Sterling Gets NBA "Death Penalty" Banned for Life

[Gonzo]

Yes, thankfully, a lot of the older white folks with the racist feelings are slowly, but surely, purging society. Sadly, no one is doing anything about the hate that is continuously being taught to today's young black population.

What hate is that? Has any young black man told his girl friend not to be seen with white people. If so the NBA should take their team away from them also.

I'm not sure what hate is being taught our black population, but to say that "no one" is doing anything about it is totally wrong. Most people I know that are against hate is against it and speak out against it in any form.

Totally agree Maddog - it's not Gonzo's fault that he hasn't been on this earth long enough to understand what transpired 40,50,60 years ago and of course much further back than that --- to the above statement, my question is - who is continually teaching hate to today's young black population. More than ever, the African-American community has support and funding and leadership and real role models. All I hear is the community trying to continue to make sure education is valued, choices have consequences, opportunity is there - SO WHO IS TEACHING YOUNG BLACKS TO HATE???

I'll address the most obvious question first: Reverend Al and Jessee Jackson. (in the words of my generation -- Duh) Jay Z, along with many other famous people and thousands of regular folks across the country. Have you seen the commercials for that new Kevin Hart movie? "You're white, you don't fight" is probably the same thing George Zimmerman heard his entire life, which is why the moron thought he needed a gun to follow a teenager of color around. I want you to go to twitter.com, type #blacktwitter in the search bar, and tell me what you read.

I think this issue is a rare occasion where people <30 have an even better perspective. We weren't around for Jim Crow. We've been looking at all people as equal since we were kids. That's why egregious double standards of racism raise the eyebrow so much.

Now I'm not saying that white people like me are "oppressed" by any means. But "what's cool to say" is very unequal. Some think our race deserves it. I've never made someone feel bad or put them at a disadvantage because of their color like older white people have, so that's why I call BS.

[clayton]

Donald Sterling's been terrible for a long time. He settled one of the biggest housing discrimination cases in the country's history.

He wasn't banned for life just because of what was recorded on a phone. He was banned because what was recorded on a phone was more proof of who he is.

If this was any other NBA owner, he'd get a fine and indefinite suspension and would be back after a public apology and "counseling."

But, Sterling had a history. A bad history.

This should haven't been the thing that brought him down. He should have been brought down years ago.

[Maddog1956]

Yes, thankfully, a lot of the older white folks with the racist feelings are slowly, but surely, purging society. Sadly, no one is doing anything about the hate that is continuously being taught to today's young black population.

What hate is that? Has any young black man told his girl friend not to be seen with white people. If so the NBA should take their team away from them also.

I'm not sure what hate is being taught our black population, but to say that "no one" is doing anything about it is totally wrong. Most people I know that are against hate is against it and speak out against it in any form.

Totally agree Maddog - it's not Gonzo's fault that he hasn't been on this earth long enough to understand what transpired 40,50,60 years ago and of course much further back than that --- to the above statement, my question is - who is continually teaching hate to today's young black population. More than ever, the African-American community has support and funding and leadership and real role models. All I hear is the community trying to continue to make sure education is valued, choices have consequences, opportunity is there - SO WHO IS TEACHING YOUNG BLACKS TO HATE???

He's of the generation that thinks slaves were set free over 200 years ago so get over it. He doesn't realize that that until the late 60's blacks couldn't ... sit in the front of a bus, drink out of a fountain, eat at a lunch counter, stay in a hotel, join the army, etc, etc, etc unless there was a separate one for blacks. He's of the generation that may not know kids that their parents and grandparents had to "as a grown man" call a child "Mr." while the child called them by their first name.

Not one single person on this list as ever had to watch their parent get up and give their seat to a black person, so it's kind of hard for me to grow up hating black people too much.

He may be too young to have parents that fought in WWII when over 6 million Jews were murdered because of racism and can understand why the ACLU wants to protect all Americans (yes even the drug arrest of Rush) from racism and unfairly applied laws.

So it's easier to see how he can't see how a comment from LJ (a small employee without any control), is the same to him, as a team owner saying that "the girlfriend of a white man can't even take a picture with a black man". Or how for every 1 black racist, twitter, website, announcer, etc there are maybe 100'a or 1000's of white ones (including fox news). (I guess JJ and AS are equally as important to him as GB, RL and BO).

