BREAKING: Sterling banned FOR LIFE and fined $2.5 million by NBA commissioner.

[11 Bravo]

Commissioner Adam Silver also said that he will try to force Sterling to sell the team.

[unblock]

1. cnbc reported the suspension was "indefinite" which is very different

and also that the fine was $5mm rather than $2.5mm, either of which is just a minor nuisance for $terling.

[TDale313]

4. The info in the OP is from the press conference

MSNBC was reporting your info before the presser with Commissioner Adam Silver. The 2.5 and banned for life, with a push to force the sale, seems to be official. Silver said the 2.5 mil was the max allowable.

[HooptieWagon]

20. Yes, that is what I heard on live radio coverage of the presser.

[11 Bravo]

15. I heard Commissioner Silver himself say it on NBA TV moments ago.

[Anansi1171]

2. That Silver will push a forced sale is the Key.

Thats what buddies Sheldon Adelson, Donald Trump and Steve Wynn will most loath.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

8. I think they need to slow walk it a bit.

The longer it takes, the more the fans, players and sponsors can tank the value of the team. How much is the team going to be worth if no good players will re-sign as their contracts expire, and no one will sponsor them or sign TV contracts with them? Press a sale too quickly, and Sterling will profit more.

[erpowers]

16. Biggest Name Players Already Resigned

As far as I know both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin have already signed long term contracts with the team.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

3. Mwahah. Cuban must be sweating bullets.

With his 'slippery slope' worries.

I wonder what his particular issue is that he's so worried that Sterling will become a precedent in the attempted ousting of owners?

I'm also extremely curious as to the 'secret' NBA charter and by-laws, given that some talking head today mentioned that they were. Why do they need to be secret? Would making them public seriously tick off the players?

[11 Bravo]

17. Cuban has been a thorn in the side of the Commissioner's office for as long ...

as he has owned the Mavs. He holds the record for most times fined as well as the total aggregate value of fines paid. His fear is that if an owner can be summarily forced to sell their team, then he might be in the crosshairs some day.

[11 Bravo]

22. UPDATE: Mark Cuban just tweeted "100% support for the actions of the Commisssioner".

[Dorian Gray]

34. He's a pain in the ass

and mouthy, but he's not a racist asshole (as long as I know).

[awoke_in_2003]

48. I live in the DFW area....

and can tell you that he is just what you say, but the Mavs fans love him. He took the Keystone Cops of the NBA and made them a winner.

[KeepItReal]

5. Banned for life from all NBA and LA Clippers official functions

and urges the NBA board to force a sale of the LA Clippers

[awoke_in_2003]

49. And he will laugh all the way to the bank...

he bought the team for cheap. He just got a huge payday, unfortunately.

[NuclearDem]

6. Good. Golden parachute concerns aside, at least the Clippers get some reprieve.

[3catwoman3]

7. I am listening to the press conference...

...as I type, and the commissioner said "for life," and also stated that the $2.5 million fine is the maximum allowed by NBA guidelines/bylaws.

[tammywammy]

9. woah.... n/t

[HughBeaumont]

10. Sterling's worth close to $2B.

That fine's a bad parking ticket to him.

[aggiesal]

32. If he is worth $2B, then

$2.5M is only be approximately 0.5% of his worth.

If you're worth $100,000 you fine would be approximatel $500.

[bluedigger]

38. The Clippers are only a portion of his wealth, though.

One estimate has their assumed value at $575M. http://www.forbes.com/nba-valuations/list/

So, if you want to make that argument, his fine was more like 2.3% of the value of his franchise. (And the most they could impose by their own rules.) But you should probably check my math.

[aggiesal]

44. The post I was responding to, said that his worth was $2B

I never only used the value of his NBA franchise.

Also, I was making a comparison to anyone with $100,000 worth.
You can extrapolate up or down from that value.

I believe my math is correct.

