On April 25th, an audio recording was released to the public exposing racist comments made by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. In the recording, Sterling is criticizing his girlfriend, V. Stiviano about how it is unacceptable to bring African-Americans to his basketball games. Racism is an ugly topic, but it is ironic that Sterling would even have such thoughts considering more than half of the NBA players are African American. Later that week, the Clippers players held a silent protest where they wore their practice uniforms inside out to hide their team logo. Players also wore black wristbands to show their resentment toward Sterling.
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Chris Paul, the Clippers point guard told ESPN, “We’re going to be one, everything we do, we do it together, stay together, play ball.” Inevitably, Paul wasn’t the only one who had reactions to the harsh comments made by Sterling.
Former NBA player Earvin Magic Johnson reported on Twitter, “I will never go to a Clippers game again as long as Donald Sterling is the owner.”
Legend Michael Jordan weighed in on the issue saying, “As an owner, I’m obviously disgusted that a fellow team owner could hold such sickening and offensive views… As a former player, I’m completely outraged. There is no room in the NBA — or anywhere else — for the kind of racism and hatred that Mr. Sterling allegedly expressed. ”
Even President Barack Obama had something to say about the audio release: “The NBA is a league that is beloved by fans all across the country. It’s got an awful lot of African-American players. It’s steeped in African-American culture. And I suspect that the NBA is going to be deeply concerned in resolving this.”
As expected, the NBA took immediate action to the situation by banning Sterling for life
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and additionally fining him for a whopping 2.5 million dollars. When the NBA says banned, they mean it. Sterling will never be allowed to attend any game or practice ever again. All affiliation with the Clippers was cut off, as he had to sell the team immediately.
In early May, Anderson Cooper interviewed Sterling, who fervently argued that he’s not a racist. Sterling begged for forgiveness from fans as well as the association, but how are we supposed to react to this? He claims that those comments stemmed from jealousy, because his girlfriend was hanging around “beautiful black men.” Yet, Sterling argues that Stiviano forced him to make those comments. Sterling said, “When I listen to that tape, I don’t even know how I can say words like that… I don’t know why the girl had me say those things. I was baited… I mean, that’s not the way I talk. I don’t talk about people, for one thing, ever. I talk about ideas and other things. I don’t talk about people.” Additionally, Sterling’s lawyer, Max Belcher, claimed that Sterling’s comments and his inability to remember them were due to recently diagnosed Alzheimer’s.
Excuses are excuses, and whether it was the fault of racism, jealousy, or Alzheimer’s, the damage was done. Millions across the world including players, fans, and owners were outraged by his comments, which ultimately led to his banning. There is absolutely no room for racism in the NBA. Removing Sterling from the association is just one step further in abhorring racism overall.
Basketball fanatic and Junior Varsity basketball player, Jade Clark ’16, commented on the issue herself: “Donald Sterling’s comments were truly inappropriate and offensive. There is no place for him in the NBA. The NBA commissioner Adam Silver had already begun to take action that I believe is necessary.”