Editor’s Note:
This is a guest post from Justin of FantasyBasketballMoneyLeagues.com. For more NBA news and updates, visit Fantasy Basketball Money Leagues today or follow him up at this Google+ page.
If you’ve been living under a rock these past few months, you probably haven’t heard the entire buzz surrounding the Los Angeles Clippers and Donald Sterling. However, everyone else in the world is fully aware of the allegations, scrutiny and possible train wreck between both parties.
For all of you who are a little unsure of what has been happening, or for those who just want a brief recap, here’s the story that Donald Sterling is now dealing with.
The Story
A couple of months ago, a couple of audiotapes were released to the public that caused an outrage in the NBA. They were released during the Clippers’ playoff campaign and cause heavy reactions from players and coaches around the league.
Basically, the audiotapes recorded a man, allegedly the team’s owner Donald Sterling, making racist remarks targeted at African Americans. Sterling also made racist remarks aimed at a specific Hall of Fame basketball player, Magic Johnson. After the tapes were released, basketball figures, players and coaches spoke out and made sure their voice was heard.
While the playoffs were going on, players made remarks and spoke negatively about Sterling, but they didn’t make a lot of actions against it due to their focus being on the task at hand: winning playoff games. However, now a list of players and coaches are coming out and talking about a possible boycott.
Throughout it all, though, the goal was very plain: ban Sterling from the NBA and take away his ownership of the Clippers. Nobody wants to see Sterling anywhere near the NBA and they are talking about boycotting the NBA until they get what they want.
Magic Johnson, who was talked about negatively by Sterling in the tapes, has come out and said “He shouldn’t own a team anymore.” He has stated that he won’t attend another Clippers game if Donald Sterling remains the owner of the team. In addition, Johnson’s former teammate Mychal Thompson stated that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Clippers see a lot of empty seats at their games if he remains the owner.
Another hall of fame player and one of the best players to ever step foot on the court, Michael Jordan, has also come out and spoke against Sterling. Jordan, who is often accused of not speaking out on social issues, came out and said, “As an owner, I’m obviously disgusted that a fellow team owner could hold such sickening and offensive views.” Jordan, the Charlotte Hornets owner, added “I’m confident that (NBA Commissioner) Adam Silver will make a full investigation and take appropriate action quickly.”
Aside from Magic, NBA players like LeBron James and Chris Paul have introduced a plan to boycott the NBA until the solution is solved. LeBron made his voice loud and clear from the beginning, saying things like: “There’s no room for Donald Sterling in the NBA.” He added, “It’s very disrespectful, and it’s appalling.”
In Las Vegas last week, Chris Paul spoke to ESPN about a potential boycott. “That’s something me and Doc are both talking about,” said Paul. “Something has to happen, and something needs to happen soon – sooner rather than later.” He continued with saying, “We’re all going to talk about it. We’re all definitely going to talk about it. Doc, Blake [Griffin], DJ [DeAndre Jordan]. It’s unacceptable.
At first, the league took notice and made quick action. They banned Sterling from the league for life. Next, they tried to force Sterling into selling the franchise and also fined him $2.5 million. NBA commissioner Adam Silver made his voice heard as well, saying he fully expects “to get the support I need from the other NBA owners to remove him.”
When people starting putting in their bids for the franchise, even more chaos started. Since then, Sterling has gone to court multiple times in an effort to sue the NBA and anyone who came between him. He has tried to appeal his lifetime ban and is making efforts to stay as the team’s owner. Basically, he is doing whatever is possible to make sure he stays a part of the NBA and stays the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers.
His lawsuits against the NBA are blowing this out of proportion and stalling the process of any solutions being made. As long as he keeps stalling the sale of his team, he remains the owner. That is the reason players and coaches are talking about a boycott. Basically, if he remains the team’s owner, we could be in for a messy season of basketball next year.
What If He Stays?
If Sterling stays the team’s owner, we could see a domino effect that won’t be pretty next season. Currently, Donald is in court awaiting for a ruling between Donald and Shelly Sterling, long-time wife of Donald. It is possible for the judge to rule in favor of Shelly, which would make Sterling’s appeal to keep the Clippers pretty much impossible. If it doesn’t go that way, then he could possibly remain the owner next season.
If Sterling remains in the NBA, players like LeBron James and Chris Paul as well as coach Doc Rivers could boycott the league. That would be an effort to urge the league to get Sterling banned for good and bring in new ownership to the Clippers.
Conclusion
Right now, the league is just waiting on that ruling to come, which should be soon. If it’s ruled in favor of Shelly, then the league can approve the sale of the Clips to the ex-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. If that happens, then all of Sterling’s other lawsuits will become a nuisance.
If the ruling is in favor for Donald and the possibility of him staying becomes a probability, then the league can just step in and take the action originally planned: have the other owners of the league vote to revoke Sterling’s franchise.
The league has stated that they notified both Shelly Sterling and Steve Ballmer that they are setting the deadline at September 15. If nothing is resolved by then, the league will proceed with the vote to kick Sterling out.
Either way, Sterling won’t be returning as the Clipper’s owner. Worst case scenario, this whole thing is dragged out and the league is forced to issue the vote. If that action is taken, then Sterling will surely be ousted. You can bet no team owner will vote to keep Sterling in LA. Plain and simple: Sterling will not own the Clippers when the season starts.
