Supposedly, Mr. Sterling asked that Stiviano record their conversations as he's starting to lose his memory and wanted them recorded. Stiviano has over 100 hours of recorded conversations. Whether it's true or not that Sterling indeed requested this is unknown, as he has not addressed it (at least not publicy).
The NBA confirmed that it was indeed Sterling on the recordings and Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner was forced to act quickly as this story spread like wildfire, angering players, fans, sponsors and more. Last Monday, it seemed like every 5 minutes another sponsor was dropping from the Clippers. Word is that the players were threatening to strike, impacting the highly rated NBA playoffs. Something had to be done.
Silver's response was the following: 2.5 million dollar fine (to be donated to charity), a lifelong ban from the NBA, and forced sale of the Clippers team. In the NBA bylaws, a 75% majority vote can oust an owner and force a sale. There is nothing in their bylaws regarding ousting an owner for being a bigot, but there is something about said owner damaging the image of NBA organization. In this case, with the threats of strike, Clippers players likely demanding to become free agents at the end of the season, lots of potential revenue lost from sponsors, and overall anger from the fans was damaging enough for Silver, and he claims he has the support of other other NBA owners.
In the past week as this ordeal has played out, there has been mixed feelings on whether this is just and fair. His words, yes, are bigoted and awful and serve no place in our society. However, they were said in the privacy of his own home, and while he may have agreed to the taped conversations, he certainly didn't want them shared with the public. How is it possible that thoughts shared in a private conversation could lead to a loss of property? What about freedom of speech?
Let's talk about freedom of speech, shall we?
Were these recordings illegal? In California, it is only legal to record conversations if both parties agree. Sterling has not addressed this issue publicly, but Viviano's lawyer has stated that Sterling requested to have conversations be recorded because he's having memory issues and wanted to have them on hand to remember conversations. If it turns out that these were obtained illegally. Sterling can and will sue, and as of today it appears he does plan to sue the NBA.
So, let's say these are legal recordings. It may have been unethical to release them, but not illegal. Once the info was leaked and out in the public, the NBA couldn't ignore it. Say a friend of yours overhead a private conversation and tells you that your spouse is cheating on you - are you not going to investigate? It doesn't matter how the information is discovered, once it's out, it's out. Unfortunately, with the technological advances we have made in our society, anyone can be a reporter. Anyone with a smartphone has a camera, possibly a recording device too, and that my friends, is frightening. It is the world that we live in today so yes, while we should be free to say whatever we want in the privacy of our own homes, it is entirely possible that someone - a friend, colleague, could in fact try and use that against you. And regardless of whether it's legal or ethical to release such information, once something is leaked people will form their own opinions and believe what they want to believe. This is why I don't envy famous people. No one cares about my opinions but they do seem to care about the Kardashians, which I still can't fathom, but that's another topic.
The point is, Silver was left no choice but to act. He had proof of Sterling sharing racist thoughts, particularly against black people, and the NBA is a sport with primarily black players. While it may seem unfair to some that someone can be "punished" for stating thoughts in his own home - you're right, it isn't fair. But no one said life is fair. And let's not put Sterling on a pedestal here. This isn't the first time he's been involved in a scandal involving comments of racism. Sterling owns over 100 rental properties in Los Angeles and has been known to refuse to rent to minorities and has been sued over these claims in the past. Even if he's forced to sell, he's going to make millions of dollars in the sale. He won't lose out financially here, but he will lose the right to be part of an exclusive club.
The NBA owners still have to vote. Silver thinks they'll all vote in favor to remove Sterling, but we'll see what happens. As stated earlier, Sterling appears to be planning to sue, so this is going to be messy for awhile. It's a shame that this came to light now, because it's overshadowing a really fantastic NBA playoffs so far.
Now that my team is out of the NHL playoffs, I've found myself tuning in to more of the NBA playoff games. These games have been incredible. So many close games and so many first round series going to best of 7! It appeared for awhile there that Oklahoma City and Indiana were going to be ousted from the playoffs, but they fought and came back and both ended up winning in a best of 7 showdown.
That should be the story. Let's hope we can all turn the focus to watching good basketball, because so far, the playoffs haven't disappointed in providing fun and exciting match-ups that deserve so much more than being overshadowed by one man's prejudice.
