Does anyone else think Donald Sterling is being unfairly persecuted here?

[AcesandFaces]

I'm certainly not advocating Sterling's sentiments but My God...this is entrapment in it's simplest and purest form. A "private" conversation between two people (Sugar Daddy and Girlfriend) that quite frankly is no one else's business.

How many of us have private conversations daily that the media would have a field day with? (If we were in the Public eye). In my opinion, Sterlings' comments to his girlfriend were fairly benign and were more directed from a "controlling boyfriend" than a "racist bigot" perspective....but just my opinion.

It just amazes me that a Man who employs so many African Americans can be cast as "prejudice" and "racist" by the liberal media because of a private conversation he had with his girlfriend (who is anything but Caucasian by the way).

The liberal media (along with the lawyers and activists) in this country have created a bunch of over sensitive whiners. This is still America....right?

Is anyone else hoping Sterling fights back here or am I rowing the boat all alone on this one?

 

[tatehill2000]

I guess the real question is.. how would you feel to know that your boss thought of you like you were a slug and with disdain..

We've ALLLL had that boss.. I've worked for many many scumbag bosses... and that's part of life.. The difference is that I wasn't being paid 5 mil a year to work for 6 months...

It's shit ty what he says no doubt.. but it is simply part of life that is what it is..

Guy should hire a publicist and tell everyone he is a racist and 80.. and he needs to grow as a persin.. and with his team figure out how to change.

 

[ofred]

Didn't you guys hear the tape? Are we all white guys here who will never feel this kind of treatment? This is not some liberal media conspiracy or Obama's fault. Sterling doesn't want black people associated with him or his girlfriend or his family. He doesn't respect people based on their skin color. He wants to keep the blacks isolated to the court or somewhere other than his apartment buildings. Put him in 60s Alabama and he'd have a hood on, burning a cross on someone's lawn. And by the way, those black people he employs are very talented and they would be paid very well by many other NBA owners- gladly. Don't fool yourself, Sterling is a jackass, has always been a jackass, and there are many Americans who think his comments are against everything this great country stands for.

Prejudiced? Racist? Of course! I don't know about you guys, but most people I know don't even "think" the kind of stuff he said.

 

[ceeDOTesquire]

this whole situation is sleazy, for sure, and not just on sterling's end. but i disagree on it being more of a "controlling boyfriend". dude's a racist.
as for this being america (first amendment rights and whatnot). the nba is a league, not a government, and sterling must operate within its bylaws, code of conduct, etc.
the whole entrapment with it's NSA/big brother overtones is another issue altogether. one that obama conveniently ignored when he spoke of sterling "advertising his ignorance".

 

[trickster]

You know his girlfriend is part black and he only has one white guy on the team. Jk lol

 

[BranFlakes]

The NBA should allow all LA Clippers players become unrestricted free agents after the season so they become part of another team if they truly don't want to play for a racist owner. They also should not let them draft this year as well. We would then see if the Clippers could even put a team on the court next season. My guess is that it could. The big names would go for sure, but the 5-6 players that don't get offers might stick around (money cures all ills). Also, it will be interesting to see if Doc Rivers stays after they are eliminated.

 

[tatehill2000]

In theory that sounds good bran.. but the nba has a cash cow in the clips... they need to simply remove the cancer and do their best to have a face lift of the image done.. then they will become a beacon of rainbow love and diversity.
I'm joking... but not really...
Cheers to all

 

[AcesandFaces]

Didn't you guys hear the tape? Are we all white guys here who will never feel this kind of treatment? This is not some liberal media conspiracy or Obama's fault. Sterling doesn't want black people associated with him or his girlfriend or his family. He doesn't respect people based on their skin color. He wants to keep the blacks isolated to the court or somewhere other than his apartment buildings. Put him in 60s Alabama and he'd have a hood on, burning a cross on someone's lawn. And by the way, those black people he employs are very talented and they would be paid very well by many other NBA owners- gladly. Don't fool yourself, Sterling is a jackass, has always been a jackass, and there are many Americans who think his comments are against everything this great country stands for.

