The NBA was left with no good choice

In the aftermath of the racist Donald Sterling remarks and Sterling’s subsequent ban for life, I am overcome by a few overwhelming thoughts:

Chris Paul is the Players Union president, and plays for the Clippers. By nikk_la, via Wikimedia Commons

He left the NBA no choice

Or at least no good one… . The league is comprised of nearly 80% of its players who are African-American. Players and fans were ready to stage a revolt, including rumors about player boycotts from teams other than the Clippers. Like Roger Goodell during the Michael Vick incident, new NBA commissioner Adam Sliver had to bring the hammer down. Taking a Thor-like swing, Silver made a statement in an unprecedented punishment of an owner.

At this point, the stage is set for other NBA owners to force Sterling to sell the team. With his history, there is no other recourse. Socially, if the NBA is to stay legitimate and viable, there is no other option or choice.

The precedent it sets is scary though, you’ll have to admit. Sterling’s racist history is well-documented — perhaps a reason why this particular case warranted such swift and strong action. But which person out there has never made an insensitive comment or statement? Who hasn’t said something outlandish they are glad isn’t out in the ether? Who hasn’t said something to their spouse or girlfriend that they would never in a million years want their employer to hear?

If someone from the University of Indiana has a tape of Mark Cuban saying something stupid, are we going to force Cuban to sell the Mavs? Mark Jackson has made it clear where he stands on homosexuality. Is he going to be in the line of fire, too? 

The question of exactly where the line is and what is ever forgivable will be hotly debated. Perhaps that’s the good that can come of this — more good dialogue about race in this country. Something tells me that it’s already getting pretty political though, which will really hurt the chances of any kind of real debate in the garbage PTI/FirstTake/Crossfire social dialogue we’ve created over the past decade.

Where art thou, David Stern?

Where’s David Stern in all this? Glad he’s retired, that’s where.

Stern sat idly by for years as Sterling’s wrap sheet got longer and longer. Jerry Buss owned lots of real estate. Did we ever hear about him being embroiled in discrimination talk? Sterling has always had a bad reputation when it comes to race relations, which is why, while sad, wasn’t a surprise.

The fact that it wasn’t a surprise to a fan like me makes me believe now, more than ever, that Stern waited about 5-10 years too long to retire. In terms of managing public image, Stern always overestimated himself and his league.

Who gets to be the thought police?

An interesting backlash to this story will be to hear people talking about hypocrisy. Whether it’s this post about Jay-Z that has been popular on my social media feed today, or other more moderate versions I’ve read, we are going to have to figure out where the “line” is, and also accept that that line is going to be in a different place for different people.

When something like this quagmire happens, my questions isn’t whether it will happen again, but rather when? Once the precedent is set, everyone is in jeopardy.

To be clear

To be clear here, I think Silver did the right thing — the only thing he could have done given where the league is now. I don’t think he had any other choice. I believe Donald Sterling is a bad guy who ran his mouth to the wrong mistress and is paying the appropriate price. He’ll probably wind up selling his team, on which he’ll probably make about 65-times what he paid for it. His lifestyle won’t change, except he won’t get to see the organization and fans he milked for as long as I’ve been on this planet.

Prior to this season, that losing franchise had won just 17 playoff games in 32 seasons, including just four in Sterling’s first 25 years at the helm.

What I’d really like to see come out of it is a better, real discussions about issues related to race and prejudice.

If you want to read something that contextualizes this fiasco better than I ever could, check out Jason Whitlock’s piece on this fiasco.  Seriously, if you haven’t read it, you probably should.

If you don’t feel like reading any more words, here’s an informative clip from Bomani Jones on a radio show that is also worth a listen.