Microballing: Steve Ballmer's LA Clippers

[Beomoose]

During his bit on ESPN yesterday they brought that up and Magic adamantly pointed out he's still in the middle of trying to get an NFL team for LA. Not saying he wouldn't go for it, of course.
 
Still nothing from Clay Bennett, and I was so looking forward to his defense of his good buddy Donald.

 

[ivanvamp]

If I read it right, the league HAS been trying to get him to sell for some time now, and he just refuses. What are they going to do, try harder?

Maybe the answer isn't boycotting Clippers home games, but boycotting their AWAY games. You start taking money out of Sterling pocket? He's got plenty and might consider it merely a "fuck you fee"...but if you start taking it out of every other owners pockets, they might be more motivated to be rid of him

Interesting, though, that this happens just as a new commissioner starts his work...

 
I thought about this after hearing how the players responded yesterday.  What if they just refused to show up for a road playoff game?  What if yesterday the players just said, nope, we're not playing.  It's an NBA game being covered on television at a very high cost. Advertisers paid big money for the time slots in that game.  The NBA obviously wants a game to be played.  Would they deem the game a forfeit?  Probably.  But I'm sure they would have done everything possible to make sure the game actually happened.  You can't have any team, but especially not a star-studded elite team, simply choose not to play.  It would be a disaster.
 
 

As for the point about surreptitious recording, maybe the discomfort comes from the fact that most or all of us have two-minute segments of our private lives that if made public would be embarrassing, and may very well not be an accurate reflection of who we really are. That seems less troubling here, where there seem to be indications these comments and thoughts are not outliers.

 
I think this is true.  I mean, what Sterling has said is shockingly awful, even more so because he is involved in a league that is predominantly black, and because of those black players (mostly), he makes a fortune in the NBA.  I mean, it's incredible what he said.
 
But that said, I think there's no doubt that every single one of us has said something awful, something that we are so thankful hasn't gotten out into the public, because we'd be super embarrassed and ashamed if it did.
 
Maybe the difference here is that Sterling is not ashamed of what he said because, you know, he really believes it.  

 

[JimBoSox9]

 
I thought about this after hearing how the players responded yesterday.  What if they just refused to show up for a road playoff game?  What if yesterday the players just said, nope, we're not playing.  It's an NBA game being covered on television at a very high cost. Advertisers paid big money for the time slots in that game.  The NBA obviously wants a game to be played.  Would they deem the game a forfeit?  Probably.  But I'm sure they would have done everything possible to make sure the game actually happened.  You can't have any team, but especially not a star-studded elite team, simply choose not to play.  It would be a disaster.

 
It's distasteful, but I think they should let the process play out.  There's a commish elected by the owners and a union and bylaws and all that exists for right now.  This is America so it may be slow, and if it isn't comfortably resolved by next preseason all bets are off, but right now they should focus on winning playoff games, not on the guys paid to clean this shit up.

 

[soxhop411]

I am pretty sure the NBA is now going to force him to sell.

“@nickfasuloSBN: State Farm is pulling its sponsorship of the Clippers. Wow. Others expected to do the same.

”“@darrenrovell: CarMax has announced that, after 9 seasons, it will end its sponsorship of the LA Clippers.”

 

[findguapo]

With the wife attending the game, I wonder if that is the first step of the Sterling family trying to get out in front of this by announcing that she is going to take over the role of owner, and whatever else an owner does, and he will step away.

 

[seageral]

I wonder how many nasty things this woman heard Sterling say before she decided to tape him?  It seems to me there's very little chance this is the worst she ever heard, although I suppose it's possible she could have been taping for a long time.
 
edit:
 
And that is fantastic about pulled sponsorships.  Any type of noise about a sponsor pulling money from the league and the other owners will be falling over themselves kicking Silver out.  Pathetic that it (presumably) will take the threat of losing money for the rest of the owners to do anything.

 

[riboflav]

EDIT: On second thought, I disagree with much of what he wrote so I'm not going to link to it. Carry on.
 
EDIT II: Though I do like the idea that Magic among other black cultural leaders and popular figures should attend Clippers' games rather than staying away, which is sort of what Sterling wants.

