Microballing: Steve Ballmer's LA Clippers

[Average Reds]

"..if a controlling owner's interest is terminated by a 3/4 vote, all other team owners' interests are terminated as well."
 
So, will we see a legal fight put up by minority owners? I can see these owners putting a little pressure on the voting/controlling owners to not exercise this option.
 

 
The quote you have presented is pretty straightforward, but I have no idea what the bolded part even means.
 
 

 
What do they do if Sterling takes this to court and says it was a blackmail scheme? Who can prove  a negative and say that it wasn't?
 
If Sterling goes nuclear and vows to fight this forever in the courts, will the other owners be willing to see through a lengthy court battle that can only do harm to the NBA?
 
This rush of people stepping up to put their name in for ownership is really unsavory.
 

 
The cost of litigation would be a small fraction of what the other owners would owe Sterling if they capitulated to his demands, so there's no question they would see litigation through to the end.

 

[Brickowski]

If 3/4 of the owners vote him out, what difference does it make?   Once Sterling loses the franchise, he can argue "injustice" for the next decade while the NBA and/or the other owners bury him with counterclaims. The cases will eventually settle and the high priced lawyers on both sides will buy very nice homes in Laguna Beach or the Hamptons.

 

[Tony C]

Yep, seems clearer and clearer that Silver is in charge.
 

I would have expected the mea maxima culpa language to have come out much sooner that 2 weeks after the incident.

 
Wasn't even all that maxima...some whining that sounded like a 6 year old trying to get out of being grounded by saying "i'm sooo sorry and I just did it just this oooonce." and then he apparently goes on to trash Magic?
 
Christ -- get this guy out of the NBA and out of the news

 

[Section30]

Average Reds:
 
Sterling is the owner with a controlling interest but there are minority owners in the Clippers, right? If there are, the 3/4 vote will terminate their interest and I can see someone with a stake in the team trying to find a way to keep their interest alive and avoid the 3/4 vote.
If I'm Joe Millionaire with 3% of the Clippers I would be on the phone calling other owners to try and find a way to keep my investment. 
 
and thanks for the answer on the litigation angle.

 

[soxhop411]

 

 

[soxhop411]

darren rovell ‏@darrenrovell  1m
Donald Sterling on Magic Johnson: "What kind of guy goes to every city, has sex with every girl, then catches HIV?"
 
please tell me he really did not say this....

 

[soxhop411]

Donald Sterling says Magic Johnson is a bad example for the children of L.A. because of what he did to "get AIDS" back in the '90s ... and says he should be ashamed of himself. 

Sterling made the comments to Anderson Cooper during his big CNN interview ... saying "To do what [Magic] did and then get A.I.D.S. ... I mean, come on."

For the record, Magic does not have A.I.D.S. -- but was diagnosed H.I.V. positive back in 1991. 

Sterling continued his attack on Magic -- saying, "Big Magic Johnson ... what has he done? He's got AIDS."

"What kind of a guy goes to every city and has sex with every girl? Then he catches HIV ... is that someone we wanna respect and tell our kids about? I think he should be ashamed of himself. I think he should go into the background."

"But what does he do for the black people? He doesn't do anything."

Sterling also just called Anderson Cooper a RACIST -- saying, "I think you have more of a plantation mentality than I do ... and I think you're more of a racist than I am."

Sterling didn't explain why he believes Cooper is a racist. 

Sterling seems to be in denial about how the players feel about him -- saying they still "love me." He says the media hates him. 
 

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2014/05/12/donald-sterling-blasts-magic-for-having-aids/#ixzz31YDq4COX

 

[Jnai]

This guy is awesome.

 

[24JoshuaPoint]

Wow. He's out of his mind.

 

[Jnai]

I mean, accusing Anderson Cooper of being racist and doubling down on Magic? Popcorn time.

 

[soxhop411]

So why did he agree to do an interview? That hurt him wayyyyyy more then it helped him.

 

[dcmissle]

He's waning-days-of-Al Davis crazy is what he is, and people like that can cause a lot of damage, even without the equally crazy estranged spouse, which makes this a three ring circus.

LeBron James is a very smart guy. He has warned people to prepare for a protracted death match.

 

[singaporesoxfan]

As I learnt from Mad Men, Sterling Cooper = awkwardness about the topic of race.

 

[Brickowski]

Average Reds:
 
Sterling is the owner with a controlling interest but there are minority owners in the Clippers, right?

