Today, the NBA did something that should have been done 30
years ago… they banned Donald Sterling for life from the NBA.
The NBA’s longest-tenured owner is also one of professional
sports worsts. He has never cared about his team or his fans.
He watched the Clippers become a punching-bag while
compiling the worst record in North American pro sports during his first quarter-century
in charge.
I feel an equal sense of sadness and happiness when I
reflect on the story.
I’m happy because the NBA took action immediately when it
was apparent that something had to be done. However, I’m sad because the NBA
and former commissioner David Stern let Donald Sterling off the hook for
decades because of his own greed.
Sterling bought the San Diego Clippers in 1981 for $12.5
million. According to Forbes magazine the team is currently valued at $575
million!
How did this happen? The answer is that David Stern did his
absolute best to make the L.A. Clippers a main attraction in order to boost
television ratings and sales.
The most recent occurrence of David Stern trying to sabotage
the league and help make the Clipper’s a winner is the Chris Paul veto.
For those sports fans who forgot or are unaware, David Stern
vetoed a potential trade that would have sent Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers. Stern
personally orchestrated a trade between the still-existent New Orleans Hornets
and Los Angeles Clippers. Stern later claims that he did the veto to give the
NBA-owned Hornets the best deal possible.
Can you smell the bullshit? I can.
David Stern also did his best to sweep Donald Sterling’s dirty
laundry under the bed.
The timeline of Donald Sterling’s racist allegations are
mind-boggling.
The beginning of this timeline begins with Clippers
Hall-of-Famer and former General Manager Elgin Baylor.
Baylor served as the Clipper’s GM for 22 years until he left
the franchise after an unsuccessful lawsuit alleging race and age
discrimination in 2009. Baylor claims that three Clipper players – Sam Cassell,
Elton Brand, and Corey Maggette – complained to him that Sterling was bringing
women into the locker room to look at the players, and once said, “Look at
those beautiful black bodies.”
Sterling’s racism didn’t just affect his basketball squad,
but it also hurt his tenants who lived on his property.
In 2006, the Department of Justice brought
housing-discrimination charges against Sterling for allegedly denying rent to
African-Americans living at his Los Angeles residential complexes. The suit was
settled three years later for $2.75 million and Sterling still never admitted
to the crime.
In sworn testimony, one of Sterling’s property supervisors
Sumner Davenport claimed he made racist comments about black people living in
the buildings he owned. Davenport claims that Sterling said, “That’s because of
all the blacks in this building, they smell, they’re not clean… And it’s
because of all of the Mexicans that just sit around and smoke all day.”
I could go on and on about Donald Sterling and his racist
allegations, but I would like to spare you and myself the displeasure of
recounting all these horrific events. If you want to look up the timeline of
Sterling’s racist acts, businessinsider.com has an excellent chronological
account.
The fact that Stern allowed a well-renowned racist to exist
in the league longer than any owner in the NBA is ludicrous.
I, along with the entire NBA fan base and community, demand
an answer from Mr. Stern as to why he never took action against Sterling when
he knew very well about his racist history.
Sacramento Mayor and NBAPA representative Kevin Johnson said
that the players are demanding an answer from current commissioner Adam Silver
regarding this matter.
What makes me happy is the overwhelming sense of unity that
is being radiated throughout the world and the NBA.
The fact of the matter is that this story is not just the
most popular sports topic, but also the story getting the most nationwide
attention right now.
It saddens me that our society still struggles with such a
childish mindset such as racism. Howeve
r, I feel that the response from the general
public is much more positive than it would have been thirty years ago, when
Donald Sterling had first entered into the NBA.
Whether it is racism, sexism, or favoritism, hatred is
baggage and is the exact same. Until we treat each other like one race, the
human race, our society will continue to struggle with discrimination.
