If you were Adam Silver, what would you do with Donald Sterling?

Overshadowing the NBA playoffs and the Stanley Cup Finals is the "aledged" racist phone call made by Donald Sterling. A recording of a phone call between Sterling and former girlfriend, V. Stiviano, showed incredible racism towards African Americans.



http://ift.tt/1klUUrM



In the audio recording, Sterling said the following to Stiviano about a picture she posted on Instagram of herself and Magic Johnson:

Quote:

"It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you're associating with black people. Do you have to? 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."

In other words, Sterling's message is this: Do what you want with the blacks in private, but do not associate with them in public.



The Clippers players themselves made a statement before Game Four against the Golden State Warriors, dumping their shooting shirts at midcourt, and turning their warmup shirts inside out. It should be noted that 86% of the Clippers players are black, including team captain Chris Paul. Paul had the following to say on Twitter about the teams decision in warmup:

Quote:

CP3: "We're going to be one. Everything we do, we do it together."

A number of high-profile players and owners have issued statements regarding Sterling. Here are some of them:



Michael Jordan:

Quote:

“I look at this from two perspectives – as a current owner and a former player. As an owner, I’m obviously disgusted that a fellow team owner could hold such sickening and offensive views. I’m confident that Adam Silver will make a full investigation and take appropriate action quickly. As a former player, I’m completely outraged. There is no room in the NBA – or anywhere else – for the kind of racism and hatred that Mr. Sterling allegedly expressed…. In a league where the majority of players are African-American, we cannot and must not tolerate discrimination at any level.”

Lebron James statement was short and to the point:

Quote:

LeBron: “No room for Donald Sterling in our league. As commissioner of our league, you have to make a stand and you have to be very aggressive with it. I don't know what it's going to be, but you just can't have that in our league."

Magic Johnson issued a strong statement via Twitter as well:

Quote:

"TMZ reported this morning that Clippers owner Donald Sterling doesn't want me or other African-Americans to come to Clippers games. @cjbycookie(Johnson's wife) and I will never go to a Clippers game again as long as Donald Sterling is the owner. I feel sorry for my friends Coach Doc Rivers and Chris Paul that they have to work for a man that feels that way about African Americans. LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling's comments about African Americans are a black eye for the NBA."

Steven A. Smith has had a lot to say about the subject, and has sited multiple sources he's noting as credible regarding past racism about Donald Sterling. Among them are former Clippers star Baron Davis stating that during warmups, Sterling would sit courtside with a female companion and spew racist rhetoric. Smith also stated that in the short course of this investigation, other tapes with similar rhetoric have been discovered.



Another quote that has been "attributed" to Sterling is this:

Quote:

Blacks should not be attending our games. Whites who view blacks as equals should not attend our games either.

The onus is on Adam Silver to act quickly here. Both the Clippers head coach Doc Rivers and top star and team captain Chris Paul are black. As I noted before, the majority of the Clippers players are black, as are most of their coaches. How do the Clippers focus on their playoff matchup with this hanging over their head?



Chris Paul issued the following written statement regarding the issue.

Quote:

"On behalf of the National Basketball Players Association, this is a very serious issue which we will address aggressively. We have asked [Sacramento] Mayor Kevin Johnson to expand his responsibilities with the NBPA, to determine our response and our next steps. As players, we owe it to our teams and our fans to keep our focus on our game, the playoffs, and a drive to the Finals."

I like the idea of involving outside sources, such as legal branches. It shows the seriousness of the issue, and the fact that the players are invested in having this resolved immediately. With a man who supposedly has a track record such as his, this should be the last straw. Adam Silver has to act quickly. Obviously, he cannot force Sterling to sell the team due to legal reasons, but he has a broad perview of action he can take.



I rarely agree or like the way Reverand Jesse Jackson uses his platform, but I agree with him here:

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Donald Sterling should be banned immediately. The question is, how long?

If I was Adam Silver, it would be until Sterling agrees to sell the team. He can't outright force Sterling to sell, but there are actions he can take to pressure Sterling into doing so.



Until he agrees to sell the team and gets his sorry behind out of the NBA permanently. Nothing less.



Your thoughts on this?