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Report: Clippers owner Donald Sterling caught on tape telling his girlfriend to not bring African-Americans to 'my games'

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-d...-064539618.html

By Kelly Dwyer
9 hours ago
Ball Don't Lie

TMZ revealed a recording early Saturday morning of what it says is Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling pathetically admonishing his girlfriend for “associating” with African-Americans – apparently she made the major mistake, in Sterling’s eyes, of posing for a photo with Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, a photo she later uploaded to her Instagram account.

It's a shocking and infuriating 9½-minute bit of tape that should embarrass the NBA and force new commissioner Adam Silver into action.

According to TMZ's recording, Sterling went on to chide his girlfriend, who is half-African-American and half-Mexican, for bringing African-Americans to Clippers games, even if those guests in question were of exalted status as Magic is, and even if she’s never done as much.

The recording is an absolutely depressing listen, to say the least. Here are some of the snippets, according to TMZ, from Sterling, who told his girlfriend V. Stiviano that he feels “very strongly” about her “broadcasting” the fact she briefly spoke to and posed with a very famous black man:


-- "It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people. Do you have to?" (3:30)


-- "You can sleep with [black people]. You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want. The little I ask you is not to promote it on that ... and not to bring them to my games." (5:15)


-- "...Don't put him [Magic] on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me. And don't bring him to my games." (9:13)


Donald Sterling is the NBA’s great shame, and now a major media outlet apparently has him on record as telling a woman – one that he obscenely disrespects throughout the entire exchange – that he doesn’t want African-Americans coming to his basketball games. Whether Sterling is sadly mixing up his words or only referring to Magic Johnson personally, or jealous of the brief attention his much younger girlfriend (Sterling is still married to another woman, mind you) received isn’t the point – the point is that the NBA has to do something about its biggest problem.

This is indefensible. Sterling’s treatment of this woman is execrable enough, but the clear intent of his message and what’s simmering just underneath what he actually lets out should be enough to force what has previously been a spineless league (regarding the Clippers' owner) into action. The Clippers could boast a lily-white roster and coaching staff, that part barely matters in relation to Donald Sterling – owner of an NBA team – being taped telling someone he doesn’t want African-Americans at his basketball games.

Fight with his girl, heat of the moment, jealous as hell – it does not matter.

This is Silver’s first great task. He’ll have to balance the interests of a small team-owning few versus the respect of hundreds of millions. This, like Donald Sterling, is a no-brainer.



(end)

She should bring her whole black side of her family to the next game.

This whole thing is just too stupid for words.

What a moron.

Isn't it illegal to record someone without their consent in California?

No idea.

Quote:

---

- "You can sleep with [black people]. You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want. The little I ask you is not to promote it on that ... and not to bring them to my games."

---

Am I reading this right? He thinks its perfectly ok for her to sleep with a black man, but it's not ok to bring them to his games?



is it me, or does that seem looney?

If the new Commish doesn't make him sell the team then he is equally deplorable as Sterling.

Lol it's very strange. Go ahead and sleep with them ... but by God, do NOT take pictures on Instagram.

My exact first thought also...

Go be naked with em...just not in public...also youre my girlfriend? ummm...huh?

Sounds like he just wants to have a beautiful woman around that he can treat like crap. Just my guess... But I'm always reading into things.

I agree. They're both slimeballs. She is just after fame, and make a name for herself, and he is after a young girl to be seen with in public. They deserve each other.

Well, how much power does a commish have? I think he has to sign the team now just because of the players. Stephen A. Smith said the players were discussing not playing in a play off game because of this. That's extremely serious.

He is not done. This isn't even on the top ten list of worst things Donald Sterling has done.

Sterling is 81. Maybe he gets out the way, and gives the team to a family member or one of his kids if he has any. Sort of what they did with the 49ers.

ESPN is reporting he was sued in 2003 for discrimination by tenants and the nonprofit housing rights center.
in 2006 sued in us district court for refusal to rent based on race and national origin
in 2009 received a lifetime achievement award from the Los Angeles chapter of the NAACP then 3 months later was named in an age and racial discrimination suit by former clippers GM Elgin Baylor.

Dude's been busy.