But I won't say it's "it's not his fault", each man as to choose his path and to either see the truth or hide in the lies.

[appst89]

Yes, thankfully, a lot of the older white folks with the racist feelings are slowly, but surely, purging society. Sadly, no one is doing anything about the hate that is continuously being taught to today's young black population.

What hate is that? Has any young black man told his girl friend not to be seen with white people. If so the NBA should take their team away from them also.

I'm not sure what hate is being taught our black population, but to say that "no one" is doing anything about it is totally wrong. Most people I know that are against hate is against it and speak out against it in any form.

Totally agree Maddog - it's not Gonzo's fault that he hasn't been on this earth long enough to understand what transpired 40,50,60 years ago and of course much further back than that --- to the above statement, my question is - who is continually teaching hate to today's young black population. More than ever, the African-American community has support and funding and leadership and real role models. All I hear is the community trying to continue to make sure education is valued, choices have consequences, opportunity is there - SO WHO IS TEACHING YOUNG BLACKS TO HATE???

I'll address the most obvious question first: Reverend Al and Jessee Jackson. (in the words of my generation -- Duh) Jay Z, along with many other famous people and thousands of regular folks across the country. Have you seen the commercials for that new Kevin Hart movie? "You're white, you don't fight" is probably the same thing George Zimmerman heard his entire life, which is why the moron thought he needed a gun to follow a teenager of color around. I want you to go to twitter.com, type #blacktwitter in the search bar, and tell me what you read.

I think this issue is a rare occasion where people <30 have an even better perspective. We weren't around for Jim Crow. We've been looking at all people as equal since we were kids. That's why egregious double standards of racism raise the eyebrow so much.

Now I'm not saying that white people like me are "oppressed" by any means. But "what's cool to say" is very unequal. Some think our race deserves it. I've never made someone feel bad or put them at a disadvantage because of their color like older white people have, so that's why I call BS.

The problem, apparently, is that you haven't suffered enough for the sins of your forefathers. It makes no difference to some here that you've never treated anyone differently. Somebody did back when, so you have to suffer for it. What you're being told is, "Know your place, boy." Kind of ironic, really, since that sort of thought is supposedly what they are railing against.

[ASUDieHard]

Maybe hate was/is a strong word, but I’m referring to so-called black leaders like Al Sharpton and any public figure (i.e. rappers, actors, etc.) for that matter. Those folks say what they want and no one ever calls them on it. Sadly, especially with the entertainers, what they say resonates with young people today. Unfortunately, today’s society has noblized these people, instead of the true leaders in America.

Yes, fortunately, there are plenty of black leaders who are true leaders. They want what’s best for everyone and promote education, morals, and doing things the right way. Unfortunately, those are not the leaders that get the attention and certainly not the ones that the mainstream media want to cover. Can't cover people teaching kids the right way, that may take away the sting of racism. Can't have that....too much money in it! Sadly, the true black leaders are denounced by the one's getting the attention as being an “Uncle Tom”. The good thing about America is that, as long as you’re not injurying someone else or doing something illegal, you can live the life you want to. If some white guy wants to live the way they do in the “hood”, so be it. I certainly don’t care. However, when black kids grow up and want to get educated and choose to live the life of someone in the suburbs, they've turned thier back on the black community. All of a sudden they can’t speak to the black community because they aren't “black enough”. As far as what happened decades and centuries ago, yes it’s a stain on history, but you liberals kill me. You promote yourselves as being “progressive” and “forward thinking”, but you’re the first ones in line to remind people how things were generations ago.

[Maddog1956]

The problem, apparently, is that you haven't suffered enough for the sins of your forefathers. It makes no difference to some here that you've never treated anyone differently. Somebody did back when, so you have to suffer for it. What you're being told is, "Know your place, boy." Kind of ironic, really, since that sort of thought is supposedly what they are railing against.

My point exactly. To some people, being made to take responsibility for their comments is equal to "know your place, boy". In this case mostly white owners didn't say "know your place", they said "you don't deserve to own a team in our league".

