Microballing: Steve Ballmer's LA Clippers

SeoulSoxFan

I Want to Hit the World with Rocket Punch
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jun 27, 2006
22,089
A Scud Away from Hell
Don't bring black people to games...
 
...says Sterling to his black/mexican GF in a recorded audio:
 
http://www.tmz.com/2014/04/26/donald-sterling-clippers-owner-black-people-racist-audio-magic-johnson/
 
The highlights:
 

"It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people. Do you have to?" (3:30) 
 
"You can sleep with [black people]. You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want.  The little I ask you is not to promote it on that ... and not to bring them to my games." (5:15)
 
"I’m just saying, in your lousy f******* Instagrams, you don’t have to have yourself with, walking with black people." (7:45)
 
"...Don't put him [Magic] on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me.  And don't bring him to my games." (9:13)
 
But also tells her "he loves black people". I'm confooooooosed.
 
P.S. Crappy audio quality version on YT:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lpBiDoVp0c[/youtube]
 

wutang112878

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 5, 2007
6,066
Well, Adam Silver gets the first real crisis of his tenure.  Too bad capital punishment isnt at his disposal.
 
 
Fred not Lynn said:
So the piece of information I can't seem to find, is how did such a private conversation come to be recorded?
 
I'm going to guess that he and the gf had very similar conversations in the past and given that she is a minority she decided to record it and get back at Donald.  Good for her
 

Fred not Lynn

Dick Button Jr.
SoSH Member
Jul 13, 2005
5,253
Alberta
I think it would be good journalism to give us that background...it adds a layer to the story. I mean, if you really don't like that your significant other is racist enough to record a conversation like this and make it public, maybe it is time to reconsider the whole relationship?
 

johnmd20

mad dog
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 30, 2003
61,996
New York City
adam42381 said:
Everyone knows Sterling's a dick, but saying these things over the phone makes him a bigger idiot that I thought.
 
No it doesn't make him a *bigger* idiot. He is who we thought he was and this is pretty much the least shocking news you could hear about Donald Sterling. Wait, he's a racist??? Waaaaahhh. No way!111!!1111
 

riboflav

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 20, 2006
9,579
NOVA
He's a racist idiot but I'm far more concerned about this growing trend of secretly recording people and outing them over the web. IMO, this has far more damaging with long-range implications than someone's personal hatred of a group of people, as bad as that is.
 

ibrewbeer

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 27, 2003
2,012
1st State
Are you fucking serious?

Let me know the next time a mob hangs someone because they hate "people who record conversations"
 

Ed Hillel

Wants to be startin somethin
SoSH Member
Dec 12, 2007
43,559
Here
The punishment here is simple. If he wants to be an open racist he should have to field a team/coaching staff of all whites. His team would be real sweet with Steve Blake running the point.
 

Adrian's Dome

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 6, 2010
4,424
ibrewbeer said:
Are you fucking serious?

Let me know the next time a mob hangs someone because they hate "people who record conversations"
 
You can't imagine a scenario where someone gets seriously hurt over recording and publicizing what was expected to and should've been a private conversation?
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,715
Ed Hillel said:
The punishment here is simple. If he wants to be an open racist he should have to field a team/coaching staff of all whites. 
 
Is this what happened to the Minnesota owner?
 

mabrowndog

Ask me about total zone...or paint
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 23, 2003
39,676
Falmouth, MA
johnmd20 said:
He is who we thought he was and this is pretty much the least shocking news you could hear about Donald Sterling. Wait, he's a racist??? Waaaaahhh. No way!111!!1111
 
Ding Ding Ding!
 
 
In November 2005, ESPN reported that Donald Sterling agreed to pay a fine of $2.73 million to settle claims brought by the Justice Department and Davin Day of Newport Beach that he engaged in disciminatory rental practices against Hispanics, blacks, and families with children. In addition, Sterling was also ordered to pay attorneys' fees and costs in that action of $4,923,554.75. In granting the attorney's fees and costs Judge Dale S. Fischer noted "Sterling's' scorched earth' litigation tactics, some of which are described by the Plaintiffs' counsel and some of which were observed by the Court. The Court has no difficulty accepting Plaintiffs' counsel's representations that the time required to be spent on this case was increased by defendant's counsel's often unacceptable, and sometimes outrageous conduct."
 
In February 2009, Sterling was sued by former longtime Clippers executive Elgin Baylor for employment discrimination on the basis of age and race. The lawsuit alleges Sterling told Baylor that he wanted to fill his team with "poor black boys from the South and a white head coach". The suit alleges that during negotiations for Danny Manning, Sterling said "I'm offering a lot of money for a poor black kid." The suit noted those comments while alleging "the Caucasian head coach was given a four-year, $22-million contract", but Baylor's salary had "been frozen at a comparatively paltry $350,000 since 2003".
 