I'm not sure why you think that I'm not calm. I'm not using exclamation marks or caps, but I can assure you that I am calm. I'm also not calling for the sale of the team tomorrow, but the team should be sold during the off-season. I'm not sure how quickly that can happen or if the commissioner can do that, but I'd assume he could. If not then Eric Garcetti, the Mayor of LA, must make him sell the team or he won't allow the Clippers to play at the Staples Center.

To you that's a bad idea, but it's not to those who are being discriminated against. It's not like they'll be blackballed by NBA franchises after a strike. I think it's a highly appropriate action by them, but I'd like to see it done after the play offs, because I loved the movie Major League.

Marge Schott would beg to differ with you Peen. I don't think they officially made her sell the team, but they basically wouldn't let her have anything to do with it until she sold.

How many multi-billionaires do you know who are going to pay all the bills but have zero say in who or how the company is being run? So although if memory serves me correct (I was young at the time), although they didn't officially force her to sell the team the did so by effectively neutering her of all of her power.....and Schott was in trouble for the same thing only she apparently wasn't fond of Jewish people either.

I say the NBA has precedent based on thIs case and can probably do something similar.

My thoughts on the recording part.

It's only bothersome if it was someone other than her doing the recording. You may not want your private conversations getting out, and I don't either, but unless it is about something embarrassing but reasonable (say a medical condition) then you can't complain. If you're just saying something wrong that you shouldn't be saying in general, it's rich to complain about it being recorded. The person you are talking to can just as easily reveal it by going to the press themselves. This just makes it so you can't deny it.

Again this is assuming it was her that recorded it or it was at least done with her knowledge. When a third party secretly records a conversation they aren't part of that is a problem.

Not really what happened though. The big reason Schott was gone was MLB stripped her of her ability to manage the team indefinitely. She could own the team, but MLB set up a CEO who actually made ALL the business moves until she sold two years later. I imagine the NBA will pursue something simular. The other owners have every right to guarantee that the NBA/MLB brand isn't damaged by lunatics like Sterling/Schott. Why should 30 other owners suffer from the insane ramblings if these jack wads? That is the commish's job to protect the brand of the league.

So although they can't "force" him to sell they can give him the Schott treatment and remove him from having any involvement with the team until he does.

Some of the other owners might be happy with how he put his foot in his mouth...it doubt too mwny serious free agents would consider going there right now to play for him....

Of curse there's a part of me that realizes that as long as he can throw his money around hell get the players

I think the league will fine him but I don't know if they'll do much else...

He has a championship level team. I wonder if they win it will he be there to hoist the trophy.

Heard on the news there is a move that the commissioner can invoke that could remove the owner from the team, but I think he would need a majority vote from owners.

Here's what will happen. They'll get him to issue an apology, and if the Clippers players decide not to boycott or anything like that, this story will hit the backburner. The NBA will move on, and I think behind the curtain the league and Adam Silver work on trying to get him to sell the team.

If the Clipper players decide to boycott? Ooh boy it's going to get ugly. I wouldn't mind seeing that as it's always nice to see an old, rich racist realize he's screwed, and will be labeled as a scumbag racist forever.

'NBA probing alleged recording of Clippers owner'

http://news.yahoo.com/nba-probing-alleged-recording-clippers-owner-182251096--spt.html

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Anger, frustration and calls for action echoed around the NBA on Saturday after an audio recording surfaced of a man identified as Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling telling his girlfriend not to bring black people to games.

Everybody except for the embattled Clippers owner, who has a decades-long history of alleged discrimination and offensive behavior, seemed to have a response.

The league said it was investigating the recording posted on TMZ's website, calling the comments "disturbing and offensive."

President Barack Obama, asked to respond at a news conference with Malaysia's prime minister during Obama's visit to the country Sunday, called the reported remarks "incredibly offensive racist statements."

"I don't think I have to interpret those statements for you, they kind of speak for themselves," Obama said. "When ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance, you don't really have to do anything. You just let them talk. And that's what happened here."

Obama also expressed confidence the NBA would address the situation, and said the United States still wrestles with "the legacy of race and slavery and segregation."

"Obviously, the NBA is a league that is beloved by fans all across the country," Obama said. "It's got an awful lot of African-American players. It's steeped in African-American culture. And, I suspect that the NBA is going to be deeply concerned in resolving this."

