The Basketball Thread

[Nike 373]

Good.

Yes and NO....

He was setup. People in Los Angeles already know about his racial tendencies, this isn't real big news. However, with this decision from Adam Silver, now people are going to look to potentially blackmail others, etc. There is even some rumors that Magic Johnson was in on this so he could purchase the Clippers...

Take into consideration the person that recording this tape was his gold digger girlfriend, not a random innocent person.

[The Skipper 20,593]

Yes and NO....

He was setup. People in Los Angeles already know about his racial tendencies, this isn't real big news. However, with this decision from Adam Silver, now people are going to look to potentially blackmail others, etc. There is even some rumors that Magic Johnson was in on this so he could purchase the Clippers...

Take into consideration the person that recording this tape was his gold digger girlfriend, not a random innocent person.

I don't really care about the politics behind it all, it's just a disgrace in my opinion that someone as racist as him is even associated with the NBA.

It might've been a setup, it might've not, but frankly I don't really care. He's scum and it's good that he's out of the NBA, and if it leads to more idiots that think like him being exposed then good.

[Sheva. 5,373]

Even if it was a setup, no one made him say those things. He's a two-faced prick, who deserved to be ousted.

[Nike 373]

I don't really care about the politics behind it all, it's just a disgrace in my opinion that someone as racist as him is even associated with the NBA.

It might've been a setup, it might've not, but frankly I don't really care. He's scum and it's good that he's out of the NBA, and if it leads to more idiots that think like him being exposed then good.

Racism is a lot more difficult than you think, especially in the United States.

Racism is all over corporate america, schools, etc. Just because Sterling makes a racists comments, doesn't mean other people do not have racial tendencies even though they don't say it. You may be the exception, but I can guarantee in the United States most people are racists to a degree. They don't have other people record their racist comments, however, most people are, they might not think they are racists, but they still have racist tendencies.

I'll give you a perfect example of racism in the United States, ala affirmative action. When I was in high school, three of us apply to UVA for college. Three of us had similar sat scores, gpas, extracurricular crap and two of played sports. However, he was spanish and we were not. Guess who got into UVA and he didn't even apply early decision? Technically, this is racism at it's best. However, if racism work's to your advantage, it is not racism to you.

That's why racism, especially here is a lot more difficult to overcome than you think. People all grow up from different upbringing, different cultures, etc. Sterling is 80 years old. You know the saying, "you can teach an old dog new tricks." its kind of like Sterling. He is too old to change, doesnt mean he right, however, changing the mindset of an 80 year old man is quite the task.

[Rmpr 8,977]

Racism is a lot more difficult than you think, especially in the United States.

Racism is all over corporate america, schools, etc. Just because Sterling makes a racists comments, doesn't mean other people do not have racial tendencies even though they don't say it. You may be the exception, but I can guarantee in the United States most people are racists to a degree. They don't have other people record their racist comments, however, most people are, they might not think they are racists, but they still have racist tendencies.

I'll give you a perfect example of racism in the United States, ala affirmative action. When I was in high school, three of us apply to UVA for college. Three of us had similar sat scores, gpas, extracurricular crap and two of played sports. However, he was spanish and we were not. Guess who got into UVA and he didn't even apply early decision? Technically, this is racism at it's best. However, if racism work's to your advantage, it is not racism to you.

That's why racism, especially here is a lot more difficult to overcome than you think. People all grow up from different upbringing, different cultures, etc. Sterling is 80 years old. You know the saying, "you can teach an old dog new tricks." its kind of like Sterling. He is too old to change, doesnt mean he right, however, changing the mindset of an 80 year old man is quite the task.

Sorry, but that is an incredibly poor argument!

If Sterling was saying it privately or not, it doesnt matter. It is public now and a person with such views shouldnt be allowed to be associated with the NBA (or any half-decent organization btw), let alone own a franchise. It sends the sport the wrong message and it alao affects the business side of it (sponsors, union strikes, etc). On top of that, LA couldnt be a more multi-cultural city for him to say what he did. He broke the agreement he (as an owner) has with the league (there is a clause clearly stating they cant denegrate the imagenof the sport/NBA) and that is why he is being so severely punished!

Also, it doesnt fucking matter if other people have the same mindset or practice racism too. It's an absolute joke to base a defensive argument on something along the lines of "well, he is not the only racist in the world, so punishing him wont change anything". That's quite stupid. Nobody is saying that by kicking him out racism would be over, but what more can we do than stand against it and set it as an example? Maybe we can scare one or two racists of hurting someone in the future!

By the way, Sterling can have whatever opinion he wants. He has freedom of speech and that is exactly why he wont get sued or go to jail or anything. However, others do have the right to avois associating their brand with him because of his opinions! For instance, if a company discovers someone is homophobic they wont be allowed to take any legal actions (freedom of speech) but they are legally authorized to fire him or break his contract because they dont want to be associated with his ideas (which is what is ultimately occurring). It's two different things!