 

[AlNipper49]

Sterling is an evil, racist douche.  Much is made about how she's somehow managed to get him and also bang other guys at the same time.  Make no mistake -- he is NOT cool with it and this entire thing is because an evil dude can't live with that situation (as most dudes couldn't) and is using such basically violent speech as a way to exert some level of control over her.  This isn't the first time that he's probably done this and this was her passive aggressive way of fighting back. 
 
Racism isn't cool and that type of behavior isn't cool but what I'm certain of is that he won't surrender as at that point she will have one-upped him with him having almost no way of doing so back to her, which is all that he's thinking about right now. 

 

[soxhop411]

“@ArashMarkazi: The NBA will hold a press conference tomorrow to make an announcement about its investigation involving Clippers owner Donald Sterling.”

 

[Devizier]

Is it too early to speculate if Danny Ainge was involved somehow?

 

[Omar's Wacky Neighbor]

Head of the California NAACP was just on The Herd:  she politely threw the LA chapter of the NAACP under the bus.
 
She did say one funny thing (IIRC, it was her and not Cowherd), when discussing why the same LA NAACP chapter was planning on giving Sterling his SECOND lifetime achievement award:  how do you give the same person TWO lifetime achievement awards?  Did he die after the first one?

 

[ifmanis5]

NBA press conference tomorrow to announce their actions on the matter.

 

[soxhop411]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYh7jXN4DfQ&feature=youtu.be


Taiwanese Animators put Don Sterling in Klan gear

 

[8slim]

We certainly do live in a strange society where actions are far less important than words, it would seem.
 
Sterling was convicted of actively discriminating against people, and the NBA and its fans couldn't have been bothered.
 
Sterling says things about black people, on tape, and everyone loses their minds.
 
We are a weird species.

 

[Grin&MartyBarret]

We certainly do live in a strange society where actions are far less important than words, it would seem.
 
Sterling was convicted of actively discriminating against people, and the NBA and its fans couldn't have been bothered.
 
Sterling says things about black people, on tape, and everyone loses their minds.
 
We are a weird species.

 
It helps that TMZ covered it this time.

 

[8slim]

 
It helps that TMZ covered it this time.

 
I'm not disagreeing.
 
There is a large amount of culpability held by sports media in this case, not that they'll ever acknowledge it.  Where was all this outrage when Sterling's much more offensive comments were reported during his discrimination trial?  Oh, there was no audio?  Well guess sports talk radio can't cover it then.

 

[soxhop411]

- Kia
- Carmax
- State Farm
- Virgin America
- AquaHydrate
Have pulled or suspended sponsorships so far. NBA better bring the hammer down on him or sponsors could pull from the NBA in General and not just LAC

 

[glennhoffmania]

Thank god that Trump weighed in:

 
 
Speaking with Fox News on Monday, Trump called Sterling's comments “despicable,” referencing the 15-minute conversation with then-girlfriend V. Stiviano in which the Clippers owner made several disparaging comments toward African-Americans. However, Trump added that while Sterling's comments deserved punishment, he said the Clippers owner was set-up by his “very bad girlfriend.”
 
“He got set up by a very, very bad girlfriend, let's face it,” Trump told “Fox & Friends” of Clippers owner Donald Sterling.
 
“She's called the girlfriend from hell, but what he said was terrible and despicable and very strong action is going to be taken. There's no question about it,” Trump said of Sterling's girlfriend. “She's a terrible human being and he gave horrible answers and disgusting answers.”
 

 

[johnmd20]

Thank god that Trump weighed in:

 
Why is that buffoon getting headlines? Oh, "Speaking with Fox news, Trump says. . . ." Ok, now I know why he's getting headlines. What a joke. 

 

[E5 Yaz]

Sell the team to a group that wants to move it to Seattle.

 

[Devizier]

We certainly do live in a strange society where actions are far less important than words, it would seem.
 
Sterling was convicted of actively discriminating against people, and the NBA and its fans couldn't have been bothered.
 
Sterling says things about black people, on tape, and everyone loses their minds.
 
We are a weird species.

 
Well, after Tom Osborne was elected to the US congress (twice!), nothing surprises me anymore. 