On August 8, 2009, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Sterling for housing discrimination in using race as a factor in filling some of his apartment buildings. The government's ongoing case alleges Sterling refused to rent to non-Koreans in the Koreatown neighborhood and to African Americans in Beverly Hills. The suit alleges Sterling once said he did not like to rent to Hispanics because they "smoke, drink and just hang around the building," and that "Black tenants smell and attract vermin."
 

soxhop411

news aggravator
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2009
46,276

8slim

has trust issues
SoSH Member
Nov 6, 2001
24,829
Unreal America
Clearly the most appropriate line of business for a person who dislikes being seen with black people in public is owning an NBA team.
 

soxhop411

news aggravator
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2009
46,276
Earvin Magic Johnson ‏@MagicJohnson  2m
TMZ reported this morning that Clippers owner Donald Sterling doesn't want me or other African-Americans to come to Clippers games.
 
Earvin Magic Johnson ‏@MagicJohnson  now
.@cjbycookie and I will never go to a Clippers game again as long as Donald Sterling is the owner.
 
Earvin Magic Johnson ‏@MagicJohnson  now
I feel sorry for my friends Coach Doc Rivers and Chris Paul that they have to work for a man that feels that way about African Americans.
 
Earvin Magic Johnson ‏@MagicJohnson  now
LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling's comments about African Americans are a black eye for the NBA.
 
 
 
 
 
https://twitter.com/MagicJohnson
Donald Sterling's days as a owner are hopefully numbered\
 

JimBoSox9

will you be my friend?
SoSH Member
Nov 1, 2005
16,667
Mid-surburbia
They're going to take him out back and Schott him in the head, and the whole process will reach A-Rod/Bud levels of hysterical. Getcha popcorn ready.
 

mabrowndog

Ask me about total zone...or paint
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 23, 2003
39,676
Falmouth, MA
Love the irony that Sterling is a Jew born with the last name Tokowitz, and changed it to avoid being discriminated against by people who hate Hebrews.
 

riboflav

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 20, 2006
9,579
NOVA
Does an employer have the right to punish an employee for something that was not illegal and was not done at work? Legally, they probably do. But, is that what we actually want to happen in our society?
 
Do we, as a society, want to keep heading down the road where private and public lines are blended to the point of complete erasure? Where no one is allowed to make a mistake (please note I'm not defending him just making a larger point)? This sort of totalitarian Internet culture is not one I feel comfortable living in. I mean this scumbag isn't even a public employee or a politician.
 
People often confuse the terms, "totalitarian" and "authoritarian." But there is one key difference that makes a totalitarian society far worse and that is everything that is private is also public. Everything said in your home or to another in confidence is reportable.
 
On this board, we celebrate writers like Dave Eggers and shows like Black Mirror but when something like this happens, do we ignore the lessons?
 

JimBoSox9

will you be my friend?
SoSH Member
Nov 1, 2005
16,667
Mid-surburbia
I dunno what the hell you're talking about, but this is isn't a free speech issue, it's a corporate branding issue, so take a few breaths. And I'm pretty sure the Bill of Rights will survive Sterling's girlfriend too. Maybe don't be a shitty person or confide in shitty people over the phone.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 24, 2002
48,205
I honestly don't know how to feel about this.  In my mind, there is no question Sterling is a racist scumbag.  However anyone who has paid attention to him or his background already knew that.  Presumably Doc and anyone who joined the Clippers voluntarily were aware of his history as well.  
 
Furthermore, I am not sure how to feel about a 20 or 30-something young woman surreptitiously taping her wealthy 81-year old "boyfriend".   Its clear from the recording that he is a tired, pathetic old man who is just as frustrated with the age/cultural differences (he clearly doesn't use Instagram) between he and this woman as he is with issues of race.  I guess what I am trying to say is that this seems like a match made in heaven.  
 
Finally, I doubt this will impact the Clippers in their playoff run because I think Doc will manage the situation in his typical cool fashion.  However you have to believe there media focus on this over the next few games.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhT6d5fMhzI
 
 
 

riboflav

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 20, 2006
9,579
NOVA
JimBoSox9 said:
I dunno what the hell you're talking about, but this is isn't a free speech issue, it's a corporate branding issue, so take a few breaths. And I'm pretty sure the Bill of Rights will survive Sterling's girlfriend too. Maybe don't be a shitty person or confide in shitty people over the phone.
 