Who knows?  If the reports are correct that the team is held in a family trust, the legal owner of the team is the trustee (whomever that is).  The beneficial owners are the beneficiaries of the trust.  Presumably the beneficiaries include Sterling and his wife, but there may be others.  However, those other beneficiaries may have no say in the disposition of the team.  It depends upon what the trust document says.
 
It's also possible that only the "Sterling" interests are in the trust, but that minority owners exist outside the trust who are not beneficiaries. Adam Silver and the Board of Governors probably know the ownership structure, but we don't.  We don't even know if the assets of the Clippers franchise are held in a corporation, LLC, partnership, proprietorship or as personal assets of the Sterlings.

 

[8slim]

I think it's safe to say that Donald Sterling is not, ummm, well.

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

I heard part of the Shelly Sterling interview with Barbra Walters and she did say that she thought Donald was suffering from dementia.

 

[ElUno20]

From a comedic train wreck perspective, that interview exceeded my expectations. That was amazing. He should drop the mic and never do another interview. You cant top that

 

[JimBoSox9]

So why did he agree to do an interview? That hurt him wayyyyyy more then it helped him.

That's what's so great. THIS WAS HIS MEA CULPA! Fantastic.

 

[Jnai]

NBA #2:
 

 

[McBride11]

Doesn't he have a PR guy or a lawyer or somebody, anybody that would shut this down? Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed it, but how would anyone on his team let him do this interview or at least end it partway through. Especially if is suffering from dementia / side effects of cancer or even if he is just that dumb / racist.

 

[luckiestman]

maybe theyre gonna play the dementia angle
 
"look what he said to gloria vanderbilt's kid! he must be nuts"

 

[SumnerH]

He's waning-days-of-Al Davis crazy is what he is

There's a "7 wonders of the natural world" chasm between the Al Davis "normally senile" portion of the chart and Sterling. He's not all the way out in Howard Hughes/Kim Jong Il territory, but he's a lot closer to it than Davis ever was.

 

[singaporesoxfan]

I like the part where Sterling asked Cooper - "Did you ever like a girl, were ever jealous a little bit if she was with other guys?" 

 

[JayMags71]

NBA:
 

NBA #2:
 

"Those responsible for sacking the people who have just been sacked, have been sacked."

 

[HomeRunBaker]

"and he had AIDS, and when he had those AIDS, I went to my synagogue and I prayed for him."


Screw all you guys......I don't want Donald Sterling going anywhere and I don't want him hiring a PR guy.....evah!!

 

[Average Reds]

Average Reds:
 
Sterling is the owner with a controlling interest but there are minority owners in the Clippers, right? If there are, the 3/4 vote will terminate their interest and I can see someone with a stake in the team trying to find a way to keep their interest alive and avoid the 3/4 vote.
If I'm Joe Millionaire with 3% of the Clippers I would be on the phone calling other owners to try and find a way to keep my investment. 
 
and thanks for the answer on the litigation angle.

I can't think of a single reason for one of the owners to have any concern for a minority owner of the Clippers right now.

They want this ownership group gone.

 

[Ed Hillel]

I like the part where Sterling asked Cooper - "Did you ever like a girl, were ever jealous a little bit if she was with other guys?" 

Dude, if he had any idea, do you think he would have sat that close to him?

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

Doesn't he have a PR guy or a lawyer or somebody, anybody that would shut this down? Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed it, but how would anyone on his team let him do this interview or at least end it partway through. Especially if is suffering from dementia / side effects of cancer or even if he is just that dumb / racist.

 
Sterling is too cheap to hire a PR guy.

 

[IdiotKicker]

 
Sterling is too cheap to hire a PR guy.

 
Do we know his thoughts on Puerto Ricans yet?

 

[OCST]

 
Do we know his thoughts on Puerto Ricans yet?

 
My (Polish) grandmother was in a nursing home on 9/11/01, and was pretty much on her deathbed.  Some dementia had set in.
 
I visited her shortly after the attacks, and there was footage of the smoking Twin Towers on the TV when I walked in her room.  She beckoned me to come close, pointed at the TV, and whispered, "I know who did this.  It was the Puerto Ricans."

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

 
Do we know his thoughts on Puerto Ricans yet?

 
Yes.  Less useful than PR guys.

 

[Reverend]

 
Someone posted this in another thread recently, reminding me of how wonderful it is.  (Jump to the one minute mark.)