 

[ifmanis5]

And of course, Rush Limbaugh says it's all Obama's fault. Now THAT is some expert level trolling.
 
 

It did not take long for Rush Limbaugh to find his own unique angle on the L.A. Clippers ownerDonald Sterling controversy. According to the radio host, the only reason why Sterling is in “trouble” for allegedly making racist comments on tape, is that he did not donate enough of his wealth of President Barack Obama.
“This is not news to anybody who has known this guy,” Limbaugh said of Sterling. “This guy’s a big Democrat. The only reason he’s in trouble is he did not give enough money to Obama.” The host described Sterling as a “typical Hollywood Democrat” and “pretend A-lister” whose “racialist tendencies” were widely known as long as he has owned the Clippers.

 
http://www.mediaite.com/online/limbaugh-finds-a-way-to-connect-sterling-controversy-to-obama/

 

[cornwalls@6]

Michael Jordan put him on blast: 

 
Don't octogenarian bigots buy sneakers too?     
 

 

[Seonachan]

And of course, Rush Limbaugh says it's all Obama's fault. Now THAT is some expert level trolling.
 
 
 
http://www.mediaite.com/online/limbaugh-finds-a-way-to-connect-sterling-controversy-to-obama/

 
Yeah, nothing says "typical Hollywood Democrat" like being a registered Republican since 1998.

 

[Joe D Reid]

I truly hope that in the next round of FA negotiations, we see the emergence of the first-ever contractual "morals clauses" for owners. Just like some sports' standard athlete contracts have language allowing the team to take action if the player gets caught doing something dumb, a high-leverage player could get a clause put in saying that if the owner gets caught being racist like Sterling, or with a gallon tub of mixed downers like Irsay, the player can get out of the contract and become a FA. Let the thousand shitflowers bloom.

 

[soxfan121]

I truly hope that in the next round of FA negotiations, we see the emergence of the first-ever contractual "morals clauses" for owners. Just like some sports' standard athlete contracts have language allowing the team to take action if the player gets caught doing something dumb, a high-leverage player could get a clause put in saying that if the owner gets caught being racist like Sterling, or with a gallon tub of mixed downers like Irsay, the player can get out of the contract and become a FA. Let the thousand shitflowers bloom.

 
I know you phrased it as "hope" but you might as well have written "never going to happen, ever, ever, ever". Adam Silver (or any hired help) would be out in a heartbeat if he were ever stupid enough to suggest something like a "morals clause" for owners. 
 
Billionaires do not exist in the same world as their hired help (millionaire athletes). Silver can't do jack or shit here, he knows it and I won't be surprised to see some very dubious referee calls in tonight's games in an attempt to shift the narrative.

 

[scottyno]

 
Yeah, nothing says "typical Hollywood Democrat" like being a registered Republican since 1998.

I'm sure Rush saw the giant headline on drudge report which said that Sterling is a democrat, despite the fact that the article it linked to never said that and was only about his very minimal public political donations which haven't been made since the 1990s

 

[Kliq]

We certainly do live in a strange society where actions are far less important than words, it would seem.
 
Sterling was convicted of actively discriminating against people, and the NBA and its fans couldn't have been bothered.
 
Sterling says things about black people, on tape, and everyone loses their minds.
 
We are a weird species.

 
I agree. I know Sterling is a bigot, but the NBA really has no one to blame but themselves. Here is a guy that once told Elgin Baylor that he wants to have a team of "poor black southern boys with a white coach" and when he was trying to get Danny Manning to sign, he once said "I'm offering a lot of money to a poor black boy." The US Department of Justice filed a suit against him for discrimination in his housing apartments where he said he didn't want to rent to black because they "smell and attract vermin."
 
I know it is a difficult situation getting an owner to abdicate, but the NBA let Sterling get too far with his crap. He had all of that stuff on his rap sheet, yet he was never really in jeopardy of losing his position as the owner of the Clippers. If he didn't get in any serious trouble for all his previous BS, what was stopping him from saying something stupid again? Nothing, so in a way, NBA, Stern, the other owners, they all had a hand in this thing because they never properly delt with Sterling in the first place.
 
