Donald Sterling receives lifetime ban and $2.5M fine for racist comments

[Youk]

i would rather have seen all the things these players claim they would do

Sounds familiar.

 

[manchild24]

I dont get this. They give a guy a lifetime ban for his own personal opionion, which got out to the public so yeah he's fucked and the whole nine. Cant blame the players, fans etc being pissed off at this guy. But its his opinion, right or wrong its only an opinion. what about all these players that call each other niggers out there. thats ok?

And how can they force him to sell his team?

This is going to get a lot uglier before its over. Bob Costas made a great point. If this goes to court, wait until you see all the guys he throws under the bus.

 

[Aso]

I dont get this. They give a guy a lifetime ban for his own personal opionion, which got out to the public so yeah he's fucked and the whole nine. Cant blame the players, fans etc being pissed off at this guy. But its his opinion, right or wrong its only an opinion. what about all these players that call each other niggers out there. thats ok?

And how can they force him to sell his team?

This is going to get a lot uglier before its over. Bob Costas made a great point. If this goes to court, wait until you see all the guys he throws under the bus.

nigga ≠ nigger and that doesn't make them racist.

And because they banned him? :tebow:

 

[TeflonDonny]

I dont get this. They give a guy a lifetime ban for his own personal opionion, which got out to the public so yeah he's fucked and the whole nine. Cant blame the players, fans etc being pissed off at this guy. But its his opinion, right or wrong its only an opinion. what about all these players that call each other niggers out there. thats ok?

And how can they force him to sell his team?

This is going to get a lot uglier before its over. Bob Costas made a great point. If this goes to court, wait until you see all the guys he throws under the bus.

Everyone looks at the leagues like thy are normal businesses but they are not. All of them are big country clubs where you have to buy your membership, pay dues and abide by a certain set of rules. Once you violate the rules that you agreed to the club has the right to boot you.

I saw this over on RealGM

The NBA has released a copy of their Constitution and By-Laws to the media:The following are the excerpted portions pertaining to the termination of ownership that the NBA will pursue in regards to Donald Sterling and the Los Angeles Clippers.
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ARTICLE 13
TERMINATION OF OWNERSHIP OR MEMBERSHIP
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:

(a) Willfully violate any of the provisions of the Constitution and By-Laws, resolutions, or agreements of the Association.

(b) Transfer or attempt to transfer a Membership or an interest in a Member without complying with the provisions of Article 5.

(c) Fail to pay any dues or other indebtedness owing to the Association within thirty (30) days after Written Notice from the Commissioner of default in such payment.

(d) Fail or refuse to fulfill its contractual obligations to the Association, its Members, Players, or any other third party in such a way as to affect the Association or its Members adversely. (e) Wager or countenance wagering by its officers or employees on any game in which a Team operated by a Member of the Association participates.

(f) Willfully permit open betting, pool selling, or any other form of gambling upon any premises owned, leased, or otherwise controlled by the Member or an Owner, except, subject to Article 8(a), for gambling activities that are lawful in the applicable jurisdiction and do not involve in any way, directly or indirectly, gambling with respect to any aspect of the Association’s games, events, property, players, or other personnel.

(g) Offer, agree, conspire, or attempt to lose or control the score of any game participated in by a Team operated by a Member of the Association, or fail to suspend immediately any officer or any Player or other employee of the Member who shall be found guilty, in a court of law or in any hearing sanctioned by this Constitution and By- Laws, of offering, agreeing, conspiring, or attempting to lose or control the score of any such game or of being interested in any pool or wager on any game in which a Team operated by a Member of the Association participates.

(h) Disband its Team during the Season, dissolve its business, or cease its operation.

(i) Willfully fail to present its Team at the time and place it is scheduled to play in an Exhibition, Regular Season, or Playoff Game.