 
I think it was Myt1 asking someone--maybe you--if you had just used the "________ Defense." Maybe the "Hoover Defense" but it doesn't show up in search...
 
 

I mean, accusing Anderson Cooper of being racist and doubling down on Magic? Popcorn time.

 
Well, this should about do it for the "should a guy be punished for comments made in private" aspect of this issue...

 

[dcmissle]

"I spend millions on giving away and helping minorities ... Does he do that? That's one problem I have. Jews, when they get successful, they will help their people. And some of the African-Americans -- maybe I will get in trouble again -- they don't want to help anybody."

Does he plan to run in the Republican Presidential primary in Kentucky? Or West Virginia?

 

[twibnotes]

Too bad the XFL never worked out bc Sterling would have been a perfect owner in that league

 

[mabrowndog]

 

[Reverend]

Too bad the XFL never worked out bc Sterling would have been a perfect owner in that league

 
Nobody would buy the writing--too over-wrought.

 

[Tony C]

So why did he agree to do an interview? That hurt him wayyyyyy more then it helped him.

 
 
8slim gives you your answer.
 

I think it's safe to say that Donald Sterling is not, ummm, well.

 
Honestly, as despicable as he is, it's just more a pathetic spectacle at this point than anything else. Would rather avert my eyes from the doddering old fool.
 

I can't think of a single reason for one of the owners to have any concern for a minority owner of the Clippers right now.

They want this ownership group gone.

 
Don't we all. I do want Magic to own the Clippers, though....at least in part. I hope this last round has got his juices flowing enough that he wants it, too.

 

[Seabass]

If you haven't seen the interview yet, you can watch it here:
 
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/category/exclusive-sterling-interview/?hpt=ac_t1
 
It's so goddamn bonkers.

 

[soxfan121]

“If it’s not handled by… the start of next season, I don’t see how we’re playing basketball,” NBPA vice president Roger Mason Jr. said in an interview with Showtime’s Jim Rome. “We have player reps, we’ve got executive committee members…  Leaders of the teams, they’re all saying the same thing, ‘If [Sterling] is still in place, we ain’t playing’. … I was just in the locker room three or four days ago. LeBron and I talked about it. He ain’t playing if Sterling is still an owner.”
 
Mason clarified that the ultimatum applies equally to Shelly Sterling, too.
 
“No Sterling deserves to be an owner of that franchise any longer,” Mason continued. “And I’ve gone down the line from LeBron to the other guys in the league that I’ve talked to and they all feel the same way. There’s no place for that family in the NBA.”

 

[Ed Hillel]

Too bad the XFL never worked out bc Sterling would have been a perfect owner in that league

How much do you think the NFL has paid people to ensure that vindictive,
attractive young women stay as far away from Jerry Richardson as possible?

 

[Rovin Romine]

 

“If it’s not handled by… the start of next season, I don’t see how we’re playing basketball,” NBPA vice president Roger Mason Jr. said in an interview with Showtime’s Jim Rome. “We have player reps, we’ve got executive committee members…  Leaders of the teams, they’re all saying the same thing, ‘If [Sterling] is still in place, we ain’t playing’. … I was just in the locker room three or four days ago. LeBron and I talked about it. He ain’t playing if Sterling is still an owner.”
 
Mason clarified that the ultimatum applies equally to Shelly Sterling, too.
 
“No Sterling deserves to be an owner of that franchise any longer,” Mason continued. “And I’ve gone down the line from LeBron to the other guys in the league that I’ve talked to and they all feel the same way. There’s no place for that family in the NBA.”

 

 
I have mixed feelings about things like this.  On the one hand, good for the NBPA for taking a stand.  On the other, striking over what an obviously crazy old man (who is already banned from interacting with the team) said. . .just because you also want his family members nixed as owners?   It seems like a tempest in a teacup, except that it involves race issues in America.  
 
Since the civil rights era, has there been such a high profiled threatened walkout/strike over someone's use of language - as opposed to, say, working or living conditions?  (Again, I'm not justifying Sterling - this whole situation just seems somewhat unique to me.)

 

[Average Reds]

 
I have mixed feelings about things like this.  On the one hand, good for the NBPA for taking a stand.  On the other, striking over what an obviously crazy old man (who is already banned from interacting with the team) said. . .just because you also want his family members nixed as owners?   It seems like a tempest in a teacup, except that it involves race issues in America.  
 
