The Donald Sterling situation

I have the day off, and I have spent the entire morning listening to the opinions of numerous people about the statements made by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. I am not sure when exactly the statements he made took place, but a conversation between Sterling and his girlfriend were recorded in which he made multiple racist statements about black NBA players, and black people in general. If you want to find the audio of his statements, it is not hard to do, but what they basically did was make public the fact that he had racist feelings about African-Americans.
The story has exploded over the past few days, and the reaction of NBA players, coaches, owners, fans, and analysts have all been voiced.

The immediate reaction of the Los Angeles Clippers players was to shed their warm-ups that displayed the team name, and wear their shoot around shirts inside out before their game last night in Oakland against the Golden State Warriors. They then proceeded to lose by 21 points, and the series is now tied at two and heading back to Los Angeles. The players also declined to speak to the media about Sterling's comments, and head coach Doc Rivers was the lone member of the organization to address the media about the comments. He said that he was not involved in the decision of the Clippers' players, and was not a fan of it, but he felt that it was their right to do whatever they wanted.
What will be even more interesting to see is what the atmosphere in the Staples Center will be like for Game 5, which in terms of basketball, is a very important game. However, Sterling's racist remarks have seemingly overshadowed a very good series, and that will surely be the lead story leading into Game 5.

Obviously, there has been outrage about Sterling's remarks. People like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, LeBron James, and even President Obama have weighed in and voiced their disapproval. James said that he would never play for Sterling, and I'm sure there are plenty of players throughout the league who feel the same way, but obviously James' statement means the most because he is the face of the league right now. While what Sterling said was clearly ignorant and dismaying, he said it, and it is now out there for the world to hear. That cannot be changed. The dilemma now is addressing what he said, and dealing with its impact on the Los Angeles Clippers, and the NBA in general.

As is the case in the world we live in, people are calling for immediate crucifixion of Sterling. Jeff Van Gundy said that every member of the Clippers roster and coaching staff should become free agents at the end of the season. Stephen A. Smith said that Sterling should be forced to sell the team to a black man. In my mind, not only are those opinions ludicrous, but they are also unrealistic.
If the players and coaches all became free agents, would their contracts be voided? If so, that would mean that they would be denied money that they rightfully earned. Then, would there even be teams who wanted to sign them? Obviously, the stars of the team like Chris Paul and Blake Griffin would be wanted, but how many other teams would be able to afford them? We don't know.
Paul and Griffin would be able to sign with other teams, but what about players like Ryan Hollins and Jared Dudley at the end of LA's bench? Who is to say that they would even be signed by another team? By making guys like them free agents, you would deny them money that they might never be able to make again, and that is completely unfair to them.
With that aside, what kind of Pandora's Box would that then open? Would an NBA owner charged with some kind of crime immediately be forced to let his entire roster go? Sterling has not even been charged with any crime, and he will not be. Would offensive statements made by an owner then qualify him to face the same punishment? It would be the beginning of an extremely slippery slope that the NBA should want no part of.

Then, let's look at Stephen A. Smith's suggestion of Sterling being forced to sell his team to a black man. I see a whole lot of flaws in this "punishment" as well. First, and most importantly, is the fact that anyone could call being forced to sell the Clippers a "punishment." Sterling bought the Clippers in 1981 for $12.5 million. $12.5 million. Right now, Sterling's estimated net worth is $1.9 billion. That means that Sterling's net worth is over 150,000 times what he bought the Clippers for. If he were to be "forced" to sell the team, it is likely that he would get upwards of $500 million for it, and that is a low estimate. That means, after buying the team for $12.5 million, his profit would be exponentially enormous. So how in the world is that a "punishment?" Plus, if Sterling were "forced" to sell the team to a black man, how would that man be viewed in not only the black community, but the American public in general. He would have just given an outright racist hundreds of millions of dollars. Is paying a known racist that much money a good way to start a tenure as a black owner? Surely not. Would that hurt Sterling's pockets? No. It would make them larger than most people could ever imagine. So again, we have a proposed "punishment" that is extremely nonsensical.

People like Sterling are concerned with only one thing; the bottom line. The ineptitude of the Clippers over the past few decades have proven that point. Even before these comments were made public, Sterling was known as a bad owner. His teams have been putrid for years, and until very recently, have been a non-factor when it comes to contention for an NBA title. However, as I just pointed out, Sterling has still profited from his initial purchase, so why then should it bother him? There are owners that genuinely care about the success of their franchise. Men like George Steinbrenner, Mark Cuban and, despite my hatred for him and his team, Jerry Jones exemplify that.
To a knowledgeable basketball fan, Sterling has been the complete opposite of that since he took control of the Clippers 33 years ago. He dabbles in the day-to-day activities of the team, but for the most part, he is only interested in how much money the team can make him. 2014 is probably the best chance that the Clippers have ever had to win an NBA title, and it is a shame that what Sterling said has overshadowed that.

