Lifetime Ban (Page 2)

Yes, they can. And HE agreed to it. HE even AGREED to binding arbitration for all matters when he signed the contract. That is what he agrees to by being an owner of a NBA franchise. As usual... if you do not want stupid chit happening to you, don't do stupid chit. He got exactly what he asked for.

I wonder if this will be a benchmark event.  I mean, we have players and coaches saying racial things on the court, beating up fans, committing all kinds of off the court/field offenses - many illegal, and they get what?  A short suspension?  Nothing?

Obviously they can pick and choose, but it will be interesting to see if an owner gets a DUI or charged with domestic violence and see what the penalty is.

For example, Jim Irsay (Colts Owner - Yes, I know NFL) was arrested and has four felony counts/preliminary charges of driving under the influence and possession of a controlled substances.  Not sure if anything will happen to him. There is no talk of banning or forcing him out.  What do you do to someone who is jeopardizing the lives of people and breaking laws if private, bigoted statements makes you lose a team.

I don't care he's gone.  We don't need the Sterlings and Schotts spreading their hate in the world.  But it will be interesting to see how the NBA handles future altercations after dishing out a penalty like this.

It's polarizing.  Listening to Sports radio all day and everyone is all over the place.  Lots of legal "experts" and none seem to agree. 

Ya they did pretty much nuke him. So many inconsistencies in professional sports. Some priorities are pretty out of wack. If you are talent making people money, it's all good. But look at Incognito... benchmark event? Plenty of head scratchers. But it is obvious as society changes, so do expected norms of professional sports... even if they are WAY behind. 

Thank you

I didn't even know the guy existed 2 days ago. Not every body knows every body. I'm only shocked that a guy that old and rich has not learned who to keep his trap shut around. That perhaps a mistress would exploit a situation for money. That is shocking to me. A racist old white guy... not so much. 

Yeah, if you don't follow the NBA then you wouldn't know about this idiot.  He's been this way forever.....which is one of the points Only Money makes.  It comes off as somewhat disingenuous that some of the players are now up in arms over his statements.  Nobody has had any problem taking his money all these years and this is certainly not the first time he has shown his colors.

Well then... that sort of changes things. Not the punishment, but I get what you are saying.

All of this stuff has a context.  I'm tired of hearing from players/coaches in his organization who have known about him forever, and kept cashing the checks.  It's like now that their dirty little secret is out in the open they all want to pile on....but never said a word while they collected millions.  Guess what.......shut up.  Yeah, the idiot is getting what he had coming to him, but they don't get to throw stones with the crowd...... because they traded their stones, and their balls, in a long time ago. Pathetic. 

Oh...almost forgot....my sentiments will go double for the other owners if they force him to sell.  Fork them.  This is old news......but now that the world knows they get forced to act?  They get no pass from me.....spineless greedy arseholes, if they pull that crap, is all they will be.  Of course, you (collective you) are free to think they are justifiably outraged in their actions.  Sure.

SHHHHHHHH!!!  Nobody knows about that.

But if they find out......hang somebody!  (try to make it an 80 year old nutjob at the end of his usefulness as a paycheck, everybody will get on board)

Damn. LOL

Wait.....I hate Bill Maher, he's a punk.

I have thought about this a lot, and have gone back and forth a bit.

When it comes down to it...I do think the punishment is correct.  The reason being is that I believe there are two separate issues here.  The action itself, and the repercussions of those actions.

The NBA is a business.  It depends on it's fans and sponsors to generate money, and when you do something to jeopardize that business, action needs to be taken.  You can debate whether or not the public and players are overreacting to the statements Sterling made, but it is what it is.  If the vast majority of the people that put money into your product are upset, then action needs to be taken to protect your business.  Owners know this when they buy a team.  CEO's of big companies know that their dirty laundry matters more than the guys that work in their mail room.  It's just how the way the world works.  If you don't want your personal life to matter...don't work in a business or in a position that's in the eye of the public.  If you don't want to get black balled by your fellow country club members...don't join a country club.

When Kobe Bryant cheats on his wife, or lets a gay slur roll off his tounge, people will get upset, but they also have some room for forgiveness because he's a great player.  Is that fair?  In the world of business...nobody cares if it's fair...they just care if people will still pay money to watch him play.  Obviously the answer is yes.  When Riley Cooper drops the N bomb...and his teammates and some fans are willing to forgive him, but not forgive Sterling...is that fair?  Again...it's not about what's fair...it's about how people are going to react.  Riley Cooper is just a receiver and not someone the general public is willing to get really furious about.  Donte Stallworth was under the influence and killed a man with his car.  Served his time, then was allowed back in the league.  You would think that killing someone would get you a lifetime ban right?  But the fact of the matter is that one NFL player and those specific actions aren't enough to cause a public uproar where players and fans are willing to boycott games.  But a billionare white owner who makes racist comments in a private conversation is capable of causing that type of uproar.  

Every NBA owner will vote to have Sterling sell.  Because they would be stupid not to.  Even if they believe that these type of actions should not warrant a forced sale, the repercussions are too great if the public finds out they vote no.  Owners need to protect their business.  Silver is the commissioner who is hired by the owners.  It's his job to make rulings in the best interest of the other owners.  So none of this surprises me.

Well said Jason. 

First of all, I thing the guy is a total puke and something needed to happen.

What is really pathetic about this is the number of people that have come out and said that he’s been this way for YEARS and everyone in the Clippers organization, including several execs in the NBA corporate office, knew about it. They accepted his behavior.  They accepted his opinions.  And they certainly accepted their pay checks.   If that’s the case, why is it happening now???

I’m a firm believer that something is certainly behind the push to get Sterling out and this phone call just gave whoever is pulling the strings the needed ammunition to make it happen.

 I was driving when I was listening to the live press conference and almost crashed I was so blown away.  Lifetime ban?  $2.5 mill fine?  Forced to sell team?  Wow!  Maybe this is the first step to clean up a sport that needs a major house cleaning.  I’d love to be able to take my kids to a game and not hear cursing and racial slurs, and watch guys on the court that are not criminals (assault, drugs, burglary, DUI’s etc, etc, etc).  It is certainly NOT an environment to bring my boys to that love the sport of basketball. 

Maybe this decision give allow Adam Silver the power to get the NBA back on track.

The ONLY reason it's happening now is because the dirty laundry got aired in public.  You can rest assured that if his recorded conversation would have never made the headlines it would be business as usual for the Clippers and the NBA......even though they undeniably knew everything the public knows now.  I agree that it's pathetic......not that Mr. Idiot is getting his due, screw him,  but that nobody had the gonads to stand up and say THIS IS WRONG!  Hell, even the way he got outed stinks.  It was doesn't done out of any moral obligation or sense of right and wrong, it was done out of spite and revenge and greed.  They all deserve each other.

And mow it's revealed that even the NAACP is willing to close it's eyes to keep the money flowing.  You can't make this stuff up.  LMAO

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/30/opinion/granderson-naacp-sterling/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 

I'll say it again.....they all deserve each other.

it's happening now because sponsors threatened to pull out if the NBA didn't take action.  it's a business.  he made a financially based decision.  keep the games going, keep the sponsors happy, keep the money coming in.