Donald Sterling owner of LA Clippers

[rives]

Start enforcing moral turpitude? Where have you been? Professional athletes are suspended every year for various violations. Google "Aldon Smith" for a recent example. Michael Vick is another well-known example. For basketball, Ron Artest.

Aldon Smith and Michael Vick both broke the law, repeatedly. I don't know what you are talking about with Artest, but at least with the other two, it wasn't a judgement call by a ruling body about someones repugnant world view, privately expressed and based on evidence obtained secretly. Gambling, drugs, and other "vices" have been open to censure by the ruling bodies forever, yes. This would appear to open the door for them to go much, much further.

 

[Coconutz]

Looks like youve said a few times that they shouldnt be allowed to take his team and the players can boycott if they want...
I dont think he deserves that much defense.
The bitch probably made him say all that shit, but because it was relevant to his standing as an owner. It needed to come out so they could get rid of this punkass once and for all.
Its too bad they werent able to get rid of him a long time ago

 

[Bulldog420]

So many sheep here. It amazes me how many people actually see the real issue at hand. It also amazes me the people that are so quick to tell you what you can and can not say, and think the first amendment doesn't cover ALL speech. With the exception of yelling fire in a crowded building, because that in it self is a crime. Using the word fire isn't a crime, but the intent to cause panic is. This man was taped during a private conversation, he did not commit a crime, period. However, he has been kicked out of a league and forced to sell his franchise, that he owns and paid for. I guess this is the new motto in America, conform or else.......


For the record, the guy is a scum bag. He was also proved guilty in a court of law for not fixing minorities apartments when he was the landlord. Piece of garbage for sure.

 

[Sisu]

The Clippers had threatened to refuse to play tonight, and I think the Warriors had also. Also, John Wall (Washington) and Kevin Durant (OK City) had threatened to sit out tonight too.

 

[Wiggs Dannyboy]

I just think that ramifications for his actions would have been more appropriately handled by something like a boycott, player walkout, or some similar action.

If the NBA hadn't ruled as they did, if they had handed down a more limited punishment, and if they hadn't further stated that the club of NBA team owners was going to take further action that would hopefully force him to sell the Clippers....then the only way left to force Sterling to sell his NBA team would be with the suggestions you make above.

There is a big problem with your position, I think. If there had to be a fan boycott, or if there had to be a player walkout, you would have a bunch of people who didn't do anything wrong paying the price to get rid of Sterling. Sterling likely would take this to the courts, make it last a long time, and all that time the fans (who would be deprived of attending an event they loved), or the players (who would be sacrificing the money they signed their contract for), would be having to sacrifice something very important to them. Should people who are totally innocent have to pay the price for a bigoted rich guy's racist comments?

Thankfully, the NBA is a club of sorts, as has mentioned previously, and they have a code of conduct among the other things that allows them to remove members if that member violated the code.

 

[rives]

Looks like youve said a few times that they shouldnt be allowed to take his team and the players can boycott if they want...
I dont think he deserves that much defense.
The bitch probably made him say all that shit, but because it was relevant to his standing as an owner. It needed to come out so they could get rid of this punkass once and for all.
Its too bad they werent able to get rid of him a long time ago

I'm not trying to make any defense of the old prick whatsoever. I just find it disturbing that a ruling body can take away someone's possessions for a "thought crime". The public and the players would be well justified to make him go broke, but this would seem to set a very scary precedent.

 

[rives]

If the NBA hadn't ruled as they did, if they had handed down a more limited punishment, and if they hadn't further stated that the club of NBA team owners was going to take further action that would hopefully force him to sell the Clippers....then the only way left to force Sterling to sell his NBA team would be with the suggestions you make above.

There is a big problem with your position, I think. If there had to be a fan boycott, or if there had to be a player walkout, you would have a bunch of people who didn't do anything wrong paying the price to get rid of Sterling. Sterling likely would take this to the courts, make it last a long time, and all that time the fans (who would be deprived of attending an event they loved), or the players (who would be sacrificing the money they signed their contract for), would be having to sacrifice something very important to them. Should people who are totally innocent have to pay the price for a bigoted rich guy's racist comments?

Thankfully, the NBA is a club of sorts, as has mentioned previously, and they have a code of conduct among the other things that allows them to remove members if that member violated the code.

