Sterling has his own preferences.
I don't care. At all.
Can one reasonably expect privacy when dealing with a prostitute? One already knows that she will sell anything that she can.
>> His racist remarks are odious,
Yawn... private remarks... let’s review everyone’s private remarks to establish a baseline...
don't believe me? Then click on the link and read for yourselves. I am sure most people here will find the comments chilling
He and his girlfriend were having an argument. She wanted to have it both ways, his money and her boyfriends on the side. How would you feel? His girlfriend set him up and he was dumb enough to fall in the trap.
Hiding behind a screen name won't help you much either. At some point, our screen names will be mapped to our real names. Bank on it. For our web surfing activity is creating a "digital signature" that will be unique to each one of us and from that database, our real identities will be known.
Couple that with the growing number of surveillance cameras and other such technology. Eventually, all our public activity will be recorded and searchable as we will be able to go nowhere public without being recorded.
A direct result of a nation that has turned it's back on God.
“Yet the most alarming part of this story has less to do with basketball or the racial prejudices of an 80-year-old plutocrat than with what it says about the rapidly disappearing presumption that things we say in our personal lives will stay personal.”
TOTALLY CORRECT.
I see this less as ‘disciplinary action’ than as the economic decision of the other owners. They are in the business of selling a non-essential good. Their entire business model is built on people having positive associations with their brand. They are dependent on people buying tickets, and on companies creating a myriad of cross-endorsement deals for everything from beer to shoes.
There are many worse ‘crimes’ than what Stirling, but it’s hard to conceive of anything Stirling could have said or done that did more harm to their business model. The value of the San Diego Clippers, in Stirling’s hands, is now zero. He will get several hundred million dollars for selling the franchise because it is worth that much in the hands of another owner. But the other owners, through the commissioner are telling him he has to sell because he is damaging the value of their franchises as well.
This isn’t a judicial proceeding. The NBA is a voluntary economic parternship among the franchise owners. He knew that when he decided to buy a franchise. And what he said, though said in private and not illegal, damaged the value of the other owner’s franchises and they acted accordingly.
...”A few voices of sanity are getting through”.....
Yes. I believe Americans of all races are going to conclude that our first amendment rights are more important than the political correctness being used against an obviously immoral, in my view, old man, who is probably experiencing some form of dementia. The girlfriend should go to jail, whether or not she was part of a plot to steal his team from him, as was suggested yesterday on Rush. This kind of political intrigue is dangerous for all of us..Do not let this happen, people. If this man is no longer capable of running his business, then his family should make the decisions. His property should not be confiscated from him because of his psychology or his speech. Anything else means that no one is safe under a now despotic system which is unconstitutional.
until the Messiah is crucified, soon perhaps, the hyper sensitivity will pervade our society.
The hyper sensitivity of the upper level black subculture is feeling it’s oats
Not wanting your mistress to show up in public with black boyfriends, especially a sex pervert with AIDS, is not surprising. What is surprising is that he let her show up at all.
If I had been paying for her Maserati, she would be sitting at home in a sexy nightgown, waiting for a booty call if I didn’t happen to be available to go to the game.
My prediction is that it will land up in a court, as in a court of LAW.
I listened to that dialogue between Sterling and his bimbo, it was a set up all the way, said bimbo had one purpose by asking those leading questions and that was to destroy Sterling. Why? I don’t know - $$$$ from somewhere, to be sure.
In a truly free country, one could be as racist as one wanted to be. I don’t see any of his millionaire players threatening to quit.
What ever happened to “Actions speak louder than words”? Going by ACTIONS this guy is being feted by the NAACP etc...
Sterling was ugly. Yes but.. Oprah Winfrey (the apparent good racism) is deadly. She didn't just say, "Don't bring 'em to my show," she said:
"There are still generations of older people who were born and breed and marinated in that prejudice and racism and they just have to die," she added." [She's not talking about the victims of racism!]
"We agree!" applauded the members of the nation's Knockout Game Teams, et al.
Which raises a question about suing Winfrey, et al using the doctrine of vicarious liability. It's been used to blame at least one white supremacist group for actions of people who had only heard the group's hate speech.
Ah! 1984!
BIG BROTHER is watching you and listening to everything you think or say.
How could Orwell be so exact in his description of America back in the 40’s?
Well, it’s here and it’s only going to get worse as time goes on.
This is a one-way street. Whites cannot get away with “racist” words or actions, while Blacks get away with it all the time. Spike Lee has not been banned from attending Knicks games for his racist comments, and Jay-Z was not banned from attending Nets games for wearing a racist medallion. Undoubtedly, many blacks in positions of power have made racist statements or done things that would be considered racist if they were white. Obama and Holder palling around with Al Sharpton for example. Hypocrisy rules this country.
There is worse racism coming from America’s first and foremost victim group.
