When it comes to forcing someone to sell something they own for a conversation where he was unknowingly recorded and certainly within his right to expect privacy.... I see that getting really really ugly in court. They'll end up paying him a boatload to get that team away.

"The NFL never hit rid of Al Davis."

Al Davis wasn't a racist by any definition. In fact, he was the most racially-progressive owner of a professional sports team in American history. He drafted players like Art Shell and Gene Upshaw from primarily black schools, and he drafted the league's first black quarterback. He hired the first black head coach of the modern era. As AFL commissioner, he supported the boycott by the black players of the All-Star game in New Orleans and had the game moved to Houston. Al Davis and Donald Sterling are about as far apart in their racial views as you could possibly get. 

From what I've read, 22 of the 30 owners have to vote to uphold the commissioner's ruling requiring Sterling to sell the team. What happens after that, I'm not sure.

This isn't a 1st Amendment issue, it's a contract issue. I've never seen or read a copy of the NBA's franchise agreement, but I'd be stunned if it didn't have some mechanism through which a franchise can be revoked. Artie's post outlining the process (22 out of 30 votes) seems to confirm this.

When you buy a franchise, the franchisor is entitled to impose certain rules. You can't open a McDonald's franchise and sell Whoppers or thick cut French fries. Chick-fil-A's are all closed on Sundays. You may remember a few months back, the owner of Chick-fil-A caught a lot of heat for his views on same sex marriage. The guy is a devout Christian who undoubtedly requires as part of the franchise agreement that the stores be closed on Sunday. His franchise, his rules. If a non-Christian franchisee decided to open the doors on Sunday, he'd likely lose his franchise. That doesn't violate the freedom of religion, it's a condition of the contract.

The NBA doesn't want to be associated with a racist. Their franchise, their rules.

"I think Sterling is going through a divorce."

You mean that ugly thing of a girlfriend was an upgrade from his wife? Yeesh.

If nothing else that 2nd picture screams "I'm at the game with my soon to be ex-wife."

It's all good. Turns out the "girlfriend" is really just an "archivist."

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/stiviano-lawyer-says-shes-sad-over-sterling-ban-100344552--spt.html

Nehoray (the girlfriend's ... errr, the achivist's lawyer) told the Times that Stiviano and Sterling didn't have a romantic relationship."It's nothing like it's been portrayed," the lawyer said. "She's not the type of person everyone says."She was a hard-working waitress and did volunteer work helping crime victims before becoming an "archivist" for Sterling, he said."She had no association with any rich people before this," he said.The Los Angeles County district attorney's office said Stiviano was a volunteer with its Victim-Witness Assistance Program in 2010 and 2011, the Times said.

Last edited by artie_fufkin (4/30/2014 11:27 am)

alz wrote:

I wasn't attempt to make out that Al Davis was racist. I was pointing out that the NFL wanted him out of football. MLB wanted Marge gone too. It takes a lot to force someone to lose something worth billions, and whether I think the man is a pig or not, I don't agree that the contents of a private conversation he had with a friend/girlfriend should be enough to do what the NBA did.
 

As an owner, Sterling is held to a higher standard of conduct, but the severity of the punishment opens the NBA up to a variety of potential issues down the road.  Kobe Bryant was fined a couple of years ago for calling a referee a faggot.  Amare Stoudamire was fined for a homophobic comment on Twitter.  Both Carmelo Anthony and Jay-Z (an owner) have been spotted at NBA events wearing a medallion symbolizing the "5 percent nation" which teaches its disciples that white people are devils.

IMO, the league's reaction is absolutely fueled by the fact that this is a white owner making comments about a black men and not vice versa. 

alz wrote:

This is for things he said to his girlfriend while expecting privacy? I know he's an asshole, clearly... It just seems more and more that freedom of speech is thrown out the window when someone says something society doesn't like.... My two cents.

Not to make this political...but a certain political party voted to impeach a president with evidence obtained by a secret recording. If that can happen, then an NBA owner can have the league's owners and sponsors throw him out.

I don't necessarily agree with the forced sale, but there aren't enough cash for gold and mattress companies in the world to make up the lost revenue that would come from a Fortune 500 company pulling all their sponsorships from the Clippers.
 

tkihshbt wrote:

I don't necessarily agree with the forced sale, but there aren't enough cash for gold and mattress companies in the world to make up the lost revenue that would come from a Fortune 500 company pulling all their sponsorships from the Clippers.
 

Thats the whole thing.  You cant blame the nba for thinking of its profit margin.  And you cant feel sorry for a rich racist who is cheating on his wife.  I think we would, have and will likely comtinue to make comments our employers may not like.  Im sure none of us would want to be fired for those private comments.  However i doubt any of us would say something so offensive and i doubt those comments would stand to cost our employers money. 
 

Well the estranged wife is going to be a problem for the NBA. The magic words were uttered.

The NBA's viewing of the constitutional agreement doesn't signify US law. Meaning if the league tries to force her to sell what she owns because of the actions of another party... That's going to court. Going to be fun to watch, but it will take a long time to settle that...

When things go to court, all kinds of fair labor practices seem to be up to an outside authority to deny or allow. Like allowing Northwestern to unionize for example.

I'm expecting a good show from this myself. It's basketball, and I could really care less, but anything done there could conceivably be used for other sports as well.

"Kobe Bryant said there was no place in the NBA for Donald Sterling. The mob cheered his taking a stand and demanded blood. Evidently forgetting that Kobe Bryant allegedly raped a woman in Colorado. He played through the pre-trail hearings in that case and then bought off his accuser, apologizing to her in the process. That's a pretty serious transgression, right? It's an actual action. Yet if Donald Sterling had to choose whether to be accused of rape and buy off his alleged victim or caught on tape making a racist statement, he'd pick being accused of rape. "

Excellent.