Effective immediately, I am banning Mr. Sterling for life from any association with the Clippers organization or the NBA. Mr. Sterling may not attend any NBA games or practices; he may not be present at any Clippers facility; and he may not participate in any business or player personnel decisions.
As for Mr. Sterling’s ownership interests, I will urge the Board of Governors to exercise its authority to force the sale of the team and I will do everything in my power to make sure that happens.
(CNN, April 29, 2014)
I am pleased that, in meting out this punishment, which included a maximum fine of $2.5 million, Commissioner Silver did what I called on him to do (in my April 26 commentary below) to the letter.
But I am also heartened that, while announcing this punishment, Silver evinced the tortured spirit I indicated he would feel. This was especially evident when he stressed throughout his opening statement how “personally outraged [and] distressed” he was, as well as when a reporter asked him later to comment on the fact that he and Sterling are both Jews.
That said, I have only a few points to add:
- I took a little flak this morning for lambasting Mavericks owner Mark Cuban for propagating the view that forcing Sterling to sell his team was not the way to go because it would constitute a “slippery slope.” But nothing vindicates my dismissing Cuban as an “attention-seeking buffoon” quite like him tweeting the following about-face at 2:19 this afternoon – even before Silver completed his opening statement:
I agree 100% with Commissioner Silver’s findings and the actions taken against Donald Sterling.
But, trust me, Cuban is not the only defender of Sterling’s ownership interest who will be making this about-face. It’s just that none of them will be quite so brazen and shameless in doing so. What’s more, when (emotional) bidding inflates the value of the Clippers to well over $1 billion, all owners will be guided by their vested interest in ensuring that the sale goes through. After all, if the Clippers were sold for $1 billion, even the Mavericks would have to be valued at $1.5 billion … at least.
- Having punished Sterling so severely, Silver has given himself a much stronger hand to discipline players for unsportsmanlike conduct on the court, as well as conduct unbecoming off the court. It seems every player in the league is hailing him today as a great leader; but notice has been served.
- Much has been made of the millions Sterling donated to Black charities over the years. Well, here’s how one of California’s tech billionaires can earn himself (Mark Zuckerberg) or herself (Sheryl Sandberg) public goodwill beyond measure: Make a public pledge to compensate any charity that wants to cleanse itself of Sterling’s tainted largesse any amount it chooses to return to him.
This, coupled with his NBA banishment, should effectively excise his racist DNA from public life.
Good riddance, Mr. Sterling.
* This commentary was originally published on Tuesday at 4:21 pm