(j) Willfully misrepresent any material fact contained in its application for Membership in the Association.
ARTICLE 14
PROCEDURE FOR TERMINATION

The Membership of a Member or the interest of any Owner shall be terminated on the occurrence of any of the events described in Article 13 by the following procedure:

(a) Any Member of the Association or the Commissioner may charge that a Member or Owner has violated one (1) or more of the provisions of Article 13. Said charge shall be made in Writing and shall be filed with the Commissioner, who shall, no later than three (3) business days after the charges are filed, cause a copy thereof to be served by a Writing upon the Member or Owner against whom such charges have been made. (b) The Member or Owner so charged shall, within five (5) days after receipt of the charges, file with the Commissioner its written answer thereto. The Commissioner shall thereupon transmit said charges and answer to each of the Governors of the Association and shall call a special meeting of the Governors to hear the charges, to be held on a date not more than ten (10) days after the filing of a Member’s or Owner’s answer, due notice to be given.

(c) Willful failure by a Member or Owner so charged to answer the charges during such five (5) day period or to appear at the hearing shall be deemed an admission by said Member or Owner of the total validity of the charges as presented.

(d) At such hearing, the Chairman of the Board of Governors shall be the presiding officer, except that if the Chairman of the Board of Governors represents either the complaining Member or the Member charged, then the Commissioner shall designate an alternate Chairman for purposes of the hearing.

(e) At the hearing, the Member or Owner so charged shall have the right to be represented by counsel. Strict rules of evidence shall not apply, and all relevant and material evidence submitted prior to and at the hearing may be received and considered.

(f) After duly considering all the evidence, the Board of Governors shall vote upon the proposition that the charges have been sustained in whole or in part. The affirmative vote of three-fourths (3/4) of all the Governors shall be required to sustain the charges.

(g) If, by a three-fourths (3/4) vote, the Board of Governors votes to sustain the charges, the Membership of the guilty Member or the Member in which the guilty Owner has an interest shall automatically be terminated, unless, following a motion duly made and seconded, two-thirds (2/3) of all the Governors vote instead to terminate the ownership interest of the guilty Owner or to invoke the provisions of Article 15. (h) Notwithstanding Article 14(g) above, in the case of a violation of Article 13 by an Owner who has an interest of ten percent (10%) or less in, and does not have effective control over, a Member, the Membership of such Member may not be terminated solely because of such Owner’s violation. In such case, if the charges are sustained against such Owner by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the Board of Governors, the ownership interest of that Owner shall be automatically terminated unless, following a motion duly made and seconded, twothirds (2/3) of all the Governors vote to invoke the provisions of Article 15.

(i) If any Membership or interest of an Owner shall be terminated pursuant to this Article 14, the provisions of Article 14A shall apply.

(j) The decisions of the Association made in accordance with the foregoing procedure shall be final, binding, and conclusive, and each Member and Owner waives any and all recourse to any court of law to review any such decision.

ARTICLE 14A
CONSEQUENCES OF TERMINATION

(a) When the Membership of a Member is terminated, such Member and its assets, properties and operations shall be placed under the management and control of the Commissioner, who shall have the following powers: to cause the Member’s Team to continue to play its Exhibition, Regular Season, and Playoff Games; to collect all revenues from every source payable to the Member and apply such revenues, to the extent available, to the payment of such Member’s debts and obligations; and, as directed by a majority of the Board of Governors (the Member whose Membership was terminated not being considered a Member of the Board of Governors for the purposes of this Article), either to transfer such Member’s Membership (including its Player Contracts and other assets) in accordance with and subject to Article 5 or to liquidate the Player Contracts and other assets of the Member in an orderly manner in the best interests of the Member and its creditors, and the Association, in each case at such prices and on such terms as the Commissioner shall deem reasonable and appropriate.

(b) When the interest of any Owner is terminated, that interest shall, unless the Commissioner has approved an alternative arrangement, be placed under the management and control of the Commissioner, who shall have the power to exercise all of the rights otherwise exercisable by the Owner of that interest, including, but not limited to, any management or voting rights and the right to transfer all or any portion of that interest in accordance with and subject to Article 5 at such prices and on such terms as the Commissioner shall deem reasonable and appropriate.