Lakers Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, a target of Sterling's remarks, said he wouldn't attend Clippers games as long as Sterling was the owner. Miami Heat star LeBron James asked new NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to take aggressive measures, saying "there is no room for Donald Sterling in our league."

"Obviously, if the reports are true, it's unacceptable in our league," James said. "It doesn't matter, white, black or Hispanic — all across the races it's unacceptable. As the commissioner of our league, they have to make a stand. They have to be very aggressive with it. I don't know what it will be, but we can't have that in our league."

Silver spoke Saturday night in Memphis, Tenn., before the Grizzlies' game against Oklahoma City, repeating that the league finds the audio tape "disturbing and offensive" and that Sterling agreed to not attend the Clippers' game Sunday at Golden State.

"All members of the NBA family should be afforded due process and a fair opportunity to present their side of any controversy, which is why I'm not yet prepared to discuss any potential sanctions against Donald Sterling," Silver said. "We will, however, move extraordinarily quickly in our investigation."

Silver said the NBA needs to confirm authenticity of the audio tape and interview both Sterling and the woman in the recording. The Clippers will be back in Los Angeles for Game 5 on Tuesday night.

"We do hope to have this wrapped up in the next few days," Silver said.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers said players discussed boycotting Game 4 of their first-round playoff series during a 45-minute team meeting but quickly decided against it.

"I think the biggest statement we can make as men, not as black men, as men, is to stick together and show how strong we are as a group," Rivers said. "Not splinter. Not walk. It's easy to protest. The protest will be in our play."

Clippers President Andy Roeser said in a statement that the team did not know if the tape is legitimate or has been altered. He said the woman on the tape, identified by TMZ as V. Stiviano, "is the defendant in a lawsuit brought by the Sterling family alleging that she embezzled more than $1.8 million, who told Mr. Sterling that she would 'get even.'"

Roeser also said the recording does not reflect Sterling's beliefs. He added that Sterling is "upset and apologizes for sentiments attributed to him" about Johnson, whom he called Sterling's friend.

In the recording posted on TMZ, the man questions his girlfriend's association with minorities. TMZ reported Stiviano, who is of black and Mexican descent, posted a picture of herself with Johnson on Instagram — which has since been removed.

The man asked Stiviano not to broadcast her association with black people or bring black people to games. The man specifically mentioned Johnson on the recording, saying "don't bring him to my games, OK?"

"I will never go to a Clippers game again as long as Donald Sterling is the owner," Johnson responded on Twitter. He also said the alleged comments are "a black eye for the NBA" and said he felt bad that friends such as Rivers and Clippers point guard Chris Paul had to work for Sterling.

Paul released a statement through the players' union that said "this is a very serious issue which we will address aggressively." He also said Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, a former NBA All-Star guard who is the chairman of a search committee to find a new director for the union, would take a leading role to help players address the matter.

Paul and Clippers All-Star forward Blake Griffin declined further comment on the issue after the team's practice at the University of San Francisco. Other players were not made available as Rivers said he would speak for the team.

"A lot of guys voiced their opinions. None of them were happy about it," Rivers said. "This was a situation where we're trying to go after something very important for us, something that we've all dreamed about all our childhoods. Donald or anyone else had nothing to do with that dream, and we're not going to let anything get in the way of those dreams."

On TNT's halftime studio show Saturday, host Charles Barkley said "this is the first test of Adam Silver." He said Silver had to "suspend him and fine him immediately."

In Dallas, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said "I have plenty of opinions, just not going to share them. He fended off several inquiries before saying: "Obviously, if any business or entrepreneur says or does things that aren't congruent with what the organization is trying to convey, that's a problem. But it's not my problem."

Warriors coach Mark Jackson, who played for the Clippers from 1992-94, said of Sterling's comments: "My feeling would be the same, no matter if I was coaching, playing or a fan. There's no place for it."

Jacky Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network, said the organization planned a protest outside Game 5 of the Clippers-Warriors series Tuesday night in Los Angeles.

Sterling, a real estate owner, bought the Clippers in 1981. He is the longest-tenured owner in the NBA since Lakers owner Jerry Buss died last year.