Since the civil rights era, has there been such a high profiled threatened walkout/strike over someone's use of language - as opposed to, say, working or living conditions?  (Again, I'm not justifying Sterling - this whole situation just seems somewhat unique to me.)

 
Two thoughts on this:

1. I view the NBPA's statement about a possible walkout as a warning to the owners that they delay the process of expelling Sterling at their peril.  I cannot imagine that they believe they'll ever have to act on it.  (Not saying that it is coordinated with Silver, but the NBPA may even be providing cover for the owners here.)
    
2. This entire scenario may appear to be about "someone's use of language" but IMO that's clearly not the case.  Donald Sterling has proven by his actions over the years that he's a toxic racist, but because of the nature of the legal settlements that he has negotiated no one could nail him with definitive proof.  The tapes and Sterling's subsequent self-destruction over the past few days are the smoking gun(s) that people have been seeking.

What we are seeing is the consequences of an individual (Sterling) acting in a manner that acts as a catalyst to unleash an enormous reservoir of resentment and anger that has been building for many, many, many years.

 

[soxfan121]

I think you are taking too narrow a view here, RR. 
 
For the players - at least the ones who've educated themselves on history - having "an owner" is a problematic thing from the start. Mostly, it can be forgotten as a necessary evil in their desire to play in the NBA but I have no trouble imagining many players in many leagues having philosophical objections to "an owner", even when the guy is nice and generous and friendly. 
 
For the players right now, there is leverage. A unique opportunity to exert some influence on the NBA and all its owners. A chance to dispute, even in a small way, their status as "owned" by a rich white billionaire. A chance to have some minor say in the way the "owners" can publicly act and behave. 
 
No players in no leagues in history have had as much access to the media, as much power in the form of money and fame and as much credibility with the public (and it's "court" of opinion). Comparisons to the "civil rights era" are outdated and not useful in today's context. And further, saying this is about "language" might be technically correct (the best kind!) but misses the larger point that it is not acceptable to behave like a racist, even in your home, if you've got a recording device running. Sterling's "language" was (in the first tape) about regulating behavior and "making him look bad". In the Cooper interview, Sterling doubled down by using language to state that African Americans don't help out their communities and that Magic "banging" sets a bad example. From the guy who brags in MULTIPLE depositions about how he likes to bang women who aren't his wife. 
 
It's not the language - it is the actions behind them. Sterling likely would have gotten away with a public reprimand from the NBA if he hadn't previously been found to ACTING like a racist slumlord, interested in holding down those he didn't view as equal. In Sterling's case, the words set the fire but all the kindling and fuel had been put there by Sterling himself, throughout his tenure as "owner" (in particular, the Baron Davis stuff and the "look at my black boys" stuff). 
 
Suggesting this to be about language is only part of the story, and frankly, it ignores the more important part. I realize that parsing language is kinda your thing but this is about way more than language to some of these players.

 

[Rovin Romine]

 
Two thoughts on this:

1. I view the NBPA's statement about a possible walkout as a warning to the owners that they delay the process of expelling Sterling at their peril.  I cannot imagine that they believe they'll ever have to act on it.  (Not saying that it is coordinate, but they may even be providing cover for the owners here.)
    
2. This entire scenario may appear to be about "someone's use of language" but IMO that's clearly not the case.  Donald Sterling has proven by his actions over the years that he's a toxic racist, but because of the nature of the legal settlements that he has negotiated no one could nail him with definitive proof.  The tapes and Sterling's subsequent self-destruction over the past few days are the smoking gun(s) that people have been seeking.

What we are seeing is the consequences of an individual (Sterling) acting in a manner that acts as a catalyst to unleash an enormous reservoir of resentment and anger that has been building for many, many, many years.

 
I understand what you're saying about the build-up and the smoking gun.  
 
What strikes me as interesting is that apparently no one on the Clippers was agitating against Sterling before the tape came out - there were no lawsuits re: the working conditions for the players on the team, nor, from what I understand were there any pending allegations that Sterling was acting in an overtly racist way vis-à-vis the team or any of the team players.  Also interesting is that (again in terms of the team itself) since the recorded statements were made public, nothing else has come to light - meaning there was nothing burbling under the surface, just waiting for the right moment to become public.  I'd assume if there was no taped statement, things would have continued as normal for the Clippers, and the Clippers and the NBA would have been fine with the status quo.
 