Good points.

 

[OGShaman]

Looks like youve said a few times that they shouldnt be allowed to take his team and the players can boycott if they want...
I dont think he deserves that much defense.
The bitch probably made him say all that shit, but because it was relevant to his standing as an owner. It needed to come out so they could get rid of this punkass once and for all.
Its too bad they werent able to get rid of him a long time ago

Who is the bitch? The racist's girlfriend? What kind of stuff did she go through dealing with this guy? I can only imagine. Bad choices in this story all around, but misogyny is no better than racisim.

 

[Coconutz]

Total bitch bro.
Sounds like she was blackmailing the organization?

 

[shithawk420]

I don't agree with him but being fined millions for being racist?that's rediculus.if he was black this wouldn't be happening

 

[symbiote420]

if he was black this wouldn't be happening

Let's not go there, he could have named any group of people in that phone call ....Native Americans, Latinos, or Homosexuals and it would have lit the same fire! This country has always been less sensitive to the issues that face black people so 1st off let's just be real about that, it never seems to become a problem till shit crosses over to Main St.

Too busy arguing and fighting amongst ourselves for shit they force upon us that it's seriously time to wake up people, the so-called "powers that be" are very hard at work! We still on this black & white skin color bullshit while they're lubed up fucking both of us up the ass!!

Racial tension/hate = Divided we fall people

 

[shithawk420]

Your right.I apologize symbiote

 

[mrcreosote]

OMG!!!!

Somebody said something impolite and possibly offensive to some tender-hearted crybabies.

Lets kill him.

People seem to have become dynamically stupid. With all the murder, mayhem and dire economic implosions that will make large portions of the Earth go hungry, people get frenzied over someone who said something rude.

You guys are watching too much pablum media.

Baaaaaaaa

 

[D. B. Doober]

That new commissioner came down pretty hard...lifetime ban from any NBA event.

 

[Wiggs Dannyboy]

Let me bring this thread back on track...with a post that sticks to the thread title...

If anybody cares to read it, here are the NBA Constitution And By-Laws, which, up until yesterday, had never been made public before.

From an article that accompanied the link to the NBA Constitution:

"The most relevant rule to what the commissioner was able to do in the Sterling situation is found in Article 24(l), which is the "Best Interest of the Association" clause. The commissioner is able to give any punishment he sees fit when it's not clearly covered by the constitution and by-laws. (Via Deadspin)

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.​

This eliminates the confusion in the future and gives everybody the answers they need when it comes to how the league operates and what they can do in certain situations."

This issue is not about one person being able to have his own personal views, even if they are abhorent. It's about a private organization, that has it's own constitution and codes of conduct (which is signed by all members), being able to punish a member who has signed the contract of membership in the organization. Here is that legal document:

http://mediacentral.nba.com/media/mediacentral/NBA-Constitution-and-By-Laws.pdf


.

 

[Ez Rider]

Let me bring this thread back on track...with a post that sticks to the thread title...

If anybody cares to read it, here are the NBA Constitution And By-Laws, which, up until yesterday, had never been made public before.

From an article that accompanied the link to the NBA Constitution:

"The most relevant rule to what the commissioner was able to do in the Sterling situation is found in Article 24(l), which is the "Best Interest of the Association" clause. The commissioner is able to give any punishment he sees fit when it's not clearly covered by the constitution and by-laws. (Via Deadspin)

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.​

This eliminates the confusion in the future and gives everybody the answers they need when it comes to how the league operates and what they can do in certain situations."

This issue is not about one person being able to have his own personal views, even if they are abhorent. It's about a private organization, that has it's own constitution and codes of conduct (which is signed by all members), being able to punish a member who has signed the contract of membership in the organization. Here is that legal document:

http://mediacentral.nba.com/media/mediacentral/NBA-Constitution-and-By-Laws.pdf



.

That's a load of BULLSHIT! If the comments had been made in a public forum, rather than a secret recording of a private conversation, I might agree with you. This has nothing to do with the man actions or conduct in the NBA. This was a private conversation, which was clearly led by that troll of a girlfriend.

What about all the players with felony convictions for assault, drugs, d.v., etc? Should they all be banned for life because they're "bad for the game"? The blatant hypocrisy in some of the statements I've read is DISGUSTING.

