So we all know this Donald Sterling fiasco.

 

I have to admit (as much as Im almost afraid to) that Im not sure how I feel about this whole thing.

 

One thing I find interesting, theres a story about Mark Cuban saying he would be a hypocrit if he voted to oust Sterling because everyone is bigoted in some way and if everyone had their private conversations made public, they'd all be in trouble.  The really interesting thing is Cuban gave two examples.  He said if he saw a black kid in a hoodie at night, he'd walk to the other side of the street.  And if he then saw a shaved head white kid covered in ink, he'd cross back.  Guess what the headline of the story was?  Yup: Cuban: I'd cross the street to get away from a black kid in a hoodie.

 

I think one thing I struggle with is, Sterling is, what, 80 years old?  If my grandfather was still alive and 80 years old Im not sure I'd want someone secretly recording his private words in a heated argument (and I never heard either of my grandfathers utter a racist word ever).  I certainly wouldnt feel comfortable with my 80 year old grandfather doing a sit down interview with Anderson Cooper.  I realise Sterling is a "high functioning" 80 year old, but he's still 80 years old.

 

Im not sure he's a racist or just a crazy old man.

 

 

It's odd that in 'Merica, they always pride themselves on freedom of speech.. well i guess, freedom of speech only applies if most people agree with it.

It's a common misconception that freedom of speech should mean you are free of the consequences from what you've said.

 

i agree however with that being said, what did sterling say exactly? just that he didn't want his mistress hanging out with blacks. He didn't call them the n word, he just said he didn't want her hanging with the blacks, what if he said i dont want you hanging around those african american people? is it still a big deal? Just for the record, i'm not applauding sterling here or saying he's innocent, i just am asking, if what he said, in the big picture, is it really that big of a deal? or was it maybe just blown out of proportion a bit. He is an old racist for sure, it's well documented the dislike the  guy has for minorities, but...outside of his cnn interview where he totally killed himself, what did he say really? 

 

Yes it was blown out of proportion, like I said before the irony is this might be one of the least racist things he's said in his life.  He's green-lighting his ...girlfriend... to sleep with black people.  Just don't bring them courtside because my racist friends will look down on me.

 

The NBA cares because for the first time ever this kook is going to cost them significant money.  They've known all along what he is.  I'm sure they didn't like having to deal with him but there were decades of worse transgressions that they could have acted on if they really wanted to.

She said she wants to be President of the US one day.

At least something good will come of this.....

She said she wants to be President of the US one day.

At least something good will come of this.....

V for Prez...  I like it!!

Could she settle for V.P.?

She might do better as an intern

clippers gonna be sold for close to 2 billion... sterling got PAID.

clippers gonna be sold for close to 2 billion... sterling got PAID.

 

I'm pretty sure he wasn't hurting before though.   Either way wowza  NBA is doing darn well these days! 

That will sure teach sterling a lesson. "Here's two billion dollars. Now don't do that again".

That will sure teach sterling a lesson. "Here's two billion dollars. Now don't do that again".

 

How exactly do you teach a multi-billionaire a lesson? I dare say they just want to get rid of him.

 

That will sure teach sterling a lesson. "Here's two billion dollars. Now don't do that again".

 

How exactly do you teach a multi-billionaire a lesson? I dare say they just want to get rid of him.

 

For sure.  Just sarcasm on my part in the sense he's being forced to go out and make $2 billion.  Tough life.

I read Milwaukee sold for under 500 million , why are the clippers going for so high?

Milwaukee is a smaller market with a bad TV deal.  Clippers are in a huge market.  I read their TV deal is up soon and will likely bring in significant revenue. 

 

its counter intuitive that a forced sale would net a record price but thats what a bidding war will do for you.  A group including Oprah had bid $1.6 billion apparently.

 

At $2 billion, it's probably not a bad investment, especially if the new owner is a fan who intends to keep the team for a generation.  The rapidly increasing TV rights for sports properties will eventually pay off the capital cost of buying the team.  And unless the NBA collapses, he will be able to recoup the purchase price in a future sale.

That will sure teach sterling a lesson. "Here's two billion dollars. Now don't do that again".

He's already a billionaire. What's $2B more? From what I've read, he's got a pretty big ego and taking away his toy is a pretty big blow to it. Apparently he loved playing the bigshot sitting in the expensive seats at the Staples Centre.

The Lakers have the prestige I thought the Clippers have and were always a less profitable team?

Regardless Ballmer is also insane and probably more unstable then Cuban. It will be interesting

It's definitely a generational gap thing.

 

People born a long time ago were raised under different conditions, at one point blacks were used as slaves, people were hung from trees, people were hung on the streets.

 

The world today is now way more sensitive, it's true, it's damn true..  The world wasn't so sensitive back when guys like sterling and our grandparents were born, another time, another world, im not sure most of us would have survived back then. There wasnt even an internet or cell phones or really, tv's. lets all sit around the radio.

 

The world has changed through the years, for the better or for the worse? it's hard to say actually in the big picture. 

 

It's odd that in 'Merica, they always pride themselves on freedom of speech.. well i guess, freedom of speech only applies if most people agree with it.

 

The World be changing again. 

 

I'm not sure how i'd feel if i was in the comfort of my own home, said something, and then the next week it was all over TMZ and the papers.

 

I think that makes me worry a bit about what the world is actually changing in to

I see it much differently.

As much as the world frustrates me at times, in this particular case, I have no worries, it's called progress. It's called responsibility, it's called accountability in being a well-adjusted member of society. It has little to do with agreeing or not agreeing with one another or talking privately or talking in public.

Ever hear the suggestion to ask yourself before speaking would I say what I think to be true/valid/appropriate to a wider audience other than saying it to my like-minded friends?

Other than 'Hey I'm allowed to say this, it's called freedom of speech', do I have the confidence, do I have the necessary information, do I have the necessary understanding to support what I say that adds value to the issue, to the discussion other than 'this is what I think, this is how I feel'?

If there is any question, any voice (yours or someone else's) that says either no or I don't know, more critical thinking, more understanding is needed. We all make mistakes when it comes to this, though some are better than others in how they formulate their opinions and articulate their feelings. 

Finally, if one's answer to these questions I just posed is 'I don't care, I can say anything I want' then that person has much bigger issues to deal with imho.   

I dont disagree with the above, but the complicating factor here is the fact it was a private conversation.  So the issue becomes, does a person have the right to engage in a private conversation without fear of reprisal, within reason ofcourse.  If you privately say you want to kill your wife, you are not subject to protection.  If you say you hate all black people and wish they were dead, that is also actionable.  But I think when you apply common sense to a scenario whereby someone expresses an opinion within the confines of a private conversation that certainly doesnt rise to the level of threatening or hate or even really contributing to any sort of moral or ethical decay, does that person have the right to protection?

 

On the flip side, the NBA is a "private" club and the club can admit or eject whomever they want based on their own by-laws.  I truly think if Sterling had immediately come out and made a public apology and let his PR people do damage control (where was the context to the remarks, potential set up etc), he'd be in a position to keep the team.  He even had Mark Cuban defending him.  But his CNN interview sealed his fate.

Reports out now that Sterling has some mental impairment.  Sources say he's been deemed incompetent while his lawyer says that is an over-statement and that he is merely experiencing a "slowing down".  It also explains why the sale of the Clippers has been handled solely by his wife.

 

If he has dimentia, it would potentially explain a few things, like that awful CNN interview.  Anyone who has ever had a loved one go through that knows it can certainly lead to inappropriate remarks etc.