Clippers Owner Accused of Racist Comments, Will Clips Respond

After allegations that  L.A. Clippers owner, Donald Sterling, made racist remarks about Blacks in an audio obtained by TMZ, everyone from Twitter to NBA players to sports announcers and fans wondered exactly how the players would respond, especially as they were in the middle of a playoff series with the Golden State Warriors.

Head coach Doc Rivers said that after a team meeting everyone was upset, but that they would play the game regardless, though the sentiment on social media was that the players should boycott the game.

Instead, the team, including Chris Paul, who is also the NBA Players Association president, staged a silent protest removing their shooting shirts, and warming up with their practice jerseys inside out. The players also wore black armbands and black socks in a protest reminiscent of the famous Black Power salute made by track stars John Carlos and Tommie Smith at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City.

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Sterling, after talking with the NBA, did not attend the game. His wife, Rochelle Sterling did, but denounced the comments made by her husband.

“I don’t condone those statements and I don’t believe in them,” Rochelle Sterling told ESPN. “I’m not a racist. Never have been, never will be. The team is the most important thing to my family.”

Despite the silent protest, the Clippers lost to the Warriors 118-97, evening the series at 2-2.

President Obama weighed in on the controversy, as did Miami Heat player LeBron James, who said an owner like Sterling doesn’t belong in the league.

Citing everyone in the league’s right to due process, new NBA commissioner Adam Silver held a press conference but says he is not prepared to discuss any sanctions against Sterling until further investigation.

The NBA is investigating the audio, obtained by TMZ, in which a man purported to be Sterling makes racist remarks while speaking to his girlfriend. An extended version of the audio can be heard here. 

In the original recording, Sterling and his girlfriend V. Stiviano, who is being sued by Sterling’s wife, discuss her Instagram photo with former NBA great Magic Johnson, now deleted. Sterling tells her he doesn’t want Stiviano, who is herself half-Mexican and half-Black, that he doesn’t want her taking pictures with Black people on Instagram and that he doesn’t want her bringing Black people to any Clippers games.

NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement Saturday that the league is in the process of authenticating the validity of the recording posted on TMZ’s website. Bass called the comments “disturbing and offensive.” Stiviano’s lawyer has released a statement to the media validating the accuracy of the tapes, but Stiviano denies leaking the tape to TMZ.

In the recording posted on TMZ, the man questions his girlfriend’s association with minorities. The AP couldn’t immediately independently verify it was Sterling’s voice on the recording.

Twitter and Magic Johnson have already taken it at face value. Johnson tweeted that he would never attend another NBA game while Sterling was the team’s owner. He has also called for a boycott of Clippers games which Twitter has responded to as  a trending topic, with many favoring a boycott of the team. In his comments to TMZ, Johnson says he believes fans should boycott, but not players.

Several outlets have reported that the Clippers have held a meeting to discuss the recording. Clippers guard Chris Paul is also the president of the NBA Player’s Association, so this presents a particularly tricky situation for him. His Twitter account has been inundated with comments from fans and others who are wondering when the and his teammates will issue a statement. So far, neither the players, Sterling or head coach Doc Rivers have made any public statement. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was already scheduled to attend the Clippers  playoff game tomorrow.

Paul, on behalf of the NBA players association, has released a statement that reads:

“On behalf of the National Basketball Players Association, this is a very serious issue which we will address aggressively,” it read. “We have asked Mayor Kevin Johnson to expand his responsibilities with the NBPA, to determine our response and our next steps. As players, we owe it to our teams and our fans to keep our focus on our game, the playoffs, and a drive to the Finals.”

Elgin Baylor, former NBA player and Clippers GM for 22 years, lost a discrimination case against Sterling in 2011, told ESPN.com that he’s far from surprised by the sentiments expressed in the audio.

“Myself and other people of color were subjected to this mentality for over 20 years,” Baylor told ESPN. “I both witnessed and experienced it. What he said speaks for itself.”

Former Clipper Baron Davis, who said in an interview before the audio surfaced that his time with the team made him lost interest in basketball, was also no far of Sterling’s. He tweeted today:

 

Former NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, who is the league’s only African-American majority owner, declined to comment at first but has now issued a statement that says:

“I look at this from two perspectives — as a current owner and a former player. As an owner, I’m obviously disgusted that a fellow team owner could hold such sickening and offensive views,” the statement says. “I’m confident that (NBA commissioner) Adam Silver will make a full investigation and take appropriate action quickly.

As a former player, I’m completely outraged. There is no room in the NBA — or anywhere else — for the kind of racism and hatred that Mr. Sterling allegedly expressed. I am appalled that this type of ignorance still exists within our country and at the highest levels of our sport. In a league where the majority of players are African-American, we cannot and must not tolerate discrimination at any level.”

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, usually outspoken on any topic, tweeted that “It’s playoff time, no time to talk about anything that’s not about our Mavs.”

Rev. Jesse Jackson issued a statement that says that the NBA should quickly take a stand.

“The first burden is upon the commissioner, Adam Silver, to act decisively because we don’t want this to drag on throughout the playoffs,” the noted civil rights activist said. “Donald Sterling should be banned immediately. The question is for how long. To do otherwise would subject his players to the indignity of working for a racist.

“And since Donald Sterling doesn’t want blacks to go to his games, blacks should not go to his games. And whites who view blacks as equals should not go to his games. Why should the players even play for him when he has stated that their relatives — their children, their parents, some of their wives — are not welcome at their games?”

Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network says they are prepared to protest outside the Clippers/Wizards playoff game in Los Angeles.

Sterling, who has owned the Clippers since 1981  is the NBA owner with the longest tenure since Lakers owner Jerry Buss died in 2013.

He has been under fire for years, settling cases of sexual harassment and a paying a record $2.75 million to settle a federal housing discrimination lawsuit, although Sterling and his then-wife did not admit any wrongdoing in the case.

(Photo: AP)

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