Okay, so its safe to say that almost anyone who watches sports, or knows someone who does, has heard about the owner of the Clippers, Donald Sterling. If you haven’t I will basically sum up the story for you, as well as include the link to the recorded phone call clip where his “girlfriend” recorded him saying several racist comments. Sterling’s girlfriend, not his wife (notice I didn’t say not his ex-wife), recorded a phone call with Sterling as he exclaims how he wishes she would keep her affairs with black people private. He then gets as specific as to say “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.”
http://m.tmz.com/#Article/2014/04/26/donald-sterling-clippers-owner-black-people-racist-audio-magic-johnson
What you hear from now forward is my opinion and should not be regarded as actual fact. I just have to let people know that before I start commenting to the internet. White people don’t play when it comes to slander and Sterling has more money than I would even ask for lol. I just have to say that I’m not surprised. Lets go over the “facts” here.
Sterling is a Billionaire, and also a prominent donor to the NAACP Los Angles chapter..(by the way, NAACP stands for National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). They actually had nominated him for a lifetime achievement award for all of his doings… Of course they removed the nomination now though. lol. Sterlings girlfriend, Maria Vanessa Perez or V. Stiviano (name changed in 2010), is reportedly a Black and Mexican woman (aka two races that racist white people hate the most). So this is pretty weird. It seems that Donald Sterling might be worlds richest hypocrite and “nigger lover” wrapped in one, haha. I find it hilarious that he has put himself in this position. He mistress is black, his basketball team is black, along with the coach, he donates to black people, he knows successful black people such as magic Johnson very well, and yet he said all those racist things on camera. Shaking my head, its almost like it doesn’t add up. I’m not going to comment on how people keep their racism covered in this day because I honestly feel like everyone is some form of stereotypical because its a learned behavior. All I can actually ask, as a black man in this world, is that the people that I interact with keep those prejudice feelings dormant around me, and pretend as good as Sterling has up until this point. What you hate behind closed doors is not my business just like who your fuggin behind closed doors isn’t my business either.
Now to comment on the people that he has affected. The coach, the players, and his wife. First of all why is his wife event commenting on anything? She should be going all Elin Nordegren on the girlfriend for stealing her billionaire man. I still confused as to how he has a wife and a girlfriend who know about each other… How dare she comment on anything other than that lol, regardless if she’s defending him or not. Secondly, If I was the coach I would have still went to work the next day lol. Judge me if you want but that Job right there does not come easy and it is easily replaced. Doc Rivers better act like he didn’t hear “Massa” say anything lol (yea I made that joke). Plus it isn’t his place to make such a big statement, the players need to. Now for the players, you highly praised, overpaid, lavish lifestyle living, athletes. You could have hit him where it hurt by not playing. Consequently then the coach cannot coach, trainer cannot heal, announcers cannot announce, and no one can do their jobs that day. Yes, I understand that you don’t play the game for him, but you actually do play the game for him when he owns the team you represent. He owns the team and he cuts your huge inflated checks. The little inside out shirt thing was cute, but was as effective as giving up cigars to smoke cigarettes…pointless… What you basically said was “He pays me so he can call me a nigga all he wants,” to be blunt.
I would not have played.. because honestly, how much money are you reallllllyyyyy losing? If you are good enough to play for the clippers you are good enough to play for any other team in the league, and keep your integrity. But I’m not playing basketball for double digit thousands per game, so I have no right to comment, just saying. Not playing until Sterling sold the team or quit or something would have made black people look better, but now we just told white people if you can keep paying us you can treat us any way. (I’m sleep though) lol. I don’t fault them though, money rules the world, I’m sure many people have done more degrading things for way less money.
All and all, this situation honestly just sucks. Sterling, as racist as he may be, is pissed that this happened. I think it all happened because he was salty that his girl was photographed with Magic Johnson (someone completely capable of TYBing you with minimal effort)(TYB stands for taking you bitch lol). He can probably never be comfortable in the same room with other black people because they all will know what he said. I mean even the president is black and is aware of the comments. I don’t feel sorry for him, but I am saying it will be interesting to see how life for him is now. He should call up Kramer from Seinfeld or Zimmerman to get some advice on going out in public now.
I must say that the verdict given from Adam Silver, the commissioner of the NBA, was extremely adequate, bold, and just. It took big balls to ban Sterling from the NBA as well as make him sell his team. Only thing that would have made his balls bigger is if he said the sale of his team HAD to be of a person of color. That would have went down in history lol. Either way I don’t know a black person who isn’t satisfied with how Silver, who’s newly in this position, handled the situation. Now we can sit back and enjoy the jokes people have been cracking to make light of the situation.
Good read