[bluedigger]

51. Your math was fine.

I just don't accept the premise that all his wealth is subject to the NBA's retribution. It's a moot point in any case, as they levied the maximum amount allowed by their own self-imposed rules. The real punishment is in the loss of status and access to celebrities that was his real motivation in owning the team in the first place, not the insignificant and paltry (to him) fine. Now he's just another wealthy slumlord, with a high profile that is likely to bring shaming whenever he appears in public. I think he will find buying friends is a lot more expensive than buying an NBA franchise. Maybe Paula Deen will invite him over for dinner.

[awoke_in_2003]

50. And he bought is for about 10% of that. nt

[JaneyVee]

11. Commish name is SILVER and his name is STERLING?

Weird.

[TDale313]

12. Yeah, caught that. n/t

[Blue Owl]

21. Someone's reputation will be tarnished

n/t

[hueymahl]

26. Is making a bad pun a reportable offense?

Have to admit, I did laugh, and then immediately groaned.

[Blue Owl]

28. May he who is stainless cast the first stone

n/t

[riqster]

43. You showed your mettle by making that pun.

And if I may say, it is precious mettle at that.

[H2O Man]

39. Ha!!!!

Very good!

[JBoy]

31. Tomorrow's headline: SILVER POUNDS STERLING n/t

[KurtNYC]

46. +1 JBoy for the win!

[Aristus]

13. How long before some Constitutionally-challenged idiot starts screaming;

"Violation of 1st Amendment rights!"

Unaware, as they likely will be, that the 1st Amendment does not restrain private corporations, only the Federal government...

[erpowers]

19. Believe Some Already Have

It seems there were already a few people saying they did not feel Donald Sterling should lose his team just because of things he said. I do think I saw at least one person tweet out a mention of the first amendment.

[GOPee]

23. This has nothing to do with the 1st Amendment, or any Right or Law.

This is the essence of the 1st Amendment.. He can, and did say it, that was his Right, and the people and his peers punished him.. GOOD!

[bluedigger]

29. The over/under was 12 minutes (from your post) here at DU.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014791370#post33

[frazzled]

14. I feel very relieved by this announcement

It's been very depressing these past few weeks with the sudden overt (it was always covert) outbursts of racism (as well as anti-Semitism).

I am gratified that this swift and definitive action has been taken and sends a message to all those who would spread their racist views. I know we can't get rid of their thoughts, but they can crawl back underground.

I thought Mr. Silver was particularly good in responding to the Fox News correspondent who asked about whether this was a "slippery slope" to punish someone for what was a private conversation. He immediately responded that whatever the nature, it was public now, and the evidence was conclusive. Buh-bye.

[LittleBlue]

18. Good.

Even though I don't watch the NBA, this sounds like a good result.

[spanone]

24. are the militias circling his compound?

[H2O Man]

41. !!!

[Bluenorthwest]

25. Most excellent, Sterling is a long standing villain and scourge to Los Angeles

I have some vague ties to the Clippers team and while I am not a sports fan I always support the Clippers because of knowing a few of their players over the years. I am thrilled that they will not have that bigot in their house any longer, this should have happened literally decades ago. But until Sterling is no longer owner of so many rental units in Los Angeles, his racism and bigotry will remain harmful to many others and it must not be forgotten, eyes must always be on his actions. Always.

[Tarheel_Dem]

27. I'm glad he's out, but for a man who stands to make a half billion dollar profit on the sale, the...

fine is an embarrassment.

[Chef Eric]

45. It's the maximum amount according to the NBA Constitution.

The Commissioner does not have the authority to fine anybody more than the maximum amount.

[ecstatic]

30. Friends for 20 years?

Is it really possible that Silver didn't know Sterling's views? Was the "emotion" that Silver displayed because he felt pressured into throwing his dear friend (who shares his views) under the bus?