It's really not suffering for the sins of your forefathers as much as understanding that others did suffer from the sins of your forefathers and they certain don't want it to happen again.

People trying to defend this owners actions (punishment) are really laying down their own sins without any help from their forefathers.

For some reason I usually hear "I never treated anyone differently" and "I'm not a racist" before some form of racist comment.

[hapapp]

Take a gander at this article. No doubt overt racism is much more a rare occurrence today. But, it exists whether we want to acknowledge it or not. There are enough studies/experiments to demonstrate that minorities are still treated differently today. It may not be conscious, overt action but it can still be pervasive. I think to equate Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson with Clive Bundy or Sterling is a false equivalency. Racism exists in all societies and among all races, but it has a greater impact when used by the groups in power towards those without it.

http://www.vox.com/2014/4/30/5665778/am ... d-sterling

[wataugan03]

"Racism is actions, practices or beliefs, or social or political systems that consider different races to be ranked as inherently superior or inferior to each other, based on presumed shared inheritable traits, abilities, or qualities."

If we start with that definition of racism then I'm not sure how many of these supposed black racists actually count. I think what I hear more often is anger towards white america, not a belief that white people are inherently inferior based on presumed shared traits. And I think many are very willing to give a man like Al Sharpton, who is old enough to have experienced tons of serious in-your face discrimination, a pass on anger towards white america. Donald Sterling, is not such a victim and does not deserve such a pass. When we talk about someone like Larry Johnson, I see someone younger, but someone who is clearly speaking more out of anger and hurt than someone believes white people are inferior. Larry Johnson made an emotional reactionary statement in response to learning that, YES, the people in power in America are still discriminating against blacks, and they are doing so because the honestly believe blacks are inherently inferior. That's just no the same thing as what Sterling and his friends are doing. Its not even close.

[Maddog1956]

Take a gander at this article. No doubt overt racism is much more a rare occurrence today. But, it exists whether we want to acknowledge it or not. There are enough studies/experiments to demonstrate that minorities are still treated differently today. It may not be conscious, overt action but it can still be pervasive. I think to equate Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson with Clive Bundy or Sterling is a false equivalency. Racism exists in all societies and among all races, but it has a greater impact when used by the groups in power towards those without it.

http://www.vox.com/2014/4/30/5665778/am ... d-sterling

A good read, also if anyone really feels the world is equally filled with black hate groups as well as white hate groups they might need to look at this. http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/hate-map
(I'm sure some will say that this group is bias, but their bread and butter is tracking all hate groups)

[WVAPPeer]

It really get under my skin when I hear someone slam Al Sharpton as a racist spewing hate (he has been wrong on some issues in his past) But Rush Limbaugh is NOT - What an f-ing joke !!!

[appst89]

The problem, apparently, is that you haven't suffered enough for the sins of your forefathers. It makes no difference to some here that you've never treated anyone differently. Somebody did back when, so you have to suffer for it. What you're being told is, "Know your place, boy." Kind of ironic, really, since that sort of thought is supposedly what they are railing against.

My point exactly. To some people, being made to take responsibility for their comments is equal to "know your place, boy". In this case mostly white owners didn't say "know your place", they said "you don't deserve to own a team in our league".

It's really not suffering for the sins of your forefathers as much as understanding that others did suffer from the sins of your forefathers and they certain don't want it to happen again.

People trying to defend this owners actions (punishment) are really laying down their own sins without any help from their forefathers.

For some reason I usually hear "I never treated anyone differently" and "I'm not a racist" before some form of racist comment.

I think he got what he deserved. I don't tolerate any sort of racism personally or professionally. But my lack of tolerance for it goes both ways, not just one direction.

[Watauga72]

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10857 ... ur-culture


"In our zeal to appear righteous or courageous or free of bigotry, a ratings-pleasing mob hell-bent on revenge turned Donald T. Sterling -- a victim of privacy invasion and white supremacy -- from villain to martyr.