I will put it this way, if I told everyone last week that an owner of a big 4 sports team was going to say something incredibly racist and offensive, EVERYONE would guess that it would be Donald Sterling.

 

[Brickowski]

 
. Silver can't do jack or shit here, he knows it and I won't be surprised to see some very dubious referee calls in tonight's games in an attempt to shift the narrative.

I don't see the purpose of penalizing the Clips' players and fans.
Silver can't fine him enough to make it sting and he can't force him to sell the team.  What he can do is suspend him for a long, long time.  I'm not sure what a suspension would cover, but hopefully Silver has enough power to take away Sterling's effective control of the team.

 

[The Mort Report]

I cant remember who said it about Stern working for Sterling and the other 29 owners, but this might actually work against him this time around.  As people have already mentioned, the Clippers are losing sponsors.  Now I see it highly unlike to have major sponsors jump ship on the whole NBA for one man's comments, unless the NBA does not come down hard on him.  From a pure business perspective, I bet you all the other 29 owners want the commish to show the world that the NBA does not tolerate this kind of behavior.  Regardless of anything short of proof that that was actually not him on the recording, the public outcry is very real, however it was obtained, legally or not.  Anything short of coming down hard on him will be terrible press, which leads to losing money.  Anyone who took a business class knows this.  
 
And no owner should be dumb enough to come out and defend him publicly.  If Danny or Wyc came out and even remotely defended him, think what it would do to attracting FAs.  On every level of the business outside of pissing off one owner of 30 should the other 29 be open to dropping the hammer

 

[seageral]

god what a turd
 
http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-sterling-racist-history-2014-4
 
the "Sir, the question was, is this your handwriting." is priceless.

 

[johnmd20]

I don't see the purpose of penalizing the Clips' players and fans.
Silver can't fine him enough to make it sting and he can't force him to sell the team.  What he can do is suspend him for a long, long time.  I'm not sure what a suspension would cover, but hopefully Silver has enough power to take away Sterling's effective control of the team.

 
What's the grounds for suspension? Being a racist? I'm not sure that will work. That said, the best way to hit him is in the pocketbook. Sponsors pulling out is a start.

 

[8slim]

I'm left wondering about the extent of Stern and Sterling's relationship. This guy was a horrendous owner, in the league's 2nd biggest media market, for decades. He was then convicted of racially discriminatory practices and was quoted as saying deplorable things about African-Americans. No sanctions occurred. He was THEN gifted Chris Paul after Stern blocked the Lakers trade, basically using a "because I said so" rationale.

Makes you wonder.

 

[Zososoxfan]

Apples to oranges, but it will make for an interesting juxtaposition to see how the NBA handles Sterling versus how LFP (the Spanish soccer association) handles the Dani Alves incident because the events occurred in such close temporal proximity.

 

[wutang112878]

I'm left wondering about the extent of Stern and Sterling's relationship. This guy was a horrendous owner, in the league's 2nd biggest media market, for decades. He was then convicted of racially discriminatory practices and was quoted as saying deplorable things about African-Americans. No sanctions occurred. He was THEN gifted Chris Paul after Stern blocked the Lakers trade, basically using a "because I said so" rationale.

Makes you wonder.

 
The other owners arent exempt either, technically Stern works for all of them and gets his marching orders. 
 
Unfortunately, I dont think that Sterling was ever enough of an ass until possibly now to provide the owners with financial incentive to get rid of him.  If they push him out the Clips might sell for a discount of X% and now all franchises go down in value somewhat but certainly less than X%  Up until now his ignorant ways didnt affect league revenue, but now if say viewership goes down 2% that might as be much of a financial hit to the other owners as having their franchises go down in value due to a Clips fire-sale.
 
 
The other issue is the legal process, and I believe Sterling has spent a ton on legal expenses to do things like violate a contract and reduce his settlement for it.  That will probably happen 10 fold if they push him to sell.

 

[Joe D Reid]

 
I know you phrased it as "hope" but you might as well have written "never going to happen, ever, ever, ever". Adam Silver (or any hired help) would be out in a heartbeat if he were ever stupid enough to suggest something like a "morals clause" for owners. 
 
Billionaires do not exist in the same world as their hired help (millionaire athletes). Silver can't do jack or shit here, he knows it and I won't be surprised to see some very dubious referee calls in tonight's games in an attempt to shift the narrative.