I never said it was a free speech issue. You do have to admit though that it's at least worth discussing that apparently what can be said in private now can be secretly recorded and released for public consumption in order to shame the transgressor. We now have to assume that everything we say and do can be heard or watched by billions of people. We have to, in essence, be perfect.
 

riboflav

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 20, 2006
9,579
NOVA
DeJesus Built My Hotrod said:
I honestly don't know how to feel about this.  In my mind, there is no question Sterling is a racist scumbag.  However anyone who has paid attention to him or his background already knew that.  Presumably Doc and anyone who joined the Clippers voluntarily were aware of his history as well.  
 
Furthermore, I am not sure how to feel about a 20 or 30-something young woman surreptitiously taping her wealthy 81-year old "boyfriend".   Its clear from the recording that he is a tired, pathetic old man who is just as frustrated with the age/cultural differences (he clearly doesn't use Instagram) between he and this woman as he is with issues of race.  I guess what I am trying to say is that this seems like a match made in heaven.  
 
Finally, I doubt this will impact the Clippers in their playoff run because I think Doc will manage the situation in his typical cool fashion.  However you have to believe there media focus on this over the next few games.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhT6d5fMhzI
 
 
 
This probably should be merged with some other posts. like mine, in the other thread.
 
When I lived in LA I worked with a lot of real estate developers who knew him.  They said he was a miserable old psychopath.  Secretly recording someone in private does suck, but still....it's great to see him get outed.  Fuck this guy, hope the other owners force him to sell the team.    
 

YTF

Member
SoSH Member
mabrowndog said:
Love the irony that Sterling is a Jew born with the last name Tokowitz, and changed it to avoid being discriminated against by people who hate Hebrews.
 
Would also be ironic if he's forced out of the league now that the Clippers are finally a decent team. Also love that he's good with his girl friend sleeping with black people, just don't bring them around to the games. Leads me to believe that he's not racist, it's just the fellas he hangs with.
 

Fred not Lynn

Dick Button Jr.
SoSH Member
Jul 13, 2005
5,253
Alberta
Count me in the crowd that takes interest in the secondary issue. No doubt that Sterling is a first class prick, and has been for some time. That's hardly even news...

But yeah, if you want to be a prick in private, in conversation with your presumable loved ones, you should be able to do that without fear of it being "broadcast". I mean really, why the fuck is this woman even in a relationship with this dinosaur in the first place? Sterling is a miserable excuse for a human being, but this so-called girlfriend isn't exactly Mother Theresa.

I guess it goes under bad-people-doing-shitty-things-to-worse-people.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 24, 2002
48,205
riboflav said:
 
This probably should be merged with some other posts. like mine, in the other thread.
Good point...apologies.    Guess I should have checked P&G but this is kind of a BIG thing for the NBA.  I still like my thread title better.  I also think Joe Lacob needs to have Magic court-side at Oracle tomorrow afternoon.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 24, 2002
48,205
All I know is that Joe Lacob needs to have Magic court-side at Oracle tomorrow afternoon.  I bet this will happen.
 

Al Zarilla

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 8, 2005
58,871
San Andreas Fault
DeJesus Built My Hotrod said:
All I know is that Joe Lacob needs to have Magic court-side at Oracle tomorrow afternoon.  I bet this will happen.
Might turn on that game just for that. Oops, Dodgers have a home game at just about the same time and he's usually there. 
 

Red(s)HawksFan

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 23, 2009
20,676
Maine
Fred not Lynn said:
Count me in the crowd that takes interest in the secondary issue. No doubt that Sterling is a first class prick, and has been for some time. That's hardly even news...

But yeah, if you want to be a prick in private, in conversation with your presumable loved ones, you should be able to do that without fear of it being "broadcast". I mean really, why the fuck is this woman even in a relationship with this dinosaur in the first place? Sterling is a miserable excuse for a human being, but this so-called girlfriend isn't exactly Mother Theresa.

I guess it goes under bad-people-doing-shitty-things-to-worse-people.
 
He's a fucking billionaire, that's why.  Gold digger, I believe they call it.  The only surprising thing is she didn't hold on to the tape until after the wedding and inevitable divorce.
 

Snodgrass'Muff

oppresses WARmongers
SoSH Member
Mar 11, 2008
27,644
Roanoke, VA
8slim said:
Clearly the most appropriate line of business for a person who dislikes being seen with black people in public is owning an NBA team.
 
But it's a good one if you want to pretend you own black people.
 

Soxfan in Fla

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 30, 2001
7,187
Red(s)HawksFan said:
He's a fucking billionaire, that's why.  Gold digger, I believe they call it.  The only surprising thing is she didn't hold on to the tape until after the wedding and inevitable divorce.
The fact she didn't do that makes her a dumb gold digger.
 

Fred not Lynn

Dick Button Jr.
SoSH Member
Jul 13, 2005
5,253
Alberta
Red(s)HawksFan said:
 
He's a fucking billionaire, that's why.  Gold digger, I believe they call it.  The only surprising thing is she didn't hold on to the tape until after the wedding and inevitable divorce.
It was a rhetorical question of the obvious, by the way...

