Oh, Mr. Sterling

[CitySushi]

Lifetime ban for Sterling. 2.5M fine (largest allowable by by-laws). Silver will also ask the owners to vote out Sterling as an owner.

 

[msgkings322]

Lifetime ban for Sterling. 2.5M fine (largest allowable by by-laws). Silver will also ask the owners to vote out Sterling as an owner.

All as expected. He'll be selling the team.

 

[TobyTyler]

Lifetime ban for Sterling. 2.5M fine (largest allowable by by-laws). Silver will also ask the owners to vote out Sterling as an owner.

Absolutely absurd. Sterling will never stand for it. He's going to pull an "Al Davis" on them. This will be a long court battle during which time an injunction will be filed against the NBA on his behalf disallowing this punishment until the courts can hear the case. We'll be seeing a lot of Mr. Sterling in the near future.

 

[CitySushi]

Absolutely absurd. Sterling will never stand for it. He's going to pull an "Al Davis" on them. This will be a long court battle during which time an injunction will be filed against the NBA on his behalf disallowing this punishment until the courts can hear the case. We'll be seeing a lot of Mr. Sterling in the near future.

Sterling will absolutely not fight the ban or the fine. There's no reason for him to do it.

The tricky part will be on his forced selling of the team if it comes to it. Either way you'll never see him at another Clipper function again, even if he gets to remain an absentee owner.

 

[TobyTyler]

Sterling will absolutely not fight the ban or the fine. There's no reason for him to do it.

The tricky part will be on his forced selling of the team if it comes to it. Either way you'll never see him at another Clipper function again, even if he gets to remain an absentee owner.

Of course he will. He's got 2.5 million reasons to fight it, not to mention the prestige he wants to keep. He's an even bigger arrogant asshole than Al Davis. He'll fight it just like Davis fought the NFL and I bet he wins. If not he'll drag this thing out forever.
There is no law against having a private opinion; especially one brought to light by illegal means. If this goes to court and the only evidence the NBA has is the recording, how long do you think it will take a competent attorney to get illegally obtained evidence thrown out?

 

[sjballer03]

Of course he will. He's got 2.5 million reasons to fight it, not to mention the prestige he wants to keep. He's an even bigger arrogant asshole than Al Davis. He'll fight it just like Davis fought the NFL and I bet he wins. If not he'll drag this thing out forever.
There is no law against having a private opinion; especially one brought to light by illegal means. If this goes to court and the only evidence the NBA has is the recording, how long do you think it will take a competent attorney to get illegally obtained evidence thrown out?

This is not a legal matter. Antitrust laws allow leagues to make decisions like this. Sterling is costing the NBA millions of dollars already. The Clippers lost at least 20 sponsors and many more were waiting to see what the NBA will do. With revenue sharing, this issue indirectly affects all the other franchises. Once you start costing the entire league millions, you are as good as gone. It doesn't matter what the mistake is. It just business and thus is allowable by the NBA by-laws.

 

[gsw_lightning]

Like Mark Cuban said a couple days ago, this is going to go down a slippery slope. Cuban has had his own run-ins with the NBA office in the past, and knows of what he speaks. Sterling has been around the NBA a very long time, and probably had anticipated a long time ago for such an event, and already has a "poison pill" inserted into the Clippers ownership situation. The NBA owners will be viewing this unfortunate episode as some vengeful hag wanting to get her 15 minutes of fame somehow, and will move to circle the wagons on future ownership possibilities for certain prospective people (you can guess which ones). I wouldn't be surprise to learn that Sterling had anticipated the "disloyalty" of the mistress in advance, and is just playing the odds to expose any "conspiracy" against him, so that his enemies can be revealed in public while Sterling is in the background watching.

 

[CitySushi]

Of course he will. He's got 2.5 million reasons to fight it, not to mention the prestige he wants to keep. He's an even bigger arrogant asshole than Al Davis. He'll fight it just like Davis fought the NFL and I bet he wins. If not he'll drag this thing out forever.
There is no law against having a private opinion; especially one brought to light by illegal means. If this goes to court and the only evidence the NBA has is the recording, how long do you think it will take a competent attorney to get illegally obtained evidence thrown out?

