Donald Sterling's Racist Comments

April 25, 2014.

That is a date that will hold a strong meaning in NBA history, and even sports history from now on. On this day, TMZ leaked the audio of a phone conversation of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and his alleged girlfriend V. Stiviano (She does not have the official label as “girlfriend” as her lawyer Mac Nehoray has said "Neither Ms. Stiviano, nor this office has ever alleged that Ms. Stiviano is, or ever was, Mr. Sterling's girlfriend,"). The tape is also being investigated to make sure the man’s voice is indeed Donald Sterling’s voice and is unaltered.

 

Donald Sterling (left) watches a game with "girlfriend" V. Stiviano (right)

Sterling is heard to have a personal quarrel with Stiviano because of a picture she posted on her instagram alongside former Los Angeles Lakers legend and current Los Angeles Dodgers owner Magic Johnson, who himself is African American. In short, Sterling told Stiviano that he did not want her publicizing her friendships with black people and also asked her not to bring them to his (Los Angeles Clippers’) games. He also repeatedly contradicted himself and said he was not a racist, but then went on went additional racist comments. He claimed to be following the order of society.

To many followers of the NBA, it was not really breaking news. Sterling has had a history of discrimination cases, including race and gender discrimination.

In 2006, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Sterling for housing discrimination in using race as a factor in filling some of his apartment buildings.

In 2009, Sterling paid a settlement fine of 2.73 million dollars to settle claims that he engaged in discriminatory rental practices against Hispanics, blacks, and families with children. He also paid close to 5 million dollars in attorney fees for that incident.

In February 2009, Sterling was sued by his former longtime executive Elgin Baylor, for employment discrimination on the basis of age and race. Baylor said that he (Sterling) wanted to fill his team with "poor black boys from the South and a white head coach". He also was accused of telling a black player "I'm offering a lot of money for a poor black kid" during contract negotiations. This lawsuit also said that Sterling had paid a white coach 4 years, 22 million dollars while Elgin Baylor, a black man, had his salary fixed at 350,000.

Most recently, Sterling was involved with the incident highlighted in the beginning of the story.

Stiviano’s attorney also said in a statement that Stiviano "did not release the tape to any news media.” Stiviano is facing a lawsuit from the Sterling family for leaking that conversation as it is against the law to do so in California. Stiviano has also been facing a lawuit from Sterling’s estranged wife, Rochelle Sterling since March, with Rochelle claiming that Stiviano is in the relationship for the money. Clippers president Andy Roesen also said that Stiviano "told Mr. Sterling that she would 'get even'" with him.

The reactions regarding this incident have been swift and strong.

LeBron James has said "There is no room for Donald Sterling in our league. There's just no room for him."

President Obama said “When ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance, you don’t do really have to do anything. You just let them talk."

Doc Rivers said "it upsets me and upsets this team." He also added, "JJ Redick was just pissed as Chris Paul,” to show that all races were offended by Sterling’s comments, not just the African American community.

Magic Johnson, who was the man initially targeted in this discussion said “I will never go to a Clippers game again as long as Donald Sterling is the owner.” He also added, “LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling's comments about African Americans are a black eye for the NBA.”

Kobe Bryant said “I couldn't play for him”

Baron Davis, who played under Sterling previously, said “That's the way it is...He is honest about what he believes in..Been going on for a long time, Hats off 2 the Team.. 4 playin above it all.”

In Game 4, the game following these comments, the Clippers players all took off their warm up jackets and dumped them at half court while warming up with their shirts inside out, hiding the Clippers logo.

Clippers turn there warmup gear inside out to hide the logo and dump there jackets at mid-court

Tonight, April 28, there will be a conference call with all the player reps in the NBA regarding this incident. Commissioner Adam Silver is expected to make a decision prior to Game 5 tomorrow night, back in LA.

If the voice is indeed Sterling’s, which most believe it is, a suspension and fine seems almost automatic. Harsher consequences could follow, although it should be clear to all that nobody can literally “make” Sterling sell the team. Yesterday, Jeff Van Gundy brought up possibly making all LA Clippers, players and coaches, free agents at the end of the season. He said it would be unfair to make them honor their contract to that man.

Overall, this is a very serious issue that needs to be addressed quickly and if all allegations are true, there needs to be the harshest punishments put down on Sterling and fans should make the effort to make there displeasure visual (although not showing up to playoff games would be a disservice to the players, they could show up in all black or something and boycott next season if Sterling is the owner).

Black people should not be the only ones offended by these comments. White people, Asians, and any person in general that believes in equality of all humans should find this very, VERY disturbing and unacceptable. This is something that, if not handled properly, could escalate from being an NBA issue to a issue in general society. Some may argue it already has. As Golden State Warriors coach said, Sterling’s comments were not just directed to the black people on the Clippers, It was ALL black people and even minorities in general. There have been too many sacrifices by former Civil Rights leaders to eliminate this kind of behavior and it should not be tolerated. If there is one positive to draw from this situation, it is how these comments have disgusted white people just as much as they have black people. Mavericks owner was quoted on saying the comments were just “disgusting”. 

Now people of all races need to unite to ensure that justice is served.