[Nike 373]

Sorry, but that is an incredibly poor argument!

If Sterling was saying it privately or not, it doesnt matter. It is public now and a person with such views shouldnt be allowed to be associated with the NBA (or any half-decent organization btw), let alone own a franchise. It sends the sport the wrong message and it alao affects the business side of it (sponsors, union strikes, etc). On top of that, LA couldnt be a more multi-cultural city for him to say what he did. He broke the agreement he (as an owner) has with the league (there is a clause clearly stating they cant denegrate the imagenof the sport/NBA) and that is why he is being so severely punished!

Also, it doesnt fucking matter if other people have the same mindset or practice racism too. It's an absolute joke to base a defensive argument on something along the lines of "well, he is not the only racist in the world, so punishing him wont change anything". That's quite stupid. Nobody is saying that by kicking him out racism would be over, but what more can we do than stand against it and set it as an example? Maybe we can scare one or two racists of hurting someone in the future!

By the way, Sterling can have whatever opinion he wants. He has freedom of speech and that is exactly why he wont get sued or go to jail or anything. However, others do have the right to avois associating their brand with him because of his opinions! For instance, if a company discovers someone is homophobic they wont be allowed to take any legal actions (freedom of speech) but they are legally authorized to fire him or break his contract because they dont want to be associated with his ideas (which is what is ultimately occurring). It's two different things!

This was always know about Sterling for years, not just now. Any resident in LA knew Sterling and his racist behavior for years, the NBA never did anything.

As I mentioned in my post, Silver's decision is both good and bad. It was good that Sterling got suspended, etc, but the way he was setup by a gold digger is the same way a lot of African Americans are setup in professional sports by these same gold diggers. Kareem said it best, Sterling should get fined/suspended and the girl should have punishment as well.

What bothers me about this whole Donald Sterling affair isn’t just his racism. I’m bothered that everyone acts as if it’s a huge surprise. Now there’s all this dramatic and very public rending of clothing about whether they should keep their expensive Clippers season tickets. Really? All this other stuff I listed above has been going on for years and this ridiculous conversation with his girlfriend is what puts you over the edge? That’s the smoking gun?

He was discriminating against black and Hispanic families for years, preventing them from getting housing. It was public record. We did nothing. Suddenly he says he doesn’t want his girlfriend posing with Magic Johnson on Instagram and we bring out the torches and rope. Shouldn’t we have all called for his resignation back then?

Shouldn’t we be equally angered by the fact that his private, intimate conversation was taped and then leaked to the media? Didn’t we just call to task the NSA for intruding into American citizen’s privacy in such an un-American way? Although the impact is similar to Mitt Romney’s comments that were secretly taped, the difference is that Romney was giving a public speech. The making and release of this tape is so sleazy that just listening to it makes me feel like an accomplice to the crime. We didn’t steal the cake but we’re all gorging ourselves on it. she “will probably get a book deal, a sitcom, trade recipes with Hoda and Kathie Lee, and soon appear on Celebrity Apprentice and Dancing with the Stars.”

Silver's decision had a lot to do with money, moreso than being ethical. If ethics was really important, Kobe would of been banned for life for his homophobic comments/rape trial as would a lot of NBA players. Ray Lewis should of never sniffed another down after his murder trial, Jordan with his gambling problems, and the amount of crack/coaine Odom does, etc.

THe NBA was losing sponsors and the owners collectively agree because of the potential to lose money. If money wasn't an issue, would they have banned Sterling?

[Nike 373]

OKC and Pacers are 1 game from elimination......

If Pacers loses, I can see hibbert getting traded, vogel getting fired, turner not getting resigned and lance as well.

If OKC loses, Durant has 1 more reason to ditch OKC as do Westbrook.

[Vybz Kartel 1,613]

I have been surprised by the small teams this season, The Wizards, Golden State, The Hawks, Grizzles just to name a few are giving the big boys plenty to think about

[Nike 373]

I have been surprised by the small teams this season, The Wizards, Golden State, The Hawks, Grizzles just to name a few are giving the big boys plenty to think about

Im surprised the bulls got eliminated by the wizards....

However, clippers are better than dubnation, pacers have been awful for a while and memphis matches up well against OKC...... The west playoffs have been great, the east not so much (maybe the bk vs toronoto series).

[Vybz Kartel 1,613]

Im surprised the bulls got eliminated by the wizards....

However, clippers are better than dubnation, pacers have been awful for a while and memphis matches up well against OKC...... The west playoffs have been great, the east not so much (maybe the bk vs toronoto series).

Yep the west is really competitive, even Houston is having trouble, they should change the conference set up i think

[Vybz Kartel 1,613]

KD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE8k3FTBOoQ

[iseah100 5,612]

Yep the west is really competitive, even Houston is having trouble, they should change the conference set up i think

For sure. Top 16 teams make the playoffs. Who cares about divisions in basketball?

