Where Is Adam Silver Now?

[trojanfan12]

Yeah, look at the post above this one...the dude's apologizing now.

That doesn't sound like a guy who knows he's got a strong hand of cards to play. He knows he's toast.

Actually, it's a smart move on his part for when this thing ends up in court. Now, he can not only use the fact what he said is not covered in the NBA by-laws as a reason to take his team, he can also say that he is remorseful, tried to make amends and tried to avoid a long legal battle.

From a legal standpoint, as reprehensible as his statements were, they simply don't appear to rise to the level of being something that the NBA can legally take his team from him for. Shelly's case to keep her 50% is even stronger than his.

Basically, unless the NBA can somehow convince both Sterlings to voluntarily sell their half of the team (which seems unlikely given their recent comments), the NBA is in for a long legal battle that they are unlikely to win.

 

[trojanfan12]

"Under the NBA Constitution, if a controlling owner's interest is terminated by a 3/4 vote, all other team owners' interests are automatically terminated as well. It doesn't matter whether the owners are related as is the case here. These are the rules to which all NBA owners agreed to as a condition of owning their team."

This is the NBA's "interpretation" of their by-laws. The problem is that it's unlikely to hold up in court because what he said isn't covered under the 10 listed reasons that an owner can be stripped of his team. Also, you can't punish innocent parties for the actions of another.

It would be like you getting fired from your job because your co-worker did something wrong and you happened to be working the same shift.

 

[wlk3]

This is the NBA's "interpretation" of their by-laws. The problem is that it's unlikely to hold up in court because what he said isn't covered under the 10 listed reasons that an owner can be stripped of his team. Also, you can't punish innocent parties for the actions of another.

It would be like you getting fired from your job because your co-worker did something wrong and you happened to be working the same shift.

Haven't seen the list but, I'm guessing 3/4 vote for conduct detrimental is the main play... We'd have to see which owners are going to go along with the leagues recommendation... As for the co-worker thing, it's not really the same... He's the majority share holder, if loses his company then they all lose... A better analogy is if you were a minority owner of a McDonalds and it was taken over by Burger King, you get compensated for your shares but you no longer own the Mcdonalds unless Burger King allows it...

 

[msgkings322]

Haven't seen the list but, I'm guessing 3/4 vote for conduct detrimental is the main play... We'd have to see which owners are going to go along with the leagues recommendation... As for the co-worker thing, it's not really the same... He's the majority share holder, if loses his company then they all lose... A better analogy is if you were a minority owner of a McDonalds and it was taken over by Burger King, you get compensated for your shares but you no longer own the Mcdonalds unless Burger King allows it...

This, exactly.

The NBA isn't confiscating the team, they are forcing a sale in which the Sterlings will get fair market value for their ownership, probably around $1 billion. He would have a legal case if the NBA were trying to take something away from them, but they are just kicking them out of their private club and paying them fair value to do it.

We can all type back and forth about this but all we have to do is wait. The endgame here, whether quickly or less so, is the Sterlings aren't going to be NBA owners anymore.

 

[TobyTyler]

This is the NBA's "interpretation" of their by-laws. The problem is that it's unlikely to hold up in court because what he said isn't covered under the 10 listed reasons that an owner can be stripped of his team. Also, you can't punish innocent parties for the actions of another.

It would be like you getting fired from your job because your co-worker did something wrong and you happened to be working the same shift.

Yep. The astute observer could see this coming a mile away.

 

[JustOneDennisBergkamp]

No matter how stupid his remarks may have been, Sterling violated no NBA by-law, so his departure from The Association will be part of a settlement and not a forced act. If the league attempts to marginalize or devalue his team in an effort to make him sell, they might find themselves liable for damages, just like the NFL when they attempted to block the Raiders' move to SoCal.

Unfortunately, Sterling has a stronger hand than some would give him credit for.

Moving forward, let's hope that the outrage that's been demonstrated over recorded remarks from a racially insecure, rich, old white guy is replicated when it comes to acts of institutional racism such as housing discrimination and voter suppression that cause real harm to people of color every day.

 

[TobyTyler]

Silver feigned outrage over Sterling's recent comments about "idolizing Magic Johnson" but I'm not sure I disagree with Sterling's view of Johnson's behavior and the resulting HIV. He's certainly no one I would want my children looking up to.

 

[wlk3]

Silver feigned outrage over Sterling's recent comments about "idolizing Magic Johnson" but I'm not sure I disagree with Sterling's view of Johnson's behavior and the resulting HIV. He's certainly no one I would want my children looking up to.