $700 million. So, he sells and makes a killing. He can't go to games and sit next to hot chicks anymore. I doubt this guy cares.

 

[lt56]

i find it funny how magic, jordan and kobe were so vocal about this. i don't condone what sterling said, but those 3 calling him out are worse.
magic was a habitual adulterer who had orgies all the time and contracted aids. back when he contracted it, technology was not what it was today. so poor people died while he got the most effective, costly and advanced medicine. he is a scumbag.

jordan is another adulterer who happens to be a gambling addict. he is a notorious ego manic who's former teammates even hate him. his speech at his hall of fame induction ceremony was the biggest disgrace i have ever seen. another scumbag.

and i think we all know what kobe got away with in colorado. thank god he only had to be a celebrity and buy a 5 million dollar ring to get out of hit. once again, a player whose teammates even hate him.

so you have 3 of the most disgraceful people in basketball history mad at a senile old rich racist. i find that hilarious.

 

[ToothedTeddy]

3 wrongs don't make a right. of course there is hypocrisy throughout professional sports... no different than the rest of the world. Stern turned a blind eye to this scumbag Sterling for decades. money, as always, talks. I get the feeling from listening to the recording that he thought he was above it all.

 

[Shub]

3 wrongs don't make a right. of course there is hypocrisy throughout professional sports... no different than the rest of the world. Stern turned a blind eye to this scumbag Sterling for decades. money, as always, talks. I get the feeling from listening to the recording that he thought he was above it all.

He must have forgot that his boy retired,lol.

 

[ToothedTeddy]

"Another reporter wondered whether it was appropriate to punish someone for hateful words uttered in private, and perhaps recorded illegally. It was an attempt to introduce the bogus First Amendment defense that doesn’t really apply here. Silver could have given a vague answer, or spouted legalese about how the league exists in a weird legal purgatory between private enterprise and public 'single entity' exempt from some antitrust laws. He didn’t: 'Whether or not these remarks were initially shared in private, they are now public, and they represent his views.' "

 

[lt56]

3 wrongs don't make a right. of course there is hypocrisy throughout professional sports... no different than the rest of the world. Stern turned a blind eye to this scumbag Sterling for decades. money, as always, talks. I get the feeling from listening to the recording that he thought he was above it all.

i think he is an old, senile racist. not a great thing , but sadly not uncommon.

 

[ToothedTeddy]

He must have forgot that his boy retired,lol.

ha, exactly.

 

[JOM]

Do some research on this Sterling dude. He may be a racist but he is one really smart lawyer.

 

[RDTrains]

Do some research on this Sterling dude. He may be a racist but he is one really smart lawyer.

He may have been smart earlier in life but knowing he was being recorded and saying what he said anyway is box of rocks dumb.

 

[JOM]

Wish I was a billion dollars dumb

 

[Hikin]

There is no "taking" here...he gets to sell the team and collect millions more than he paid for it!! :think2:

 

[jblonghorn]

Frankly I'm surprised there's this many knowledgeable people on this site. Good to see.

My .02 is that he really didn't even say anything that bad. What if he wouldn't have said what he said but instead said "hey N***** bitch, get down here and suck my d***". Would that have put him up for disbarment? What's the line to step over? What if in 2 weeks an NBA player says that faggots should die? Will he be barred for life? Was it just because this man brought up the race that makes up 80% of the league? This is why I think they jumped to conclusions too quickly.

 

[Dafinch]

Frankly I'm surprised there's this many knowledgeable people on this site. Good to see.

My .02 is that he really didn't even say anything that bad. What if he wouldn't have said what he said but instead said "hey N***** bitch, get down here and suck my d***". Would that have put him up for disbarment? What's the line to step over? What if in 2 weeks an NBA player says that faggots should die? Will he be barred for life? Was it just because this man brought up the race that makes up 80% of the league? This is why I think they jumped to conclusions too quickly.

You're comparing a command to a woman in bed to condemning a race that, as you pointed out, makes up about 80% of your league, and telling somebody to not bring them to an event-an event that you happened to be an owner in? Those 2 things aren't even remotely comparable. As for the comment by an NBA player, he'd get a big fine and suspension, not a lifetime one, but then, you can't punish an owner as easily as you can a player, so, when you punish an owner, you have to make it hurt. "...jumped to conclusions too quickly?" I keep hearing that, putting aside that the players were threatening to boycott playoff games, immediately, what POSSIBLE additional information could come out to soften what he said-and, please, spare me the "the bitch set him up" horseshit.

 

[Masmik]

If this was strictly a legal issue I would agree but I think in this case we gotta think a little more simple. In America all you gotta do is follow the money trail. As soon as all this news became public all of the clippers sponsors bailed. I think that's reason enough to force him to sell his team. It's bad business for the nba simple as that. All those racist comments were horrible but you're right, his beliefs shouldn't be the reason he loses his deserved property. That being said those racist comments brought such a bad image to the team that sponsors immediately wanted nothing to do with that organization. If I were the other 29 owners in the nba I think it'd be safe to assume that the clippers worth will plummet every day that sterling is still owning them. I doubt players, both black and white, would want to play for him and I'm sure if he was still the owner then they would lose lots of fans aka money. I think this is a case where even though the majority is thinking emotionally and not legally, because the franchise will lose money, the result should be as is. Lifetime ban plus maximum fine and forced to sell his team.