(c) All proceeds from any transfer of a Member’s Membership or the liquidation of its Player Contracts and other assets, or of an Owner’s interest in a Member, shall be applied first to discharge the liabilities and obligations to all creditors of the Member (or Owner), including the Association and its Members but excluding any Owner of the Member, second to discharge the liabilities and obligations to any Owner of the Member, and any balance shall be remitted to the Member (or Owner). The existence or implementation of this Article 14A shall not impose upon the Association or any of its Members any requirement to provide funds to any Member (or Owner) or any liability for any debts or obligations of any Member (or Owner). ARTICLE 15
ALTERNATIVES TO TERMINATION


If a charge that a Member or Owner has committed any of the offenses described in Article 13 is sustained, two-thirds (2/3) of all the Governors may waive the remedy of termination, and instead direct the Member or Owner to pay a stated fine in a stipulated manner and by a stipulated date, which fine may be required to be paid, in whole or in part, to any other Member or Members as compensation to such Member or Members for damages sustained by it or them by reason of such act or acts of omission or commission by such offending Member or Owner. Such fine shall be payable within five (5) days after its imposition. Moreover, the Board of Governors may, in its discretion, either in addition to, or in lieu of, such fine, direct the forfeiture of the offending Member’s Draft rights.

I also saw somewhere that the bylaws give the commish absolute power in situations like this. It can't be appealed or sent to arbitration.

 

[Senser81]

This whole situation shows what a joke the NBA is.

1) Sterling's racism is well known. David Stern knew all about it, but did nothing because he was a duplicitous fraud and Sterling's friend. The other NBA owners knew all about it, but did nothing because they are slightly racist themselves, and liked having Sterling around because they knew they could always beat the Clippers and/or unload their bad contracts to the Clippers.

2) Doc Rivers took the Clips coaching job because he likes money and Chris Paul more than he dislikes working for known racists. Doc Rivers is a fraud much the same way David Stern is a fraud.

3) The Clippers' players are funny. Talk about boycotting the playoffs, but none of them were so "outraged" as to quit and/or force their outright release. Much like Rivers, they like money more than they dislike working for a known racist. Green is green.

4) As much as the NBA would like to spin this as a moral issue, its a black issue. If a different NBA owner had made anti-Semitic remarks, no one would really care. The NBA players wouldn't talk of boycotting, because they are black and not Jewish. Adam Silver wouldn't be banning people for life.

5) My biggest gripe is that what Sterling did is inconsequential. He said racist things. Who cares. The real crime is Sterling's racist business practices, which were condoned by David Stern for decades and which Adam Silver failed to comment on.

 

[PP]

What is the deal with the woman. Was her recording the conversation legal? It was quite obvious she baited him into this whole mess. Not to take away from what Sterling said since he can be held accountable since this is a private enterprise and they can ban him, fine him, force sell etc. Where is the scrutiny for her ? Or do we just assume that trashy goldigger will get hers eventually.

 

[Senser81]

What is the deal with the woman. Was her recording the conversation legal? It was quite obvious she baited him into this whole mess. Not to take away from what Sterling said since he can be held accountable since this is a private enterprise and they can ban him, fine him, force sell etc. Where is the scrutiny for her ? Or do we just assume that trashy goldigger will get hers eventually.

Its been my experience that when people say trashy goldiggers will "get hers eventually", they usually never do.

 

[strahanfan92]

Donald Sterling receives lifetime ban and $2.5M fine for racist comments

"First off, I would like to thank the NBA for this $1 billion profit I am about to make. I would especially like to thank David Stern, without whom none of this would be possible. To the players and fans I've offended, you can kiss my pale white ass which I will be tanning in the bahamas later this week. To those in the media who've blown this story out of proportion, you're welcome for the food that is now on your table. To my ex wife, all of this is going into a swiss bank account, you won't see a dime. And finally, to my beautiful latina ex-lover, I hope you don't die of AIDs before the trial.

Thank you and god bless."

 

[NAHSTE]

Because otherwise it would be slavery... :dd:

Or college basketball ...

itino:

 

[Pitty]

Or college basketball ...

itino:

Champions

 

[EmpireWF]

4) As much as the NBA would like to spin this as a moral issue, its a black issue. If a different NBA owner had made anti-Semitic remarks, no one would really care. The NBA players wouldn't talk of boycotting, because they are black and not Jewish. Adam Silver wouldn't be banning people for life.

I'll disagree there. If any owner is recorded on tape talking about how any group of people are treated like dogs as a reason why they are inferior and you can't change shit about it....sponsors are pulling out, of course that owner is getting in trouble. Lifetime ban? Depends.

