The Twists & Turns of The Sterling Case

By now, almost everyone has about about the infamous remarks from L.A. Clippers owner, Donald Sterling, which ultimately got him kicked out the NBA. While we can all agree that his comments were no doubt, racially offensive, the story has drawn many different reactions.

First off, let's examine the powder keg that got us here. Apparently, Sterling had an issue with his mistress, V. Stiviano, associating with black people. After seeing an Instagram photo of his girl and Magic Johnson, he advised her to stop associating with black people and to not bring Johnson to the games. While we can all pretty much agree that his comments are racially offensive, the fact of the matter is that these comments were recorded during a private conversation. While it certainly doesn't a paint a positive picture of the man, the privacy issue is worth noting.

To add a twist of drama to the story, it has been reported that then the Sterling family had filed a $1.8 million lawsuit against Stiviano for embezzlement. It was also reported that the mistress vowed to "get even". Hmmm......

Not long after Sterling's comments were broadcast, the NBA hit him with a harsh penalty which resulted in a lifetime ban as well as a $2.5 million fine. The NBA, no doubt, reacted this way to protect their image and distance themselves from the Clipper's owner. For this, I can't blame them. But will this set a precedent for the "thought police" to start cleaning house of future idiots?

From what I've read, Sterling is no rookie when it comes to racism and/or discrimination. In 2009, he agreed to pay $2.68 million to settle allegations that he refused to rent housing to Hispanics, blacks and families with children. Sounds like a really nice fella, huh? Sterling was also sued by the Justice Department in 2006 for housing discrimination around the Koreatown area of Los Angeles. And in 2011, Sterling was involved an an age-discrimination lawsuit brought forward by his 76-year-old general manager. Hispanics, blacks, Asians, senior citizens....this guy seems to have a problem with everyone!

Now, after discovering Sterling's racist background, you would expect his hooker/girlfriend to be a blond, blue-eyed southern belle. But in reality, V. Stiviano is of African-American and Mexican heritage. Try to figure that one out..

While most of the negative reactions to Sterling latest comments are understandable, some of the reactions have me scratching my head. For instance, ex-NY Knicks star, Larry Johnson tweeted:

"Black people your Focusing on the wrong thing. We should be focusing on having our own, Own team own League! To For Self!!"

Personally, I find this just as offensive as Sterling's comments. Why create the divisiveness? If you've got a probably with Sterling, direct your comments at him. Racism sucks no matter who perpetrates it. The majority of Americans have no issue with people of different races. I think the outpouring of opposition to Sterling's comments confirms that. Instead of taking up sides when it comes to race-related issues, we should work to eliminate racism across the board.

Lastly, on a bit of a twisted note, I find interesting that the LA Clippers have pretty much been a shitty team during their entire 40+ year existence. However, in the past couple of years, they have become a really good team, largely due to key players such as Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. Last year, the Clippers won their first ever division title and repeated as division champs this season, They were in the mist of the playoffs when the were derailed by their owner's infamous comments. Could the secret recording of Sterling be part of a conspiracy to take the Clippers down? Add in the fact that former L.A. Lakers star, Magic Johnson, was part of this makes things seem even more strange. It has been reported that Johnson (and his billionaire backers, the Guggenheim Partners) is interested in buying the Clippers should the NBA force Sterling to sell his team. A coincidence?

I'm sure this story will take several more dramatic turns before it finally fizzles out. Hang tight....

kw