[Styles 9,790]

Yes and NO....

He was setup. People in Los Angeles already know about his racial tendencies, this isn't real big news. However, with this decision from Adam Silver, now people are going to look to potentially blackmail others, etc. There is even some rumors that Magic Johnson was in on this so he could purchase the Clippers...

Take into consideration the person that recording this tape was his gold digger girlfriend, not a random innocent person.

Stop deflecting. Sterling is a racist scumbag, everything else is besides the point.

Racism is a lot more difficult than you think, especially in the United States.

Racism is all over corporate america, schools, etc. Just because Sterling makes a racists comments, doesn't mean other people do not have racial tendencies even though they don't say it. You may be the exception, but I can guarantee in the United States most people are racists to a degree. They don't have other people record their racist comments, however, most people are, they might not think they are racists, but they still have racist tendencies.

I'll give you a perfect example of racism in the United States, ala affirmative action. When I was in high school, three of us apply to UVA for college. Three of us had similar sat scores, gpas, extracurricular crap and two of played sports. However, he was spanish and we were not. Guess who got into UVA and he didn't even apply early decision? Technically, this is racism at it's best. However, if racism work's to your advantage, it is not racism to you.

That's why racism, especially here is a lot more difficult to overcome than you think. People all grow up from different upbringing, different cultures, etc. Sterling is 80 years old. You know the saying, "you can teach an old dog new tricks." its kind of like Sterling. He is too old to change, doesnt mean he right, however, changing the mindset of an 80 year old man is quite the task.

So what? You're excusing Sterling because 'hey, everybody else is racist'? Because that's exactly what it sounds like.

Boo hoo, woe is me. Affirmative action is redressing the balance and giving opportunities to minorities that have been excluded. It isn't perfect but it's a start. The funny thing is white women have probably benefitted more from affirmative action than anybody else.

But hey don’t worry, he got into that school but you’ll have a much easier life. He’ll have to work twice as hard you for the rest of his working life. Chin up, son.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Merged with Basketball thread.

[The Skipper 20,593]

I have been surprised by the small teams this season, The Wizards, Golden State, The Hawks, Grizzles just to name a few are giving the big boys plenty to think about

It's been the best 1st round of playoffs I've ever seen, by far as well.

[nyikolajevics 2,595]

I can't belive that Wizards beat us so easily Pacers and Thunder are about to be out too.. It looks like Heat will be the champion again.

[Nike 373]

Stop deflecting. Sterling is a racist scumbag, everything else is besides the point.

So what? You're excusing Sterling because 'hey, everybody else is racist'? Because that's exactly what it sounds like.

Boo hoo, woe is me. Affirmative action is redressing the balance and giving opportunities to minorities that have been excluded. It isn't perfect but it's a start. The funny thing is white women have probably benefitted more from affirmative action than anybody else.

But hey don’t worry, he got into that school but you’ll have a much easier life. He’ll have to work twice as hard you for the rest of his working life. Chin up, son.

Sterling is what he is. He is also 80 years old. The average life expectancy in america is 78. If you really take the words seriously from these senior citizens, than you really don't have any older relatives. In addition, the point was Sterling is probably a racist, however, a trick just did him dirty. If all the private conversations the world has were leaked out to the public, can you imagine the mayhem the world would be in. Politicians, ceos, etc, private information is said behind close doors for a reason.

People commend Silver for taking action because of financial repurcussions towards the NBA and the other owners? Why did the NBA never do anything before?

Also, aa is irrelevant (or very very little is consider) on gender in college admissions. AA is pretty much reverse discrimination towards specific people.

[Styles 9,790]

Sterling is what he is. He is also 80 years old. The average life expectancy in america is 78. If you really take the words seriously from these senior citizens, than you really don't have any older relatives. In addition, the point was Sterling is probably a racist, however, a trick just did him dirty. If all the private conversations the world has were leaked out to the public, can you imagine the mayhem the world would be in. Politicians, ceos, etc, private information is said behind close doors for a reason.

People commend Silver for taking action because of financial repurcussions towards the NBA and the other owners? Why did the NBA never do anything before?

Also, aa is irrelevant (or very very little is consider) on gender in college admissions. AA is pretty much reverse discrimination towards specific people.

It's not just words though that can be dismissed; these are the views of a billionaire with far-reaching influence who also owns a professional sports team in a league where the majority of players are Black. So what if he's old? He should be excused? And he's not 'probably' a racist, he is. Why you're giving him the benefit of the doubt and deflecting from the wider issue is baffling.

Silver said yesterday that his previous transgressions were settled out of court and as such there was no admission of guilt. The NBA is absolutely right to take action now.

AA is nothing compared to white privilege.