 

[Wiggs Dannyboy]

OK EZ, instead of just making some blanket statement about players who have felony convictions, why don't you actually provide some evidence that backs up your claim. I believe you will find evidence of players getting suspended when they break league rules. Those are rules which exist in the contracts they sign, and the contracts spell out exactly what will happen if the rules are broken. That's what happened to Sterling...he broke the rules of the NBA Constitution and by-laws.

Your response seems to be a knee jerk reaction caused by your outrage that this guy was punished for having a private conversation taped and released. I don't think anybody is arguing that what his girlfriend did was right, or even legal, but as the NBA Commisioner
said in his news conference, once the tape was made public, and authenticated, the NBA had a responsibility to act to protect the integrity of the league.

I'd offer up another example of a similar situation where privacy rights are violated, yet what trumps the other... the person's privacy rights, or the evidence of wrong doing:

This fellow named Jeffery (35 years old) lives in a quiet suburban neighborhood. He keeps to himself, only says hello to the neighbors, doesn't get more social than that. His neighbors think he is kinda strange, he has young boys over all the time, but doesn't appear to be dangerous. So they let him be..."live and let live.."

One day, a neighborhood kid who likes to break into homes and steal things, notices that this guy Jeffery holds a regular work schedule. So he keeps track of the days and times when Jeffery is gone, and figures out a safe time to break into his house to do some thieving.

He breaks into Jeffery's home (illegal entry), cases the house for valuables, puts all his loot into a suitcase he brought...then feels the noontime lunch hunger hit his gut and decides to see what Jeffery has in the fridge. He opens the fridge door and instead of seeing cold cuts and peanut butter....he sees a few severed human heads and thighs for roasting. This kid runs out of the house, and calls the cops to report what he has found. Cops come and investigate and put out an all points bulletin for one Jeffery Dahmer.

Should the cops let Dahmer walk because the discovery was the result of an illegal entry?

 

[rives]

I think that it is a real stretch to attempt justifying some gold-digger's illegal recording of a private conversation regarding something which is not illegal with multiple murder. As Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said, she should be on her way to jail, but is probably about to hit the interview circuit and have somebody ghost-write a book for her.

 

[Ez Rider]

OK EZ, instead of just making some blanket statement about players who have felony convictions, why don't you actually provide some evidence that backs up your claim. I believe you will find evidence of players getting suspended when they break league rules. Those are rules which exist in the contracts they sign, and the contracts spell out exactly what will happen if the rules are broken. That's what happened to Sterling...he broke the rules of the NBA Constitution and by-laws.

Your response seems to be a knee jerk reaction caused by your outrage that this guy was punished for having a private conversation taped and released. I don't think anybody is arguing that what his girlfriend did was right, or even legal, but as the NBA Commisioner
said in his news conference, once the tape was made public, and authenticated, the NBA had a responsibility to act to protect the integrity of the league.

I'd offer up another example of a similar situation where privacy rights are violated, yet what trumps the other... the person's privacy rights, or the evidence of wrong doing:

This fellow named Jeffery (35 years old) lives in a quiet suburban neighborhood. He keeps to himself, only says hello to the neighbors, doesn't get more social than that. His neighbors think he is kinda strange, he has young boys over all the time, but doesn't appear to be dangerous. So they let him be..."live and let live.."

One day, a neighborhood kid who likes to break into homes and steal things, notices that this guy Jeffery holds a regular work schedule. So he keeps track of the days and times when Jeffery is gone, and figures out a safe time to break into his house to do some thieving.

He breaks into Jeffery's home (illegal entry), cases the house for valuables, puts all his loot into a suitcase he brought...then feels the noontime lunch hunger hit his gut and decides to see what Jeffery has in the fridge. He opens the fridge door and instead of seeing cold cuts and peanut butter....he sees a few severed human heads and thighs for roasting. This kid runs out of the house, and calls the cops to report what he has found. Cops come and investigate and put out an all points bulletin for one Jeffery Dahmer.

Should the cops let Dahmer walk because the discovery was the result of an illegal entry?

BULLSHIT! What "rule" has been broken? Are you seriously comparing this to dahmer? My knee is jerking because I'd like to kick some sense into you.

 

[IGROWMYOWN]

more like a reality show ....its coming watch Her face is mush or she would have probably already signed.