Sources: Donald Sterling refuses NBA sanctions, threatens to sue, won't pay fine

Sports Illustrated ^ | 05/16/2014 | Michael McCann

[Al Gore Vidal]

The problem here is that we are fighting a just battle for freedom of speech from behind the weak media firewall of a well known racist billionaire. The left loves these kind of media spectacles because they get to further brainwash their base, score points with middle AND successfully paint the conservatives as defending a rich racist.

[DoodleDawg]

Whatever happened to due process?

The NBA is a private organization and is not required to provide due process protections. Sterling agreed to that when he bought the team.

[Veggie Todd]

Give ‘em hell, Donnie!

[DoodleDawg]

How can the NBA force out a woman owner?

MLB eventually forced Marge Schott to sell and they survived very nicely.

If the NBA owners vote to force Sterling to sell, and it's a big if, then they can argue that allowing Sterling's wife to retain half ownership is the same thing as allowing Sterling himself to remain an owner and would thus escape the penalty the NBA imposed. Since the NBA approves owners then they could deny her any part in the team.

[SECURE AMERICA]

Pass the popcorn please........
This is the most I have watched the NBA for decades..
The NBA made a huge error in judgement when they thought they could use Sterling for some publicity.
Now they will get more of that then they ever wanted.....

[reagandemocrat]

It was a rush to judgement.

[DoodleDawg]

If the courts find that Sterling did NOT violate the contract or league agreement then Commisioner Silver and the rest of the League Owners are going to be in quite a pickle aren't they?

The problem is that the powers vested in the Commissioner are so broadly defined that there is no way Sterling can prove that Silver exceeded his authority. The NBA Constitution says that the Commissioner can punish an owner for any actions not covered by any of the listed punishments, and which the Commissioner believes was not in the best interests of the NBA. The sole judge of that is the Commissioner himself. Silver can say that because of Sterlings actions the NBA was faced with loss of revenue, loss of the playoffs, and player dissention. And that those actions were not in the best interests of the NBA. How do you prove him wrong? You can't, so the fine and the banning will be upheld in court.

[freeangel]

I hope he wins and lives to see that day.

[Lucky2]

Let’s face it, Sterling is a bigoted old fart but... what he said in the privacy of his own home was not illegal. I’d hate for anyone to hear some of the things I’ve said in privacy. I hope he wins!

[MaxMax]

If it were me in his position, I would fight back to see how far the NBA
is willing to go to destroy their brand. The NBA cannot in good faith
destroy the team. We'll see how far the NBA will go. I suspect the
bluff has been called and the NBA will try to make some kind of secret deal
that cannot be released to the MSM, in an attempt to back out of the attack.

[discostu]

He owns a franchise, which isn’t private property.

[onedoug]

Good. And I hope he takes the whole NBA down with him.

[Trapped Behind Enemy Lines]

OK. Say I own McDonald’s franchise. I say something stupid in private. I didn’t break the law. Would that give McDonald’s the right to confiscate my property and business?

I’m no fan of Sterling. I’m no fan of the Clippers. I’m no fan of basketball. But I am HUGE fan of private property rights.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Good. And I hope he takes the whole NBA down with him.

That might happen.

Already star players are threatening to boycott the game if Sterling is still around.

See here for instance:

http://deadspin.com/union-lebron-wont-play-if-sterling-still-owns-the-clip-1576242913

Union: LeBron Won’t Play If Sterling Still Owns The Clippers Next Year

[usconservative]

Sounds like you know far more than I do about the ownership agreements, I’ll happily cede to your expertise on this one.

[discostu]

Do your stupid thing make headlines? Was McDonalds mentioned in the headlines? Then you just devalued the corporation as a whole, which puts you in violation of your franchise agreement, which means yes they have the right to confiscate the property and business you share with them.

[GeronL]

I agree with you. There is a huge double standard

[SeekAndFind]

RE: He owns a franchise, which isn’t private property.

Not sure if that is accurate.

If you own a franchise, you are buying the use of a NAME ( which in a sense is WORTH the money you invest in ).

So, if you, by your actions TAINT the name of the franchise, the franchise owners have the right to DISSOCIATE their name from you.

BUT, they do not have the right to take away your SHARE of the money you put in.

So, if you put in $12 Million initially for your share of the franchise ( What Sterling put in originally over 30 years ago ), and the VALUE of the franchise is now worth 40 times your investment, I believe by law, the franchise can FORCE you not to use their name, but they cannot force you to offload your share at less than market value.

So, I believe BY LAW, the NBA can tell Sterling that he cannot use be a franchisee of the NBA ( i.e. use the NBA name for his team ). This means Sterling CAN BE PRESSURED to sell his share of the franchise. BUT ONLY AT MARKET VALUE.

[BeadCounter]

I kept on telling everyone, just because the NBA tells you to do something, doesn’t mean he couldn’t still fight it, would not mean the NBA would necessarily win but everyone said “It’s like a franchise, if the other owners voted against him, that’s all there is to it.”

[GeronL]

I think the NBA Commissioner tainted it more than Sterling did, how much is his fine?

The Commissioner is going to cause the NBA to go through a big lawsuit over an illegal recording. Since the recording probably cannot be used to support their claim, it will be interesting to see the result.