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April 29, 2014
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver spoke at a press conference Tuesday afternoon following the conclusion of the league’s investigation into the comments allegedly made by Clippers owner Donald Sterling.
According to Silver, the NBA has found the comments were in fact made by Sterling, and are representative of his views.
The commissioner banned Sterling for life from attending any NBA games or functions, including Clipper team facilities. He levied a $2.5 million dollar fine which Silver stressed was the maximum he was allowed under the constitution of the NBA. Further, Silver is recommending to the owners of the league that they execute the power wielded to them collectively to force a sale of the Clippers by Sterling.
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, who called for swift action in a statement released last night, was quick to support the commissioner via a tweet.
Commissioner Silver has made the right moves in response to this unfortunate absurd spectacle. #ZeroTolerance
— Dan Gilbert (@cavsdan) April 29, 2014
The Clippers host the Golden State Warriors in game five of their first round playoff series this evening. The series is tied at two.
[Related: Dan Gilbert calls Sterling’s comments “shocking” calls for “swift” action]
59 Comments
Possibly against the league constitution. But you’re right that it has nothing to do with the US Constitution or any of that jazz.
Just don’t see how dropped advertisers prove that he conducted business in an unethical way. Could be a stretch, but that’s for the courts to decide.
Forbes had Bucks at $400mil, they sold for $550mil.
LA is obviously a prime market. Clippers have CP3 & Blake Griffin, who happen to have 2 of the most popular advertising campaigns going right now (State Farm & Kia). And yes, I think that helps.
But, it really comes down to advertising dollars, seat/suite prices, and that old local TV deal:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-tv-deal-donald-sterling-clippers-20140429,0,5192124.story
That is why the Dodgers sold for $600mil more than their Forbes valuation and why the Clippers likely would as well.
Dodgers sold for that much because it included 275 acres of prime, undeveloped real estate in the heart of LA (along with a great TV contract, a strong brand, Dodger Stadium, and – I’d like to believe – Vin Scully). Not sure of the Clippers assets so I can’t really say.
I’m too lazy to look for it, but someone did a breakdown of Forbes valuations compared to actual sale prices. It was a mixed bag. I remember it being either very close or extremely off.
in simplistic terms though, if Milwaukee is worth almost $600mil, then LA is worth 2X that, no?
Depends on assets, liabilities, contractual obligations, etc. All things being equal, yes. But all things aren’t going to be equal.
This. I also think it makes a difference that Donald Sterling is an employer whereas Kobe Bryant is an employee. I’m sure many people have racist co-workers and there isn’t a whole lot that can be done about that other than a few slaps on the wrist. If your employer is racist, that’s when there’s going to be real consequences.
There are other aspects to this that will be discussed when the initial shock and outrage subside. Like: it’s not just racist thinking verbally expressed in a private call. It’s that the substance of what he said – don’t bring people of color to my NBA arena – touches the league’s most sensitive issue. It outrages everyone, from the players to the fans of color to fans who might not mind a more white crowd but don’t want to associate with that expressed sentiment to the league trying to market to the emerging transracial society. Sterling is a rare dinosaur, an old school self-made bigot who was able to make his fortune in an era before such guys had to carefully monitor their mouths. He should be blasted with the league’s elephant gun. Pretty amazing that it took so long, in retrospect.
Was bound to be just hours until the war whooping started to subside and a wider perspective was considered. The always thoughtful Kareem is one of the first to do it.
http://time.com/79590/donald-sterling-kareem-abdul-jabbar-racism/