The owners express their opinions about referee's all the time. That leads to fines which are never overturned. The NBA has a wide range of what they can fine owner's and management for, otherwise Cuban would have paid upwards of 2 Million in fines. The fine will absolutely stand.

 

[msgkings322]

Of course he will. He's got 2.5 million reasons to fight it, not to mention the prestige he wants to keep. He's an even bigger arrogant asshole than Al Davis. He'll fight it just like Davis fought the NFL and I bet he wins. If not he'll drag this thing out forever.
There is no law against having a private opinion; especially one brought to light by illegal means. If this goes to court and the only evidence the NBA has is the recording, how long do you think it will take a competent attorney to get illegally obtained evidence thrown out?

All the answers already to this post are 100% correct, I just wanted to note re: the bolded...

The 'prestige' he wants to keep? Dude, that guy is TOAST. What kind of 'prestige' is he going to have after this? Even if he somehow managed to stay owner, which he won't, he will now always be widely known as the racist dick he was only known by some to be before this. Prestige?

So in this, as in pretty much everything, you are wrong. Again.

 

[msgkings322]

Like Mark Cuban said a couple days ago, this is going to go down a slippery slope. Cuban has had his own run-ins with the NBA office in the past, and knows of what he speaks. Sterling has been around the NBA a very long time, and probably had anticipated a long time ago for such an event, and already has a "poison pill" inserted into the Clippers ownership situation. The NBA owners will be viewing this unfortunate episode as some vengeful hag wanting to get her 15 minutes of fame somehow, and will move to circle the wagons on future ownership possibilities for certain prospective people (you can guess which ones). I wouldn't be surprise to learn that Sterling had anticipated the "disloyalty" of the mistress in advance, and is just playing the odds to expose any "conspiracy" against him, so that his enemies can be revealed in public while Sterling is in the background watching.

Man this thing brings out some weirdness. Sometimes it just is what it is. You'll see.

 

[TobyTyler]

This is not a legal matter. Antitrust laws allow leagues to make decisions like this. Sterling is costing the NBA millions of dollars already. The Clippers lost at least 20 sponsors and many more were waiting to see what the NBA will do. With revenue sharing, this issue indirectly affects all the other franchises. Once you start costing the entire league millions, you are as good as gone. It doesn't matter what the mistake is. It just business and thus is allowable by the NBA by-laws.

I bet we are going to find out. I don't see Sterling gong down without a fight. I think the NBA was in a hurry to get a decision out that would make them look sufficiently concerned abut racism before the game tonight. I just hope they thought this through for their sake because if they didn't this could get very ugly and very public. I'm betting Sterling knows a lot about skeletons in the NBA's closet such as dirty dealings with the Union.

 

[TobyTyler]

The owners express their opinions about referee's all the time. That leads to fines which are never overturned. The NBA has a wide range of what they can fine owner's and management for, otherwise Cuban would have paid upwards of 2 Million in fines. The fine will absolutely stand.

Thus the word "private" in my post that you bolded. Public and private statements are completely different; especially those brought to light by illegal means.

 

[TobyTyler]

All the answers already to this post are 100% correct, I just wanted to note re: the bolded...

The 'prestige' he wants to keep? Dude, that guy is TOAST. What kind of 'prestige' is he going to have after this? Even if he somehow managed to stay owner, which he won't, he will now always be widely known as the racist dick he was only known by some to be before this. Prestige?

So in this, as in pretty much everything, you are wrong. Again.

Nope. There is always an amount of prestige in owning a professional sports franchise. And if you think that many other of these good old rich boy owners don't harbor the same feelings toward what they see as lesser people then you are a bigger fool than I thought you were.

 

[gsw_lightning]

I bet we are going to find out. I don't see Sterling gong down without a fight. I think the NBA was in a hurry to get a decision out that would make them look sufficiently concerned abut racism before the game tonight. I just hope they thought this through for their sake because if they didn't this could get very ugly and very public. I'm betting Sterling knows a lot about skeletons in the NBA's closet such as dirty dealings with the Union.