Therefore, I am really not sure if there is a legitimate way to punish Sterling for making the racist remarks that he made. Can commissioner Adam Silver suspend Sterling? Sure. But what does that really do? Instead of watching Clippers games from courtside, he will watch them from the mansion that he lives in? Not much of a "punishment." Can he fine Sterling? The maximum fine that Silver and the NBA would be able to levy would be $1 million. Will that be a significant financial loss for Sterling? Surely. However, would it cripple his finances? No. I really think that it is impossible to "punish" Sterling in the short term, and if he will actually feel any sort of effect from what he said, it will not happen until years down the road.

As I have said before, Sterling is most concerned with the bottom line. While I am not sure, I am assuming that all tickets to Game 5 have already been sold. Therefore, Sterling is profiting from the game before it even happens. If fans do not show up, the team will obviously lose money from less concessions and merchandise sales, but is that loss, for one game, going to seriously affect Sterling's pockets? No, it is not. If the series between the Clippers and the Warriors goes to a Game 7, that game would be held in Los Angeles. Could fans refuse to buy tickets to that game? Absolutely. However, the monkey wrench in this all is the fact that this may actually the best Clippers team that has ever existed. Will every Clippers fan boycott a Game 7 because of what the owner of the team said? I'm sorry, but the answer to that is no. Long suffering Clippers fans have waited for this moment, and now that it is actually here, I cannot fault them for wanting to experience it.
The fans go to the games to cheer for the players, they don't go to the games to cheer for the owner of the team. The players play the games for each other, as well as for the fans. When they are on the court, I find it very hard to believe that the owner of their team is their prime motivation. The owner signs the checks, but he is not giving his blood, sweat, and tears on the court each and every day. The coach does his job with the team in mind, and by team, I don't mean owners and executives. Doc Rivers gives 100% day in and day out for his staff and his team.

The only way that Sterling can truly be hurt by his statements is through his pockets. If he remains as the owner, fans can refuse to buy tickets. Players can refuse to join his team as free agents. Businesses and companies can refuse to support him. A company named CarMax has already severed its relationship with the Clippers. Some guy named Tank (I'm sorry that I have no idea who that is) has refused to sing the national anthem at Game 5. Those are the things that will hurt Sterling. Those are the things that he is most concerned about.
We have seen men like Alex Rodriguez, Tiger Woods, and Lance Armstrong lose sponsorship deals because of their personal indiscretions, but in reality, have they actually been sincerely affected by those losses? Probably not. Now, take into account the fact that those men are millionaires. Donald Sterling is an 81-year old billionaire. Is there really a way to truly punish him in a way that will seriously hurt him? I do not think so.

So, in realistic terms, I find it hard to believe that there is any kind of sufficient "punishment" that Sterling could face. He is a racist. According to the first amendment of our Constitution, even though most may not agree with him, his feelings are completely legal. He cannot be forcibly removed from his position as owner of the Clippers unless he sells the team and makes an exponentially larger profit than he originally invested in the franchise. Sterling actually has legal grounds to sue whoever recorded his conversation with his girlfriend that exposed his feelings, because it is illegal to record a conversation without all parties knowingly being involved. Therefore, if he does decide to sue, he could make even more of a profit than he would make if he only sold the Clippers franchise.

We might not agree with Sterling, but unless I am missing something, I don't think that there is any way he would be unable to profit from whatever happens to him. In the court of public opinion, he may be forever smeared, but in terms of his money, there is little to no chance that he will take a significant hit. It might be sad, but it is true.

There are many people who have died as rich racists before, and there will be many men who will die the same way in the future. It might anger a whole lot of basketball fans in 2014, but it seems to me that it is unavoidable that Donald Sterling, whenever he does pass away, will be a clear member of that fraternity.

Daily Nets Update: The Raptors won last night to tie the series at 2, and the teams will travel to Toronto for Game 5. Obviously, it will be a huge game, and the winner will come out ecstatic, while the loser will come out in a huge hole. Hopefully, the Nets can be the ecstatic ones.

Daily Rangers Update: The Rangers got a huge win at home last night to take a 3-2 edge in the series against the Flyers. Game 6 will be tomorrow night in Philadelphia, and it sure would be nice to get a win then as opposed to going to a Game 7, where anything can happen, regardless of the location.

Daily Diamondbacks Update: After three straight wins, the DBacks blew a 5-0 lead against the Phillies on Saturday and followed that up by getting shut out yesterday. They now stand at 8-20 overall, and are a truly putrid 2-13 at home. The Rockies come to town starting tonight with Wade Miley taking the mound against Franklin Morales. At this point the motto is pretty much, "hope for the best, but expect the worst."