In a society filled with impurities, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers committed the crime of speaking impure thoughts in the privacy of a duplex he apparently provided for his mistress. And now an angry, agenda-fueled mob provoked NBA commissioner Adam Silver into handing Sterling a basketball death sentence.
When private conversations become public, it's important to react with logic and not emotion.
On Tuesday, just 72 hours after the release of Sterling's Pillow Talk Tapes by TMZ, a rookie commissioner imposed a lifetime ban on a flawed man whose rights were violated.
Mob rule is dangerous. Well-intentioned, TV-baited mobs are the most dangerous. They do not consider the consequences of their actions, and they're prone to take a simple-minded, instant-gratification approach to justice rather than a strategic one.
Removing Donald Sterling from the NBA solves nothing. It sets a precedent that will likely boomerang and harm the black players and coaches who are shocked and outraged that an 80-year-old man with a documented history of bigoted actions also has bigoted private thoughts.

A right to privacy is at the very foundation of American freedoms. It's a core value. It's a mistake to undermine a core value because we don't like the way a billionaire exercises it. "




This whole article hits the nail on the head. I agree.

Sterling has the same right to privacy as everyone....however, this applies to actions by the state. The release of this recording was done by a private individual. The fact that the conversation was recorded illegally (per California law) will be something for their legal system to address. If Sterling wants to pursue the issue he should do so through both criminal and civil courts. Imagine he has grounds to sue for damages but doubt she has anything of significance to attach, other than her body! However, once it became public it presented a public relations nightmare to the NBA, which is, afterall, a business dependent upon public goodwill. The NBA had to act, and banning him for life makes a bold statement to the players and public. If Sterling has an issue perhaps he needs to look in the mirror and discover the underlying problem.

[Gonzo]

It really get under my skin when I hear someone slam Al Sharpton as a racist spewing hate (he has been wrong on some issues in his past) But Rush Limbaugh is NOT - What an f-ing joke !!!

Sharpton and Jackson are race vultures that hurt the rhetoric of reputable civil rights leaders everywhere. They latch on to every hot-button race issue for their own popularity's sake and perpetuate every media-contrived public misconception that suits their agenda.

Rush is a partisan hack of the other extreme, and I didn't see his name mentioned until your post.

[Watauga72]

Yes, thankfully, a lot of the older white folks with the racist feelings are slowly, but surely, purging society. Sadly, no one is doing anything about the hate that is continuously being taught to today's young black population.

What hate is that? Has any young black man told his girl friend not to be seen with white people. If so the NBA should take their team away from them also.

I'm not sure what hate is being taught our black population, but to say that "no one" is doing anything about it is totally wrong. Most people I know that are against hate is against it and speak out against it in any form.

Totally agree Maddog - it's not Gonzo's fault that he hasn't been on this earth long enough to understand what transpired 40,50,60 years ago and of course much further back than that --- to the above statement, my question is - who is continually teaching hate to today's young black population. More than ever, the African-American community has support and funding and leadership and real role models. All I hear is the community trying to continue to make sure education is valued, choices have consequences, opportunity is there - SO WHO IS TEACHING YOUNG BLACKS TO HATE???

He's of the generation that thinks slaves were set free over 200 years ago so get over it. He doesn't realize that that until the late 60's blacks couldn't ... sit in the front of a bus, drink out of a fountain, eat at a lunch counter, stay in a hotel, join the army, etc, etc, etc unless there was a separate one for blacks. He's of the generation that may not know kids that their parents and grandparents had to "as a grown man" call a child "Mr." while the child called them by their first name.

Not one single person on this list as ever had to watch their parent get up and give their seat to a black person, so it's kind of hard for me to grow up hating black people too much.

He may be too young to have parents that fought in WWII when over 6 million Jews were murdered because of racism and can understand why the ACLU wants to protect all Americans (yes even the drug arrest of Rush) from racism and unfairly applied laws.

So it's easier to see how he can't see how a comment from LJ (a small employee without any control), is the same to him, as a team owner saying that "the girlfriend of a white man can't even take a picture with a black man". Or how for every 1 black racist, twitter, website, announcer, etc there are maybe 100'a or 1000's of white ones (including fox news). (I guess JJ and AS are equally as important to him as GB, RL and BO).

But I won't say it's "it's not his fault", each man as to choose his path and to either see the truth or hide in the lies.

Maddog, I wish I could state this better but can't. Bravo!