But, yeah, How does THIS fit in her manipulative strategy. Why kill the goose who lays your golden eggs? She think she'll get more money and fame this way? Fame, sure, but money? She is walking away from LOTS of money...
 

Snodgrass'Muff

oppresses WARmongers
SoSH Member
Mar 11, 2008
27,644
Roanoke, VA
Fred not Lynn said:
It was a rhetorical question of the obvious, by the way...

But, yeah, How does THIS fit in her manipulative strategy. Why kill the goose who lays your golden eggs? She think she'll get more money and fame this way? Fame, sure, but money? She is walking away from LOTS of money...
 
Maybe she's just fed up with dealing with a racist all the time and the money just isn't important enough to her to keep biting her tongue.
 

Fred not Lynn

Dick Button Jr.
SoSH Member
Jul 13, 2005
5,253
Alberta
I figure she is wagering that the fame and ancillary financial opportunities that come from this making the news outweigh whatever she is getting out of him now, plus then she doesn't occasionally have to service how witherd, shriveled up, octogenarian dick.

Call me a cynic, but I don't think her own outrage over this man's racism is at the heart of her betrayal. I mean, it's not like she wouldn't have known about all the stuff before.
 

JohntheBaptist

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 13, 2005
11,399
Yoknapatawpha County
This doesn't happen to "anyone." No one cares if I get on the phone and say this to someone. People want to know who and what they're supporting and giving their money to. If you're Donald Sterling and you're saying flagrantly stupid things like this to people with no apparent shame whatsoever, it's going to get out eventually. When you're that guy saying that kind of stuff, on some level you are begging those around you to record, take note, write down, repeat.
 
So no, I don't see a problem here and no, I don't think catching wealthy/ media figures saying abhorrent things is some sort of societal "problem." This isn't (good god) the private becoming public or something. It's just that much easier to catch someone actually doing this sort of thing instead of having to hear them deny hearsay. The societal change isn't so much the act of trapping and outing people via the internet or something, it's that when people hear about it, in living color, they actually give a shit and "vote with their wallets" instead of shrugging their shoulders about it. 
 
Call me a cynic, but I don't think her own outrage over this man's racism is at the heart of her betrayal. I mean, it's not like she wouldn't have known about all the stuff before. 
 
...who cares?
 

Fred not Lynn

Dick Button Jr.
SoSH Member
Jul 13, 2005
5,253
Alberta
Well certainly, a guy like Sterling, or anyone, should know that people are hungry for him to slip up and say something.

I just hope no one goes thinking this woman is some paragon of virtue and anti-racism hero. She has been complicit in his ways, and frankly, could have just as well broken it off, walked away quietly if it was that big a problem for her. This way, she gets to be more famous...
 

JohntheBaptist

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 13, 2005
11,399
Yoknapatawpha County
Again, no offense--who gives a shit? Why are you freaking out about "how famous she gets to be" or what cynical, awful thing she's got planned for her own benefit? She's just the person that ended up calling this guy on his bullshit. It could have been anyone and whomever it was would have had the possibility to get their names on the internet for a week tops. This isn't some larger social problem--can anyone name a single person that's done this sort of thing?
 
She won't get the slightest bit famous, and no one will think of her as a paragon of virtue or whatever.
 

ALiveH

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 23, 2010
1,104
I have no idea why this is a huge big deal relative to everything else he's already done.  What he said wasn't really hatefully racist - it's more bizarre than anything else - it's OK to hang out with, bang, admire or do whatever you want with minorities just don't post any pictures on instagram or bring them to any clippers games?  What a weirdo. 
 
Did anyone who's been paying attention learn anything about him that they didn't know before?  There was already all sorts of evidence out in public that he was a racist scumbag - he didn't say anything worse in this conversation than things he's already said that have come out in court.
 
I came out of listening to that more mad at his GF than him.  She's obviously trying to bait him into saying something hateful & self-incriminating and he doesn't really bite.  Also, in california it's illegal to record conversations in a non-public place without consent, so depending on where this was recorded whoever recorded it is subject to civil liabilities.
 

SumnerH

Malt Liquor Picker
Dope
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
31,893
Alexandria, VA
Fred not Lynn said:
Well certainly, a guy like Sterling, or anyone, should know that people are hungry for him to slip up and say something.

I just hope no one goes thinking this woman is some paragon of virtue and anti-racism hero. She has been complicit in his ways, and frankly, could have just as well broken it off, walked away quietly if it was that big a problem for her. This way, she gets to be more famous...
 
How would that have been "just as well"?  It would've allowed him to keep doing racist shit without repercussions; this way at least maybe that won't be the case.