[MohRokTah]

33. Looks like Silver passed his first test. eom

[TeamPooka]

35. There's one more seat available at the Staples Center if anyone wants to bring a black man now. nt

[Dopers_Greed]

36. I'm not too worried about Sterling

I'm sure he'll make those millions back easily with regular appearances on Faux

[d_legendary1]

37. How come no one is talking about

how this guy loves law suits? When he moved the team from San Fran. (I believe) he was sued by the NBA because he didn't clear it with them. He then countersued the league for $100 million and got a $6 million dollar settlement out of it. Anyone think the NBA is gonna have the stones to actually make a stand given the history he's had with the league?

[fishwax]

53. he paid the league 6 million, not the other way around

He moved the Clippers from San Diego, and the league fined him 25 million because they hadn't approved it. He countersued for 100 million. They reduced their number to 6 million and he dropped his suit.

[d_legendary1]

54. That's what I meant. Sorry I was still at work when I wrote that with the quickness.

But the point is that he's an old coot with lots of money and good lawyers. How long until he gets his sentenced reduced or puts heat on the NBA?

[Catherine Vincent]

40. Understood and with Sterling beign a billionaire, it's chicken feed

Well, the gf will get her 15 minutes ala TMZ and other paps following her every move.

[AlinPA]

42. I assume that Fox 'news' is defending this bigot.

[chknltl]

47. Great news. I hope our society gets to focus a bit more on racism too.

I'd like to see this remain in the news so folks across our nation will be discussing racism. Sterling's racist revelation could not have come at a better moment because Cliven Bundy's moment of racist scrutiny was close to fading in our media. Combining the two may cause the citizenry to increase their discussion of the topic of racism. Hopefully the racist 'ball' will be picked up by our media, maybe even by our President in order to bring about further introspection throughout our society.

When considering politics, the topic of racism is one the right wing politicians can ill afford, especially with an election coming up. When discussing racism the sub-topics immigration, voter suppression and aid for the impoverished become available for discussion. As we well know, the right wing politicians have stumbled badly with all of these sub-topics when looked at by the American electorate.

This could make for a Win-Win, one for our society and another for...well for our society too!

[DCBob]

52. Sounds like they also have the votes to force him to sell.

Which is very good news indeed.

[d_legendary1]

55. If that's the case then

Good riddance.

[alarimer]

56. I've been trying to figure out why this story bothers me so much.

Donald Sterling is a racist, through and through, but it was only when he was caught saying something nasty that the NBA decides to ban him.

What about his long history of being a racist, discriminatory slumlord? Somehow THAT's okay with everyone. Well, not everyone, but the NBA at least is willing to overlook it. He has done more harm through his actions than through these nasty remarks. Yet it goes pretty much unremarked.



http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/04/donald_sterling_s_racist_history_the_l_a_clippers_owner_hurt_more_minorities.html


Donald Sterling settled for an undisclosed sum in 2005—paying $5 million in plaintiff legal fees—but faced renewed scrutiny in 2006, following federal civil rights charges. According to the Justice Department, Sterling, his wife, and his three companies engaged in housing discrimination by refusing to rent to blacks and “creating, maintaining, and perpetuating an environment that is hostile to non-Korean tenants” at their properties. Again, Sterling settled. He paid $2.65 million to a fund for people harmed by his discriminatory practices—a record sum in a federal housing suit—as well as $100,000 to the government.

These were huge offenses—entrenchments of disadvantage in a city segmented by past bias. After all, Los Angeles was heavily redlined throughout the 20th century, with blacks, Mexicans, Chinese, and other minorities blocked from mortgage loans and relegated to the least desirable parts of the city.

But, despite the magnitude of the offenses and the size of the settlements, there was no outrage. Sterling caused actual harm to dozens of families, and the response was near silence. And it’s in that contrast that we can clearly see our public hypocrisy on racism.

[Jesus Malverde]

57. We know why the NBA ignored it, why did the NAACP?..nt

[BootinUp]

58. Because the only people making significant contributions

are rich assholes?

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

59. Because they're the ones with the most money.