I agree that it won't happen, but I meant that a player would insist on including such a clause in his contract before signing. Obviously, the player in question would have to be high-profile and high-demand, and those guys understandably don't make rhetorical points fur the fun of it that often, but it would be enormous fun to see somebody try.

 

[moondog80]

Warriors coach Mark Jackson suggesting a fan boycott in LA.  I don't doubt his sincerity, but he obviously has much to gain by the Clippers' imploding that maybe he'd be better off taking a more measured stance for now.
 
http://www.mercurynews.com/warriors/ci_25654114/warriors-coach-mark-jackson-suggests-fans-boycott-staples

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

Warriors coach Mark Jackson suggesting a fan boycott in LA.  I don't doubt his sincerity, but he obviously has much to gain by the Clippers' imploding that maybe he'd be better off taking a more measured stance for now.
 
http://www.mercurynews.com/warriors/ci_25654114/warriors-coach-mark-jackson-suggests-fans-boycott-staples

Yeah, that is a tough one.

Love him or hate him, Jackson really seems like a straight shooter and he is a man of conviction. From what I know of him, he is being sincere here but he has to know that this sort of suggestion will cause some folks to question his motives. I think he does but is saying what he believes anyhow.

 

[Brickowski]

 
What's the grounds for suspension? Being a racist? I'm not sure that will work. That said, the best way to hit him is in the pocketbook. Sponsors pulling out is a start.

The grounds for the suspension would be conduct detrimental to the NBA.

 

[BoredViewer]

I'm left wondering about the extent of Stern and Sterling's relationship. This guy was a horrendous owner, in the league's 2nd biggest media market, for decades. He was then convicted of racially discriminatory practices and was quoted as saying deplorable things about African-Americans. No sanctions occurred. He was THEN gifted Chris Paul after Stern blocked the Lakers trade, basically using a "because I said so" rationale.

Makes you wonder.

 
There's a lot of things about this that make me wonder.
 
Now... everyone is outraged because of a (apparently recent?) recording by an in someway jilted prostitute.  Yet - there are bags of evidence of his racism... that have been around a while.
 
Never mattered to Doc.  Never mattered to most media.  Never mattered much to the players.  Did the NBA care?  Didn't matter to a lot of fans that seem to know (and have known) a lot of this.  Apparently, didn't even matter to the NAACP.
 
So.. I'll give the casual fans (like myself and Snoop Dogg) a pass.
I'll give non-sports and otherwise unrelated media a pass.
 
But, I think there are a lot of people whose outrage is more a matter of convenience than genuine anger.
 
So - a question:  are there other Sterlings out there that "everyone" knows about - but we're just waiting for a more convenient trigger (ie. secret recording) to get outraged about?  Let's name names.

 

[mauf]

No owner would sign a contract that said he could be forced to sell his team if he acted in a way that offended David Stern's sense of morality. If Stern had that kind of power, he would have gotten rid of Cuban when he was facing those (dubious) insider trading charges, and he might also have tried to push out Dolan in connection with the Isiah Thomas scandal. Because no owner would give a commissioner that kind of latitude, I'll bet Stern couldn't do anything about Sterling's past misdeed.

The difference now is the league has irrefutable proof of something that almost certainly violates its code of conduct. Let's see what they do about it.

 

[Koufax]

It is possible however that the owners have the right, by some supermajority vote, to expel a member.  If that threat is lurking in the background, the power of the commissioner may be greater than it would otherwise appear.

 

[Judge Mental13]

Warriors coach Mark Jackson suggesting a fan boycott in LA.  I don't doubt his sincerity, but he obviously has much to gain by the Clippers' imploding that maybe he'd be better off taking a more measured stance for now.
 
http://www.mercurynews.com/warriors/ci_25654114/warriors-coach-mark-jackson-suggests-fans-boycott-staples

 
Mark Jackson should shut the fuck up
 

At the very least, nobody likes having his business deals, or private life, scrutinized. TV analyst Mark Jackson (who provides commentary for ESPN) says he "never had a problem" with Sterling, either when he played for the Clippers from 1992 to 1994 or at any other point in his 18-year career.
 