What is the deal with the woman. Was her recording the conversation legal? It was quite obvious she baited him into this whole mess. Not to take away from what Sterling said since he can be held accountable since this is a private enterprise and they can ban him, fine him, force sell etc. Where is the scrutiny for her ? Or do we just assume that trashy goldigger will get hers eventually.

The woman broke California law by recording their conversations without his consent.

 

[Senser81]

I'll disagree there. If any owner is recorded on tape talking about how any group of people are treated like dogs as a reason why they are inferior and you can't change shit about it....sponsors are pulling out, of course that owner is getting in trouble. Lifetime ban? Depends.

True

 

[manchild24]

ill tell you what, if you are forcing me to sell the team (which he bought for like 12million) and will make a HUGE profit on is he REALLY being punished.

Id tell the NBA to stick the 2.5 million fine if you're forcing me to sell. Im not paying shit.

Oh and its ok for larry johnson (i think) to say there should be just a black league.

Not arguing Sterling is a dick and a racist.

When is Al sharpton and Jessie jackson chiming in on this

 

[Glenbino]

He won't wind up paying the fine IMO.

The tape is inadmissible since it happened in CA and they can't really assault the dude's character since they've been propping him up for so long.

I've been hearing that his son-in-law has been prepping to take over for some time now, so I doubt he will sell the team.

He's just got to ride this firestorm out for another month or two before some other quasi-controversial thing takes over the media cycle.

Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk

 

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

This whole situation shows what a joke the NBA is.

1) Sterling's racism is well known. David Stern knew all about it, but did nothing because he was a duplicitous fraud and Sterling's friend. The other NBA owners knew all about it, but did nothing because they are slightly racist themselves, and liked having Sterling around because they knew they could always beat the Clippers and/or unload their bad contracts to the Clippers.

2) Doc Rivers took the Clips coaching job because he likes money and Chris Paul more than he dislikes working for known racists. Doc Rivers is a fraud much the same way David Stern is a fraud.

3) The Clippers' players are funny. Talk about boycotting the playoffs, but none of them were so "outraged" as to quit and/or force their outright release. Much like Rivers, they like money more than they dislike working for a known racist. Green is green.

4) As much as the NBA would like to spin this as a moral issue, its a black issue. If a different NBA owner had made anti-Semitic remarks, no one would really care. The NBA players wouldn't talk of boycotting, because they are black and not Jewish. Adam Silver wouldn't be banning people for life.

5) My biggest gripe is that what Sterling did is inconsequential. He said racist things. Who cares. The real crime is Sterling's racist business practices, which were condoned by David Stern for decades and which Adam Silver failed to comment on.

They and any minority attending a Clipper game while he remains owner needs to put away the racist card and never bring up a race issue again. Theres very few times when people can take a stand that means something anymore. The players collectively refusing to play would have been talked about for years and been highly symbolic whenever a race issue comes up. Instead they turn jerseys inside out .....during warmups.........

bravo gentleman bravo.

 

[Houston]

 

[Pitty]

He's got prostate cancer. Gonna be :dad: soon anyway.

 

[TeflonDonny]

One other factor in here — money. Specifically taxes, and the future of the franchise in his family. Sterling bought the Clippers in 1981 for $12.5 million, if he sells the team now for whatever price, he has to pay a roughly 33 percent state and national capital gains tax. A lot of people think the sale price for the Clippers will approach $1 billion, to use that number Sterling would have to pay capital gains tax on $987.5 million, or roughly $329 million in taxes.


However, if one of his family members inherits the team, then he or she sells the team, they are only responsible for the capital gains tax on how much the franchise value increased on their watch. Which is to say, if the franchise is valued at $800 and his wife/son-in-law gets the team and sells it for $1 billion, they only pay the tax on $200 million, or a relatively reasonable $66 million?


The league has already started the process to expel Sterling. Expect his response to come soon.

 

[Glenbino]

He's going to drag this out in court until he dies. And then the league will have to vote again I'd imagine to force sale from whoever inherits it.

Either way, if he really is dying of cancer, I could see him spending every cent he has to tie this thing up in court.

Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk

 

[jeffx]

I wish there was tape of James Dolan saying racist shit so the NBA can force him to sell the Knicks. But Isiah would probably burn the tape.