Below are the full audio recording of Sterling's phone call:

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhT6d5fMhzI 

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tof8ty3xzY

NBA Playoff Prediction- First Round

Western Conference:

Dallas Mavericks vs. San Antonio Spurs

Spurs 4-0

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

Thunder 4-1

Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Clippers

Clippers 4-3

Portland Trail Blazers vs. Houston Rockets

Rockets 4-2

Eastern Conference:

Atlanta Hawks vs. Indiana Pacers

Hawks 4-2

Charlotte Bobcats vs. Miami Heat

Heat 4-1

Brooklyn Nets vs. Toronto Raptors

Nets 4-2

Washington Wizards vs. Chicago Bulls

Bulls 4-2

No Parker, No Problem; Shorthanded Spurs Defeat Mavs

Lead: The final score was 109-100, a nine-point loss for the Dallas Mavericks at home to the cross-Texas rival San Antonio Spurs.

Recap:

It really was not quite as close as the score may suggest. The Mavs got off to a very slow start as they allowed the Spurs to start the game off with a 7-0 run. After falling back by seven, the Mavs went on a little 5-0 run of their own, but the Spurs responded with a 8-0 run over the next minute in which Danny Green hit back-to-back threes. After the first quarter, the Mavs were down by eight, 30-22, and Dirk Nowitzki was scoreless through the period.

In the second, the Mavs started playing with playoff intensity. Nowitzki responded in true veteran fashion to his first quarter slump by scoring a quick two buckets in the first minute of the second period. Monta Ellis got in his groove and Brandan Wright provided a spark with some momentum-shifting dunks. After a back-and-forth quarter, the Mavs captured momentum going into the half, leading by two points after Sam Dalembert thunderously blocked Tim Duncan’s last shot attempt before the half.

To start the third quarter, the Mavs defense had not quite come out of the locker room from halftime. The Spurs went on a 24-11 run, aided in large part by Patty Mills, who was filled in admirably for an injured Tony Parker. Mills had 11 of those 24 points, including three 3-pointers. Mills finished the game connecting on 6 shots from downtown.

The Mavs entered the final period trailing by 11. Unlike earlier in the game when they were down by 11 and responded, the Mavs crumbled. They fell behind by as much as 14 near the start of the 4^th quarter, and didn’t close the gap to single digits until five minutes left in the game. With a 1:17 remaining in the game, Jose Calderon gave Mavs fans a glimmer of hope with a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to six. Right after that shot though, Kawhi Leonard provided the dagger with a 3-point shot.

Looking forward:

With the win, the Spurs remain atop the Western Conference by 3.5 games with the best record in the NBA at 61-18.

With the loss, Mavs fall to the 8^th seed as the Suns leap to the 7^th spot. Mavs host the Suns on Saturday in a game that is as crucial as it can get. It will determine tiebreakers and playoff seeding. Following the Suns game, the Mavs travel to Memphis, who currently sit one game out of the playoff picture.

Carlisle’s Corner:

Prior to the game, Carisle talked a little about Dirk saying, “He’s a once-in-a-generation player.” He also said Dirk, Vince Carter, and Shawn Marion all provide much needed leadership on the floor and later added that Monta Ellis is in the same category and the team would be “nowhere near the playoffs” without him.

In response to a question about Spurs head coach Gergg Popovich, Carlisle said he is “the greatest coach there’s ever been in any sport.”

Locker room Noise:

After the game, Dirk says the team didn’t do enough on the boards as well as lacking closing on three-point attempt.

Dirk, Devin Harris, and Shawn Marion all emphasized the point that they are not even thinking about playing their playoff opponent and are solely focused on winning the remaining games.

Stat Alert: Vince Carter finished the night with six points and is seven points shy of being 25^th all time in scoring.

Mavs Chasing the Playoffs

Another year, another race to get in the playoffs for the Dallas Mavericks.

This year, however, the Mavs look to be in good shape, to not only punch a ticket to the playoffs but also get a matchup most would deem more favorable for the Mavs.

The Mavs cap off their road trip tonight playing at Utah, also known as the “bad city” as Dirk would say.

After the road trip, the Mavs return home to face the Spurs on Thursday, the Suns on Saturday, and then finish the season at Memphis.

If the Mavs are able to take care of the last place team in the Western Conference tonight in Utah, they would return home to face the Spurs, a game in which you can’t rule out Popovich benching his star players. Then the Mavs would be home for a very crucial game vs. the Suns that could determine the tiebreaker if there so happens to be one. Lastly, they would go to Memphis in another game that could have implications if the records are the same at the conclusion of the regular season.

So in conclusion, the Mavs play the last ranked team in the West, possibly the Spurs bench, and two evenly matched teams.

The Suns have a similar road to the end of the season. Tomorrow they play the Pelicans, and then Friday they too play the Spurs, which again could be a game against the bench. Their next two games are against the Mavs and Grizzlies, two opponents that are pretty similarly matched with them in the standings. They finish off the season against a bottom-of-the-ranks team in the Kings.

The Grizzlies have a bit of a tougher road to the end. Tomorrow they play a Miami Heat team motivated to keep the number one seed in the East away from the Indiana Pacers. Then, they have two cushion games against the 76ers and Lakers, but then finish off with consecutive competitive games against the Mavs and Suns. Though the schedule may not look too much worse than the Mavs, the Grizzlies currently stand 9^th in the standings, 1.5 games behind the Mavs and a game behind the Suns for the 8^th spot.

Catching the Warriors for the 6 spot is a bit out of the question because the Mavs are 1.5 games behind the Warriors and the Warriors have the tiebreaker, thanks to a win in Dallas a couple weeks ago (where the Mavs got robbed of a goal-tend call).

If Dallas can close out the season strong, and get some luck from Popovich, they may very well enter the playoffs as the 7 seed and probably would have to face off against the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

That would be a scenario they would embrace rather than be the 8^th seed and take on the Spurs in the first round.