 
Then he adds: "I heard about the housing case -- what can I do about that?
 
 
That's his business, and it's in the courts. A lot of players, owners, people at ESPN have been charged or sued over something."
 

 

[scottyno]

The grounds for the suspension would be conduct detrimental to the NBA.

 

better suspend every ref for the same thing then, and every player every time he makes a non pc comment on twitter

 

[riboflav]

Count me among the group who question how much grounds the commish has to punish Sterling. Furthermore, like Kareem, I believe that a harsh punishment just lets everyone off the hook and allows us all to go back to watching Clippers' games without shame.
 
http://time.com/79590/donald-sterling-kareem-abdul-jabbar-racism/
 
Sterling was not created nor allowed to grow in a vacuum. 

 

[soxhop411]

Leigh Steinberg ‏@leighsteinberg  8m
#NBA has the power to indefinitely suspend Sterling or impose lifetime ban under Paragraphs 24(l),35 (A)(C) of NBA Constitution.
 
NBA better do the right thing….
 
https://twitter.com/leighsteinberg/status/460910973948133376

 

[wutang112878]

It is possible however that the owners have the right, by some supermajority vote, to expel a member.  If that threat is lurking in the background, the power of the commissioner may be greater than it would otherwise appear.

 
I have no idea how much to trust McCann but according to him:
 
 

Forcibly removing Sterling from the NBA is unlikely to happen. The NBA's constitution, which is confidential, reportedly contains language permitting owners to authorize the league to sell a team without an owner's consent. The language, SI.com is told, only covers very limited circumstances and these circumstances concern team finances -- namely, when an owner can't pay his bills.

There is reportedly no language authorizing the NBA to sell a team because of an owner's hurtful remarks or embarrassing behavior. Even if constitutional language could be construed to authorize a forced sale of the Clippers, NBA owners would likely be reluctant to do so given the precedent it would set.
 

 

[wutang112878]

 
Leigh Steinberg ‏@leighsteinberg  8m
#NBA has the power to indefinitely suspend Sterling or impose lifetime ban under Paragraphs 24(l),35 (A)(C) of NBA Constitution.
 

 
If its a lifetime ban does the NBA also take over operations?  Or can they do that as a secondary action?  If either of those is yes, Sterling is effectively out.

 

[Grin&MartyBarret]

 
There's a lot of things about this that make me wonder.
 
Now... everyone is outraged because of a (apparently recent?) recording by an in someway jilted prostitute.  Yet - there are bags of evidence of his racism... that have been around a while.
 
Never mattered to Doc.  Never mattered to most media.  Never mattered much to the players.  Did the NBA care?  Didn't matter to a lot of fans that seem to know (and have known) a lot of this.  Apparently, didn't even matter to the NAACP.
 
So.. I'll give the casual fans (like myself and Snoop Dogg) a pass.
I'll give non-sports and otherwise unrelated media a pass.
 
But, I think there are a lot of people whose outrage is more a matter of convenience than genuine anger.
 
So - a question:  are there other Sterlings out there that "everyone" knows about - but we're just waiting for a more convenient trigger (ie. secret recording) to get outraged about?  Let's name names.

There were rumors of racism. There was hearsay. There were court documents in which other people claimed that Donald Sterling said racist things and there were claims by Elgin Baylor that Sterling's compensation policies were racist. Now there are recordings--actual evidence--that backs up the decades of rumors. Why are people having so much trouble seeing that distinction? No, it's not news to anybody that was paying attention that Sterling's a racist asshole, but now the ammunition necessary to do something about it exists. Is that convenient? I guess so? But why does that make the anger less genuine? Just because it's the first time you're seeing it?

 

[Grin&MartyBarret]

 
Mark Jackson should shut the fuck up
 

The housing case was after Jackson played for Sterling. So, answer his question for him: what could Mark Jackson have done about that? Because for two years in the 90's Mark Jackson didn't have an issue with Sterling and because he heard about a court case that was settled out of court, he's not allowed to be upset about Sterling's most recent comments? He's not allowed to take a stand now, because what? In your mind it didn't happen soon enough? What's the statute of limitations on these things?