With that in mind, I'm still thinking the whole situation is driven almost entirely by the outrageous things Sterling was recorded saying.  We're still pretty much in the dark as to whether Sterling was a "toxic racist" - he may have been, he may not have been, but I don't think there was any hue and cry to get rid of him as an owner before the taped statements came to light?  (If I'm wrong about that, please correct me.)
 
***
 
I'd also be surprised if there was an actual walkout, if, at the beginning of next season, one of the Sterlings was still nominally owner. 

 

[dcmissle]

It's useless bluster. The union has acknowledged that Silver went further than it had expected or even hoped. There is close to zero chance of backsliding by the owners. If anything, recent interviews make it almost certain that Silver's actions will be approved.

Once you get to legal action -- if you get to legal action -- the owners don't have control. They and the League can do only what they can do.

If this is not fully resolved by the beginning of the season for reasons out of their control, and the players strike, that would be very foolish. If I were an owner in these circumstances, I would then consider terminating -- for cause -- every bad contract on my roster.

 

[SumnerH]

NBPA vice president Roger Mason Jr.

This might be the weirdest thing in the thread.

 

[mabrowndog]

 In the Cooper interview, Sterling doubled down by using language to state that African Americans don't help out their communities and that Magic "banging" sets a bad example. From the guy who brags in MULTIPLE depositions about how he likes to bang women who aren't his wife. 

 
I was a little disappointed that Cooper didn't ask Sterling if he felt he himself was a good role model for children. Not that Sterling wasn't already having enough trouble putting his foot in his mouth, but the verbal diarrhea there would have been gold.

 

[Rovin Romine]

I think you are taking too narrow a view here, RR. 
 
For the players - at least the ones who've educated themselves on history - having "an owner" is a problematic thing from the start. Mostly, it can be forgotten as a necessary evil in their desire to play in the NBA but I have no trouble imagining many players in many leagues having philosophical objections to "an owner", even when the guy is nice and generous and friendly. 
 
For the players right now, there is leverage. A unique opportunity to exert some influence on the NBA and all its owners. A chance to dispute, even in a small way, their status as "owned" by a rich white billionaire. A chance to have some minor say in the way the "owners" can publicly act and behave. 
 
No players in no leagues in history have had as much access to the media, as much power in the form of money and fame and as much credibility with the public (and it's "court" of opinion). Comparisons to the "civil rights era" are outdated and not useful in today's context. And further, saying this is about "language" might be technically correct (the best kind!) but misses the larger point that it is not acceptable to behave like a racist, even in your home, if you've got a recording device running. Sterling's "language" was (in the first tape) about regulating behavior and "making him look bad". In the Cooper interview, Sterling doubled down by using language to state that African Americans don't help out their communities and that Magic "banging" sets a bad example. From the guy who brags in MULTIPLE depositions about how he likes to bang women who aren't his wife. 
 
It's not the language - it is the actions behind them. Sterling likely would have gotten away with a public reprimand from the NBA if he hadn't previously been found to ACTING like a racist slumlord, interested in holding down those he didn't view as equal. In Sterling's case, the words set the fire but all the kindling and fuel had been put there by Sterling himself, throughout his tenure as "owner" (in particular, the Baron Davis stuff and the "look at my black boys" stuff). 
 
Suggesting this to be about language is only part of the story, and frankly, it ignores the more important part. I realize that parsing language is kinda your thing but this is about way more than language to some of these players.

 
I think I made most of my points in response to AR.  It's not that I think Sterling isn't a racist, or shouldn't be punished.  It's the whole "we'll strike unless the entire family is banned from ownership" response that's problematic to me.  
 
Also, in terms of the initial outrage, it seemed that the vast majority of that outrage was over the language itself and what it expressed.  I'm not sure it was some kind of straw that broke the camel's back, or final crack in the dam (so to speak.)   Then again, I'm not up on the "Baron Davis stuff," so I very well might be wrong about that. 
 
Sterling has clearly sunk his ship via his subsequent statements. 

 

[Rovin Romine]

 
I was a little disappointed that Cooper didn't ask Sterling if he felt he himself was a good role model for children. Not that Sterling wasn't already having enough trouble putting his foot in his mouth, but the verbal diarrhea there would have been gold.

 
Just the clip of Cooper asking that (with a straight face) would have been gold.  "Do you consider yourself a good role model for children?"

 

[dcmissle]

It already is gold for CNN, which has swapped out the missing plane for the Sterlings.