Since the Clippers organization is owned by the Sterling FAMILY in CALIFORNIA, let me explain to you what ESPN just said on air... there will be problems getting the Sterling FAMILY to sell the team. Why? Sterling's WIFE is part-owner, so even if Donald is banned for life, Sterling's WIFE still owns the team. This "poison pill" ownership situation, along with California laws on marriage and assets, is why Donald Sterling isn't too worried about some vengeful hag mistress wanting to get her 15 minutes of fame. And Sterling's wife isn't going to give up her lifestyle the NBA money brings any time soon. The NBA owners will be viewing this episode in that light, and will be circling the wagons to prevent certain persons (you can guess who) from coming into their club.

 

[TobyTyler]

And it begins:

Report: Donald Sterling says Clippers are ?not for sale? | The Point Forward - SI.com

 

[TobyTyler]

Since the Clippers organization is owned by the Sterling FAMILY in CALIFORNIA, let me explain to you what ESPN just said on air... there will be problems getting the Sterling FAMILY to sell the team. Why? Sterling's WIFE is part-owner, so even if Donald is banned for life, Sterling's WIFE still owns the team. This "poison pill" ownership situation, along with California laws on marriage and assets, is why Donald Sterling isn't too worried about some vengeful hag mistress wanting to get her 15 minutes of fame. And Sterling's wife isn't going to give up her lifestyle the NBA money brings any time soon. The NBA owners will be viewing this episode in that light, and will be circling the wagons to prevent certain persons (you can guess who) from coming into their club.

I agree. As usual MSGKings spouts off without thinking.

 

[sjballer03]

I bet we are going to find out. I don't see Sterling gong down without a fight. I think the NBA was in a hurry to get a decision out that would make them look sufficiently concerned abut racism before the game tonight. I just hope they thought this through for their sake because if they didn't this could get very ugly and very public. I'm betting Sterling knows a lot about skeletons in the NBA's closet such as dirty dealings with the Union.

Sterling can try all he wants to fight it, but when he bought the team, he agreed to whatever rules the NBA operates by. That's how the antitrust exemption works. If you don't know what that is, it means the league operates on its own without interference from any branch of the US government. If the other owners want him gone, he's gone. They already convinced the commish to ban and fine him for a start. The board of governors has the authority to force the sale of the team. There are 31 other owners in the NBA that will help Silver determine the Clippers' final fate. This phase of the process is much more complicated and will take a long time to resolve.

 

[TobyTyler]

Sterling can try all he wants to fight it, but when he bought the team, he agreed to whatever rules the NBA operates by. That's how the antitrust exemption works. If you don't know what that is, it means the league operates on its own without interference from any branch of the US government. If the other owners want him gone, he's gone. They already convinced the commish to ban and fine him for a start. The board of governors has the authority to force the sale of the team. There are 31 other owners in the NBA that will help Silver determine the Clippers' final fate. This phase of the process is much more complicated and will take a long time to resolve.

That's what Major League Baseball thought. Does the name Curt Flood mean anything to you? How 'bout the term "free agency". Did those issues not go to court despite MLB being "exempt" from Anti Trust Laws?

Donald Sterling is a very rich man with nearly inexhaustable financial resources. Do you really think he cannot find some way to at least get a temporary injunction against the majority of the owners voting to oust him? C'mon now.

 

[sjballer03]

That's what Major League Baseball thought. Does the name Curt Flood mean anything to you? How 'bout the term "free agency". Did those issues not go to court despite MLB being "exempt" from Anti Trust Laws?

Donald Sterling is a very rich man with nearly inexhaustable financial resources. Do you really think he cannot find some way to at least get a temporary injunction against the majority of the owners voting to oust him? C'mon now.

Yes, I'm aware of Curt Flood. He brought up an issue that the rest of his peers (fellow players) agreed upon since it helped their own interests. Sterling is a business owner who knew what he was buying into. His own peers (the other owners) have already denounced him and said their own interests do not match that of Sterling's. Comparing Flood to Sterling is like comparing apples and oranges. If you are still confused, look up Marge Schott.

Also, the NBA is immensely richer than Sterling, with even more resources. There are 31 other billionaire ownership groups in the NBA. He doesn't stand a chance even if it goes to court.

 

[southernfriedwarrior]

He'll probably try to "give" the team to his wife or a family member. Whether making racist statements violates the bylaws/constitution of the league might be debatable according to what I read. They'll get rid of him, but maybe not in the way they'd prefer.