We're now finding out that it may not have been an illegal recording. Sterling was apparently recorded with his knowledge. V. Stiviano, the mistress, apparently taped many, if not most, of their conversations with his knowledge. She allegedly has 100+ hours of audio.
However, it was a private conversation that became public.
The lifetime ban and $2.5 million fine have already been announced by the NBA Commissioner. These are pursuant to the NBA Constitution & Bylaws, which were a private document until yesterday, when the NBA released them. (How private? ESPN was stating that the NBA C&B were dated 10/05; the current C&B are dated 5/12.) The NBA Commissioner rules as an emperor.
Article 24(l):
"The Commissioner shall, wherever there is a rule for which no penalty is specifically fixed for violation thereof, have the authority to fix such penalty as in the Commissioner's judgment shall be in the best interests of the Association. Where a situation arises which is not covered in the Constitution and By-Laws, the Commissioner shall have the authority to make such decision, including the imposition of a penalty, as in his judgment shall be in the best interests of the Association. The penalty that may be assessed under the preceding two sentences may include, without limitation, a fine, suspension, and/or the forfeiture or assignment of draft choices. No monetary penalty fixed under this provision shall exceed $2,500,000."
Under Article 24(m), the Commissioner's rulings are final, and he has investigative abilities far beyond those of a normal prosecutor:
"Following an opportunity for the affected party to submit evidence and be heard, all actions duly taken by the Commissioner pursuant to this Article 24 or pursuant to any other 39 Article or Section of the Constitution and By-Laws, which are not specifically referable to the Board of Governors, shall be final, binding and conclusive, as an award in arbitration, and enforceable in a court of competent jurisdiction in accordance with the laws of the State of New York. In connection with all actions, hearings, or investigations taken or conducted by the Commissioner pursuant to this Article 24, (i) strict rules of evidence shall not apply, and all relevant and material evidence submitted may be received and considered, and (ii) the Commissioner shall have the right to require testimony and the production of documents and other evidence from any Member, Owner, or Referee, any employee of any Member or Owner, and/or any employee of the Association, and any person or Entity not complying with the requirements of the Commissioner shall be subject to such penalty as the Commissioner may assess."
It was a private conversation made public.
Only the NBA Board of Governors (the franchise owners) can terminate the ownership of a franchise owner (Article 13). That hasn't been done yet. The ground for termination are all specific, except for Article 13(a):
"The Membership of a Member or the interest of any Owner may be terminated by a vote of three fourths (3/4) of the Board of Governors if the Member or Owner shall do or suffer any of the following:
What violation? Early explanations from the NBA experts were that Sterling violated the obligation to conduct business on a "reasonable" and "ethical" level, as required by the 2005 C&B. That obligation no longer appears in the 2001 C&B.
What about the enforceability of a vote by the NBA Board of Governors to terminate Sterling's ownership? Contrary to what Sports Illustrated reported, franchise owners have not waived rights to sue the NBA. However, Article 18(e) of the NBA C&B says:
"All actions duly taken by the Board of Governors shall be final, binding and conclusive, as an award in arbitration, and enforceable in a court of competent jurisdiction in accordance with the laws of the State of New York."
Courts will generally honor an agreed-upon award in arbitration, but not necessarily so if the issue is an antitrust issue. Here, if the Board of Governors terminates Sterling's ownership, he would be forced to sell at a 'must sell' price.
All of this over a private conversation made public.
If Sterling is banned, who will run the Clippers? Probably Sterling's wife, Shelly. Sterling already has an agreement in place with the NBA that Shelly takes over the franchise if Sterling dies. Sterling has also been grooming his son-in-law to take over management of the franchise.
Who is V. Stiviano?
She met Sterling at the 2010 Super Bowl. She is half-Mexican/half-black and was born Maria Vanessa Perez. After she met Sterling, she legally changed her name to V. Stiviano, for the stated reason "Born from a rape case and having not yet been fully accepted because of my race."
She started her own line of hats and shirts under the V. Stiviano brand and promoted them on her Instagram account. In March, Shelly Sterling sued Stiviano for the return of more than $2.5 million in gifts Sterling gave Stiviano from California community property. Among these gifts are a $1.8 million duplex, a Ferrari, two Bentleys, a Range Rover, and $250,000 cash.
Stiviano is also being sued by the Clippers for embezzling $1.8 million, as announced by the Clippers on Saturday. Miss Stiviano's attorney, Mac Nehoray, was commenting on the audio and Ms. Stiviano's situation until yesterday, when his representative stated Nehoray was invoking the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, citing the statement issued by the Clippers regarding the embezzlement.
Private statements that were made public, and Donald Sterling's the center of attention.
Ah. Per a.m. news, the Sterlings apparently settled a lawsuit that involved Shelly Sterling and racial comments, and depositions and testimony in the don't-rent-to-blacks-Latinos-and-people-with-children lawsuits against Sterling swear Shelly also engaged in 'get 'em out' discussions and orders. This is just going to get bigger, folks.