Donald Sterling has been in the news over the past few weeks because of racist remarks recorded by his girlfriend/“archivist”. She lead him into a conversation that saw the 80 year old owner of the Los Angeles Clippers spew hateful rhetoric and then try to justify it by saying it’s just how it is.
This tape was eventually leaked, as they all are, and now we have a media storm surrounding him and what the players, coaches and NBA owners think about what should or should not have been done about what he said!
NBA brass stood up and fined him $2.5 million, banned him from having any affiliation with the NBA for life and stated that they would recommend that he be forced to sale the team! Yeah, victory!
Whelp, not so fast, he says he’s not giving up without a fight, but it’s proving hard to find council because his name is so toxic now! Law firms are afraid of being labeled as sympathetic to a racist so most of the big boys are declining what would be millions of dollars in revenues to steer clear of a sensationalized trial that would probably still lead to the inevitable, him being forced to sale the team.
In steps his wife, she claims that she should not be punished because of what Donald said, and that she should be able to purchase the team instead of someone else. What!
So in her mind, her owning the team, in California, a Community Property state, where all assets acquired while married are considered to be 50/50 for spouses, no matter who owns it, means that he doesn’t own the team! Who are you kidding, if you own it, he still owns it, thats simple.
I know that in a capitalistic society, you shouldn’t be forced to sale your company because you’re a racist, lets face it, half of the Fortune 500 owners would be selling but the NBA isn’t the same as a regular ole capitalist offering. They have rules and bylaws that govern the owners behavior as well as the players, and all levels of management.
The truth is, if the GM, CEO or President of any major corporation or any sports franchise, NFL, NHL, or MLB included made blatantly racist statements, they’d be fired also, and never would be able to associate with that sport again! (see Marge Schott)
So the fact that Sterling and his wife think that they shouldn’t be punished speaks volumes to their mentalities!
There is no way that he could think that what he said didn’t come from the mouth of a racist, as he claims that he likes helping Blacks, and Magic Johnson doesn’t, so how could he be racist!
White privilege has afforded him the life of, if I give to Black charities, but I think they stink and don’t want to rent to them, I’m not a racist!
If I objectify them and then brag about their beautiful Black bodies, like slave masters used to do, I’m not a racist!
If they work for me and they help me make $100’s of millions of dollars, and I articulate that as, “I clothe them, feed them, and buy them cars”, as opposed to, I pay them for performing a task, I’m not a racist!
Only a racist can see the comments that he has made since the incident as not racist!
He has a slave masters mentality and the business that he owns “just happens” to be a business that utilizes the athletic prowess and strength of the Black male to make money. As a Black male, knowing that my “owner” thinks of me in a similar fashion that slave owners thought about their slaves, would make me do exactly what they planned on doing. Refuse to play for the team unless something is done, and sorry Mrs Sterling, your reputation is intertwined with his, so that goes for you too! As if you didn’t know that he was a racist even though you were married to him for all those years. There’s no way on this planet that a man that would say the types of things he’s said to a half Black and Mexican to her face hasn’t spewed his vile racist opinions at the dinner table, in bed, or while watching TV, on numerous occasions. And no, the interview with Anderson Cooper didn’t help, unless he’s trying to play the senile old man card, and it still doesn’t absolve him from being a racist, he’s just a racist with dementia!