First off, I watched the entire press conference that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver gave where he announced the punishment for Donald Sterling. I don't believe for one second that Mr. Silver's punishment was truly based on his "disgust" about what Mr. Sterling said. If you watched Mr. Silver's body language during the press conference that he made his decision based on what the players wanted him to do. Players like LeBron James were calling for Mr. Sterling's head. Why would Adam Silver give in to what the players wanted when the Donald Sterling situation had nothing to do with them? It's just like when someone is accused of a crime and their trial has to be taken out of state in order for the defendant to receive a fair trial because they wouldn't get a fair trial in the town or state they live in. Mr. Sterling was sentenced by the players of the league before evidence was presented to the judge, in this case Adam Silver. It's the old saying of "the prisoners are running the asylum." Adam Silver allowed the players to decide for him what Donald Sterling's punishment should be and that's wrong.
Lastly, tell me about a private company where the owner had his business taken from them by the government based on a private conversation and I'll completely apologize for this blog. As wrong as Mr. Sterling's comments were, they were comments made in the privacy of his own home and were recorded by his girlfriend illegally. Based solely on the fact that the recording was an illegal act, the Clippers should not be taken away from Mr. Sterling and he shouldn't be banned from the NBA for it. The woman will be very lucky is Mr. Sterling doesn't sue her sorry behind off.
Once again I'm not saying that Donald Sterling was right in what he said. I think his beliefs and opinions of minorities are despicable and disgusting. But the fact is...it's his opinion. That's all. He didn't say anything wrong at a Clippers facility, at a player, at a game, or in a public setting. He made the comments in the privacy of his home. A place where you should feel safe to be open and honest. We've all said things in our homes that we would never want to be made public. So just because we don't like what Donald Sterling said and think he is completely wrong in his thinking, it doesn't justify banning him from the NBA for life nor does it justify trying to force him to sell his business.
So what should have been done? I'm glad you asked. I have a couple solutions.
1. Don't allow any advertisers to advertise during the Los Angeles Clippers games.
2. Don't allow the Clippers to play on national television.
3. Allow all players the option to void the rest of their contracts and become free agents.
4. Force the team to play in an empty gym for the first 10 games of next season.
When you hit Mr. Sterling where it hurts...his wallet...then he might actually rethink his opinions and views. Banning a billionaire for life and fining him $2.5 million and forcing him to sell his team (that's worth a whole lot more than he paid for the team in 1981) ain't going to really be much of a punishment. At the end of the day, racist should be done away with ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ARGUMENT. Just as racist towards blacks and hispanics shouldn't exist, racist towards whites from blacks and hispanics shouldn't exist. It's a two way street. Adam Silver should have been objective when it comes to Donald Sterling, but instead he choose to make a ruling that would appease certain players...the same players who are reverse racists towards white folks. It's not right and I don't care what anyone says, Donald Sterling doesn't deserve to be banned for life from the NBA.