Sterling has been frequently criticized for his frugal operation of the Clippers, although in recent years he has spent heavily to add stars such as Paul and Rivers, who is in his first year as coach. Sterling also has been involved in several lawsuits over the years, including ones with accusations of discrimination.

In November 2009, Sterling agreed to pay $2.73 million to settle allegations by the government that he refused to rent apartments to Hispanics and blacks and to families with children. The Justice Department sued Sterling in August 2006 for allegations of housing discrimination in the Koreatown area of Los Angeles.

In March 2011, Sterling won a lawsuit against former Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor when a jury rejected the Hall of Famer's claim of age discrimination and harassment. Baylor, who was 76 at the time, had sought about $2 million after claiming he was forced out of the job he had held for 22 years. The team said Baylor left on his own and a jury awarded him nothing.

Sterling is a courtside fixture at Clippers home games. But he rarely visits the team's locker room at Staples Center, although he made an appearance in December 2012 after the Clippers won their 11th straight game, when he led an awkward locker room cheer.

___

AP White House Correspondent Julie Pace contributed to this report from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; AP Sports Writers Teresa M. Walker in Memphis, Tenn.; Beth Harris in Mesa, Ariz.; Schuyler Dixon in Dallas; Rick Freeman in New York; and Steve Reed in Charlotte, N.C., also contributed.



(end)

What's Mr. Sterling gonna do when his cork pops and he finally has his baby?



Unless he was cheating on his girlfriend, it's gonna be baby of mixed race. Will he bring the baby to the games ("See? I'm no racist!") or take his own advice and leave it at home? I can't wait to see.

The racial component in this soap opera is real and repugnant, but I think there's more going on than an old man's negative view of minorities. It seems likely that Sterling and Viviano had an "arrangement" where her role was to play the part of the adoring and beautiful young girlfriend of a powerful octagenarian who was apparently still a vital, virile, manly man. It was important to him that his peers and friends see her at the games and to see that she was his. She shattered the myth he was promoting by flaunting her "other" relationships in public causing him to appear pathetic and impotent - both figuratively and literally. That she was doing it with black men galled him all the more, because of his prejudiced view of blacks. I think he felt she violated their understanding that, while they both knew she'd have other relationships, when she was in public she was Donald Sterling's property. The fact that he referred to her bringing black men to games was more because that's who she actually brought to games - in public - than his objecting to her having those relationships at all. He'd have done better to just have a signed contract proscribing her "public" behavior rather than expecting her to follow some implied script.

Regarding taping a conversation without consent; I don't know about California, but I *think* its a federal crime ... IIRC a woman named Linda Tripp got into hot water for taping her conversations with Monica Lewinsky during the Clinton scandal.

As far as the players striking, thats laughable. Chris Paul makes what? $15, 20M? How about Blake Griffin? For that kind of cash, my boss could call me a greasy-guinea-wop-dago-shanty-irish-mick until the cows came home and I'd laugh in his face, as long as I got paid every 2 weeks.

Long story short - we're talking about thought-crime here. I have no doubt it will cost him his team, nor do I care. But spare me the gnashing of teeth. People are allowed to think whatever they want, free agents are allowed to play where they want, and consumers are allowed to spend or not spend as they see fit. Let the market decide.

JMO.

OK .... so just a question .......

The article mentions that there is, at least, a possibility that the tape is a fake. (they are investigating that possibility, anyway, and that usually doesn't happen without suspicion) What if it is a fake?

I have little doubt, from his previous actions, that this guy probably does have a racist bent ...... but I don't know if major, heavy duty racists date members of racial minorities. (Do they?) Also, the fact that this woman is being charged with stealing over a million dollars adds just a bit of intrigue to the whole matter.

I do wonder how it all will turn out. It seems possible that this guy will probably wind up selling the team anyway.

I,m still in awe of the fact that given his racist history that the NAACP L.A. chaptor has given him accolades in the past and was prepared to do it again?

I imagine Sterling cuts them a fat check is the reason for the accolades. He gets good PR to offset the multiple racial incidents he's had in the past, and the NAACP gets a ton of cash to continue to pay themselves....win for everybody except the constituency the organization is supposed to be representing.

Warriors Fans Have a Message For Donald Sterling

They couldn't spell "to" so they had to use a number?