The Blame Game - Donald Sterling & His Enablers
DISCLAIMER: The the viewpoints in this blog is guaranteed to rub many people the wrong way. The truth hurts, so take an aspirin.
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. {Hosea 4:6}
How shocked were you to hear the alleged racist statements by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling? If you're not a Clippers fan or do not live in the L.A. area, you may have been quite shocked. The comments captured on tape were despicable and should not be tolerated anywhere in our society, not just in the NBA. Sadly, Mr. Sterling's past actions and comments have been tolerated by many for far too long. There is no question that Sterling should take full responsibility for his actions. However, there are a group of people who also need to look in the mirror and ask themselves how they contributed to the detonation of this scandal.
Rochelle Stein-Sterling, wife of Donald Sterling
While her husband has gone into hiding, Mrs. Sterling sat court side in Oakland for game 4 of the Clippers playoff series with the Golden State Warriors. Making her first statement since the tape recording was released, Mrs. Sterling said, "I am not a racist. I never have been, I never will be. The team is the most important thing to my family.”
Message to white people: If you say you're not a racist and then back up your statement with "I never have been," your initial statement seems less believable to black people.
When asked if the voice on the tape was her husband’s, Rochelle Sterling dodged the question and took issue with the legitimacy of the recording. “I don’t know [if it was Donald Sterling's voice]...”
Really lady? You've been married to this man for 57 years and you cannot recognize your husband's voice on tape? I met my new neighbor just last week and I can recognize his voice if I heard it on tape. Mrs. Sterling was next to her husband while he was forced to settle racial discrimination lawsuits against him. If anyone knows his true feelings toward minorities, it should be her. With hundreds of millions of the dollars in the bank, she chose luxury over morals.
David Stern, former NBA commissioner and the other 29 NBA team owners
Long before the release of the alleged recording, Commissioner Stern and the NBA were aware of Donald Sterling's racist-toned antics. Not only were there lawsuits and articles written several years ago (shout out to Jemelle Hill and Bomani Jones), but there was also complaints and a lawsuit filed by former Clipper's vice-president Elgin Baylor who experienced Sterling's racist thoughts and actions first hand. Several years passed without a word from Stern or any other owner. Two years ago, Stern made a very odd move by vetoing a trade that would have sent all-star point guard Chris Paul from the New Orleans Hornets to the Los Angeles Lakers. The trade was agreed upon by both teams, however Stern stopped the transaction and instead sent Paul to the Clippers.
If the NBA owners and Stern truly disliked Sterling and didn't condone his actions, why aid him in strengthening his team and making more money in the process? The answer is simple, the NBA is a revenue-sharing corporation. If Sterling made more money, the other 29 owners made more money and Commissioner Stern kept his ridiculously large salary. The NBA chose bigger profits over showing they truly cared for all people.
Clippers head coach Doc Rivers, Chris Paul and the Clippers team
Now before you disagree, here me out.
Before you apply for a job, don't you take time to learn what the company is about? Shouldn't you find out if your potential employer is run by a Mark Zuckerberg or a David Duke? If you don't, that could be the reason many of you are not happy with your job.
Doc Rivers did everything but beg the Boston Celtics to trade him away to the Clippers; so clearly this is where he wanted to be. Rivers, as a player once played for the Clippers. Of all his years in the NBA and associating with Sterling, shouldn't he had known about the previous racial discrimination lawsuits and complaints by Baylor? Did he inquire about the allegations before stroking his signature on the contract?
Paul, who had the ability approve or deny any deal which the Hornets wanted to trade him accepted the trade to the Clippers. Maybe no one informed Paul about Sterling's history prior to his arrival in L.A., but Paul signed a contract extension with the team last summer. Could it really be that Paul was ignorant to the facts about his owner's racist history? Not just Paul, but why any player in recent years who have signed on to play for Sterling has never inquired about his discriminatory past? It's time players become knowledgeable about issues off the court and off social media.
Rivers, Paul and the Clippers chose to ignore the warning signs for a nice salary over changing the culture in the Clippers front office.
Leon Jenkins, president of the Los Angeles chapter of the NAACP
Mr. Jenkins, Mr. Jenkins....(smh)
The NAACP's L.A. chapter had recently chose Donald Sterling to receive their lifetime achievement award. Yes, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was set to honor Sterling at the chapter's 100th anniversary gala, but that's not all! This would have been the second time they've bestowed this honor onto Sterling. When asked why they chose Sterling amid the racial discrimination lawsuits by Baylor and several other minorities, Jenkins said, "We can’t speak to the allegations, but what we do know is that for the most part [Sterling] has been very, very kind to the minority youth community.”
Yeah, and for the most part Jeffery Dahmer was nice to black people too.
Jenkins and the NAACP have proven just how irrelevant their organization has become. From their actions alone, what advancements have been made for people of color by the NAACP over the past 20 years? Anyone can show up with a sign at a rally after the an injustice, but it takes much more to create a solution before the problem is out of hand.
Jenkins and the NAACP chose to honor a man who patted a few black and latino kids on the head in his presence over knowledge.
We, the people...that's right YOU and ME
- Radio personality Don Imus calls the the Rutgers University women's basketball team a bunch of "nappy-headed hos." Shortly thereafter, he is back on the air with a larger contract than before.
- Wal-Mart pays their full-time employees a sub-poverty level wage, but they still rake in record sales numbers.
- Politicians get caught in racial, sexual, and corporate scandals, but they continue to get re-elected back into office.
- Sterling's racist antics have been made public for years, the NBA has ignored the issue, players are afraid to speak up, but we still say the NBA is "fantastic."
We chose to be entertained by "Lob City" over demanding respect.