Prejudiced? Racist? Of course! I don't know about you guys, but most people I know don't even "think" the kind of stuff he said.

I agree that Sterling is a jackass and certainly pompous but, from the tape I heard, it seems that the only sound bites the media is focusing on are the ones with racial undertones and I use the word undertones because I don't feel he implicitly discriminated against anyone. He was also being "set up" in the line of questioning during a heated conversation with his girlfriend. The context in which this conversation took place is being completely ignored. It seems to me that he was more pissed about her broadcasting this photo of her and Magic out to the world because she is his girlfriend...and I can assure you they had an "arrangement". Part of that arrangement is that she must respect him publicly and I believe he took exception to her recent behavior. He was set up...and maybe he should have been but this is certainly an over reaction to something that transpires every day.


As far as Sterling not wanting black people associated with him or his girlfriend or his family...is he not entitled to that? As close minded as this thinking might be, he is still entitled to want this if he so chooses. If Donald Sterling was as racist as most are making him out to be (Hood on, Burning Cross as you say)....then he would not even be ASSOCIATED with the NBA, let alone employ a black coach, black players, shake hands with black people, and publicly DATE a mixed ethnicity girl.

I agree, that Sterling's comments are closed minded and ignorant but at the end of the day, why is he being persecuted so violently over such a benign PRIVATE conversation?.....Oh...that's right...the conversation wasn't private....it was entrapment.

One closing thought...would there be the same Public outcry if the exact same conversation took place (in the same context) if it were MAGIC JOHNSON speaking to his girlfriend over a picture that she sent out of her and Donald Sterling? If Magic told his girlfriend he didn't want her bringing Donald Sterling into their lives and into his Baseball Stadium (Dodgers).....and then the girlfriend were to ask the line of questioning to Magic in the same context that she asked Sterling....Would the media have jumped all over Magic?

 

[isellgel]

No

 

[AcesandFaces]

this whole situation is sleazy, for sure, and not just on sterling's end. but i disagree on it being more of a "controlling boyfriend". dude's a racist.
as for this being america (first amendment rights and whatnot). the nba is a league, not a government, and sterling must operate within its bylaws, code of conduct, etc.
the whole entrapment with it's NSA/big brother overtones is another issue altogether. one that obama conveniently ignored when he spoke of sterling "advertising his ignorance".

Has Sterling "operated" outside the NBA bylaws or code of conduct? He had a private conversation that certainly is not "in line" with what this Country or the NBA promotes BUT..to my knowledge, he has never operated his Organization outside the bylaws or with a code of conduct that is unbecoming to the NBA. He was also set up here with this conversation...and it's sleazy and wrong. If Donald Sterling doesn't want his girlfriend posting pictures of her and Magic Johnson or bringing Magic to the Staples Center to the Clipper games then he has EVERY RIGHT to tell her that. The more I read this conversation and the more I listen to it, the more strongly I feel that Sterling is being overly persecuted here. He used zero racial slurs, he has stood behind his coach (and VP Of Operations) and team time and time again....he just didn't want Magic and a certain "element" around his g/f and her bringing that element to HIS teams games. And again, he has EVERY right to voice that to her in a private conversation.

 

[RDTrains]

Surely you jest with this question.

 

[AcesandFaces]

Surely you jest with this question.

I don't....and don't ever call me "Shirley" ;-) (Gotta love Airplane!)

 

[RDTrains]

I can't see why it's a bad precedent. The NBA is within its legal right to ban Sterling (as far as I know, anyway), and it is making this move to protect its public image.

 

[RDTrains]

And he gets to sell a team he bought for 12mil for 700mil. I want to be "persecuted" like that!

 

[jblonghorn]

It's a really nasty situation. And the way they're (NBA) handling it sets a horrible precedent for future issues. You guys need to read Jason Whitlock's column he wrote on ESPN.com today. It's phenomenal (and not what you'd expect).