[Gonzo]

He's of the generation that thinks slaves were set free over 200 years ago so get over it. He doesn't realize that that until the late 60's blacks couldn't ... sit in the front of a bus, drink out of a fountain, eat at a lunch counter, stay in a hotel, join the army, etc, etc, etc unless there was a separate one for blacks. He's of the generation that may not know kids that their parents and grandparents had to "as a grown man" call a child "Mr." while the child called them by their first name.

#Whiteguilt

[bcoach]

The problem, apparently, is that you haven't suffered enough for the sins of your forefathers. It makes no difference to some here that you've never treated anyone differently. Somebody did back when, so you have to suffer for it. What you're being told is, "Know your place, boy." Kind of ironic, really, since that sort of thought is supposedly what they are railing against.

My point exactly. To some people, being made to take responsibility for their comments is equal to "know your place, boy". In this case mostly white owners didn't say "know your place", they said "you don't deserve to own a team in our league".

It's really not suffering for the sins of your forefathers as much as understanding that others did suffer from the sins of your forefathers and they certain don't want it to happen again.

People trying to defend this owners actions (punishment) are really laying down their own sins without any help from their forefathers.

For some reason I usually hear "I never treated anyone differently" and "I'm not a racist" before some form of racist comment.

Who's forefathers would that be. There are plenty of white people whose forefathers had nothing to do with it.

[HeffnerIV]

So we're all 'up in arms' over a comment an old guy with a racist history said. This is what put us all in our own corners against each other? Both sides of whom consider racism to be abhorrent.

Sure, there's a crowd that remains racist (and it's not just in the South). But there's also a crowd that's 'in your face' about you not being un-racist enough. What is enough? I would be willing to bet that the majority of us don't discriminate against other races, or really anyone for that matter. So why are we so willing to allow the thoughts of one man to serve as proof that there's rampant racism alive and well at a massive social level?

[WVAPPeer]

It really get under my skin when I hear someone slam Al Sharpton as a racist spewing hate (he has been wrong on some issues in his past) But Rush Limbaugh is NOT - What an f-ing joke !!!

Sharpton and Jackson are race vultures that hurt the rhetoric of reputable civil rights leaders everywhere. They latch on to every hot-button race issue for their own popularity's sake and perpetuate every media-contrived public misconception that suits their agenda.

Rush is a partisan hack of the other extreme, and I didn't see his name mentioned until your post.

Sorry, I figured - perhaps wrongly - that AS was Al - JJ was Jesse Jackson - RL was Rush - GB was Glenn Beck and BO was Bill O'Reilly

[HeffnerIV]

Take a gander at this article. No doubt overt racism is much more a rare occurrence today. But, it exists whether we want to acknowledge it or not. There are enough studies/experiments to demonstrate that minorities are still treated differently today. It may not be conscious, overt action but it can still be pervasive. I think to equate Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson with Clive Bundy or Sterling is a false equivalency. Racism exists in all societies and among all races, but it has a greater impact when used by the groups in power towards those without it.

http://www.vox.com/2014/4/30/5665778/am ... d-sterling

A good read, also if anyone really feels the world is equally filled with black hate groups as well as white hate groups they might need to look at this. http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/hate-map
(I'm sure some will say that this group is bias, but their bread and butter is tracking all hate groups)

The Southern Poverty Law Center's Hate Map is also what got a family organization in DC shot-up. The shooter said that the SPLC's Hate Map was his resource for whom to target. Would that make them a hate group by default?

[WVAPPeer]

Let me say this about Al Sharpton - First, I have disagreed with his stance on several occasions and yes he does latch onto hot button issues (like every other "talker" on tv or radio) - however most times the MEDIA only plays out the situations which are white against black or black against white ---

I know for a fact that this incident happened - a very close friend had a relative (a young black man) shot like 30 times while sitting in his car by police officers who had mistaken him for a drug dealer they were trailing - it garnered very little national press because the dead person was African-American and the police officers were African-American and Latino (I believe) - However Rev Al was there for the family, and worked to bring justice for his killing - No WHITE people were directly involved - THEREFORE, no White/Black-Black/White, no endless national media coverage -

Those who think Sharpton only goes after white people are wrong!!!