 

[bengalsheat6]

The nba in my opinion had no other choice but to ban sterling! If he wasn't banned they are pretty much saying they tolerate that sort of thing and with a sport that is what 80% African American...... Would not be good if he just got a fine or slap on the wrist! I think it was handled the only way it could of been! Plus Adam silver I think has to be a hard ass... This is his first "real issue ". As commissioner... He had to be aggressive! And did anyone else see the pic of sterlings daughter?? Idk if its his daughter or granddaughter but I'd throw one in her.... Anyway she's in a pic with like 6 black dudes... Kind of funny

 

[ofred]

Has Sterling "operated" outside the NBA bylaws or code of conduct? He had a private conversation that certainly is not "in line" with what this Country or the NBA promotes BUT..to my knowledge, he has never operated his Organization outside the bylaws or with a code of conduct that is unbecoming to the NBA. He was also set up here with this conversation...and it's sleazy and wrong. If Donald Sterling doesn't want his girlfriend posting pictures of her and Magic Johnson or bringing Magic to the Staples Center to the Clipper games then he has EVERY RIGHT to tell her that. The more I read this conversation and the more I listen to it, the more strongly I feel that Sterling is being overly persecuted here. He used zero racial slurs, he has stood behind his coach (and VP Of Operations) and team time and time again....he just didn't want Magic and a certain "element" around his g/f and her bringing that element to HIS teams games. And again, he has EVERY right to voice that to her in a private conversation.

A certain element? What element is that? Black guys with hoodies? Magic Johnson? Black families who spend their hard-earned cash to see a Clippers' game? It's real clear from the tape that Sterling doesn't respect "them', doesn't want "them" around him or his girlfriend, or that he'd like to exclude folks based on their skin color or ethnic background. Yes, he has every right to say that. And we have every right to NOT want this type of person to own an NBA team. It is repugnant what he said, what he inferred and what he thinks about people who play for his team. His private conversation is now public and thank god for that. Now we all know what the man is all about. Magic Johnson is a better human being, a better man, and a better representative of the NBA than Sterling will ever be. So let's get rid of THAT element- the racist buffoon element that drags us all down to the gutter.

Sterling has a long history of racial discrimination, and has been a thorn in the NBA's side for a long time. Unlike other owners who tried to put a competitive team on the court, Sterling simply owned the team to make money, or to sell it a great profit. Only recently did he actually try to field a decent team…. a team that he pretends to respect, but really only likes the attention they bring to him. And don't fool yourself about what a great guy he is paying his players great sums of money. His players would get paid(gladly) by other NBA owners. Talent always gets paid and paid well.

 

[Dafinch]

I'm certainly not advocating Sterling's sentiments but My God...this is entrapment in it's simplest and purest form. A "private" conversation between two people (Sugar Daddy and Girlfriend) that quite frankly is no one else's business.

How many of us have private conversations daily that the media would have a field day with? (If we were in the Public eye). In my opinion, Sterlings' comments to his girlfriend were fairly benign and were more directed from a "controlling boyfriend" than a "racist bigot" perspective....but just my opinion.

It just amazes me that a Man who employs so many African Americans can be cast as "prejudice" and "racist" by the liberal media because of a private conversation he had with his girlfriend (who is anything but Caucasian by the way).

The liberal media (along with the lawyers and activists) in this country have created a bunch of over sensitive whiners. This is still America....right?

Is anyone else hoping Sterling fights back here or am I rowing the boat all alone on this one?

Why do many people keep focusing on the woman? I don't give a rat's ass if Hitler came back from the dead and "entrapped" him, HE SAID WHAT HE SAID, and he deserves everything he's getting...and then some. And if he is stupid enough to fight back-and I think he is-he's gonna get butt fucked with no vaseline, he's got NO SHOT....

 

[wadd]

That Broad...

Why do many people keep focusing on the woman? I don't give a rat's ass if Hitler came back from the dead and "entrapped" him, HE SAID WHAT HE SAID, and he deserves everything he's getting...and then some. And if he is stupid enough to fight back-and I think he is-he's gonna get butt fucked with no vaseline, he's got NO SHOT....

Is every mans nightmare.
If you and others cant see it, then you need to look a little harder to understand just what a bitch like that can do to any man, and vice versa.

 

[mason456]

If my boss was paying me 10-12 million a year he could call me anything he wants, if he didn't want me to bring my white girlfriend to work his wish is my command