LA Clippers owner racist rant at girlfriend

[smackababy]

No, it wouldn't as I'm sure the franchise agreement allows for the very mechanism I just described.

He's going to pay every cent of the fine because that is by far the easiest way for the league to force a sale: delinquent fees or dues.

That is the only reason I can see him paying the fine, unless his lawyer can prove legal (albeit it ignorant and unpopular) conduct illegally recorded (they, the NBA, are going to have to prove Sterling gave consent, otherwise his expectation of privacy was broken). If they have a good case regarding that, he can fight the fine as well as the sale in the same case. He should, however, be ready to pay the fine, in the event the fine is upheld and the sale of the team is not.

What is in the franchise agreement doesn't matter so much, as the courts can decide it is unenforceable or illegal. It could very well say if you have a losing season, you have to pay the NBA in your first born child. Just because you signed it, doesn't mean it is going to be upheld in court.

 

[Miramonti]

I suspect all pro sports franchise owners have their eyes on this litigation and await very anxiously to see where it goes. What eventually results as it makes its way through the courts could have a significant impact on how other leagues approach many issues involving their franchises, including but not limited to discipline issues, and I suspect it will also help define the rights of franchise owners as well.

 

[Dari]

The guy has been a lawyer his whole life, to think he was going down without a fight is silly.

The guy he hired has an anti-trust background. lol @ NBA.

They shouldn't have had a kneejerk reaction. With the wife threatening to unveil dirty laundry while the husband is calling into question the whole league, they better figure out how to come to some type of middle ground.

How the hell is this a knee-jerk reaction? Sterling has a racist history and this was the camel that broke the camel back. IANAL but I would think that they could bring up all the things that were said in his countless appearances in court. Add the fact that players and fans will be watching this and I think the NBA has to show that racism is not tolerable at this level. This isn't Europe.

 

[TerryMathews]

How the hell is this a knee-jerk reaction? Sterling has a racist history and this was the camel that broke the camel back. IANAL but I would think that they could bring up all the things that were said in his countless appearances in court. Add the fact that players and fans will be watching this and I think the NBA has to show that racism is not tolerable at this level. This isn't Europe.

You would be wrong. Being a racist asshole isn't a crime (or Jesse and Al would be in jail). This court case would be whether the NBA has the legal authority to compel a sale.

If they do, the fact that he's a racist is not relevant. If they don't, same thing.

I suspect if it does make it to court that a compulsory sale provision will be found to be unenforceable and frankly I expect the NBA to arrange a buyout at well above market value if they insist on separating him as they can't afford a verdict that weakens the terms of their agreements with the franchises.

 

[Dari]

You would be wrong. Being a racist asshole isn't a crime (or Jesse and Al would be in jail). This court case would be whether the NBA has the legal authority to compel a sale.

If they do, the fact that he's a racist is not relevant. If they don't, same thing.

I suspect if it does make it to court that a compulsory sale provision will be found to be unenforceable and frankly I expect the NBA to arrange a buyout at well above market value if they insist on separating him as they can't afford a verdict that weakens the terms of their agreements with the franchises.

What? Who the fuck said he committed a crime? Point is, the NBA has rules and regulations that players and owners and partners have to abide by. If you don't you're out. That is the issue at hand here. So, being a racist can be a serious issue as far as owning a team. If the NBA does not put its foot down I can see black players refusing to play for or against the Clippers or some other form of protest. Then things could get really bad. IMHO, it's better to get rid of this Sterling cancer before he makes things worse. Considering all the "leaks" coming from his camp, this guy is not just a racist, he's a first-class asshole that needs to be put away. The more he talks the more he embarrasses the NBA. Add the fact that his racism is not sitting well with his own team, let alone others throughout the NBA, and you can see that he needs to go.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

What? Who the fuck said he committed a crime? Point is, the NBA has rules and regulations that players and owners and partners have to abide by. If you don't you're out. That is the issue at hand here. So, being a racist can be a serious issue as far as owning a team. If the NBA does not put its foot down I can see black players refusing to play for or against the Clippers or some other form of protest. Then things could get really bad. IMHO, it's better to get rid of this Sterling cancer before he makes things worse. Considering all the "leaks" coming from his camp, this guy is not just a racist, he's a first-class asshole that needs to be put away. The more he talks the more he embarrasses the NBA. Add the fact that his racism is not sitting well with his own team, let alone others throughout the NBA, and you can see that he needs to go.

Don't you wonder why they didn't try and make him sell the team a long time ago? Something just doesn't make sense, he has owned the team for a really long time and just now they want him gone.

 

[waggy]

so much for not being able to get a lawyer.


http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/...d-sterling-pay-fine-sue-nba-according-sources

only idiots thought he couldn't find a lawyer.

 

[waggy]

Shelly Sterling's lawyer appears to threaten Nba and other team owners if they vote to oust Sterling, to air their dirty laundry...

ROLF> this is going to get nasty. I don't see the owners wanting this to go any farther.

 

[disappoint]

 

[LegendKiller]

How the hell is this a knee-jerk reaction? Sterling has a racist history and this was the camel that broke the camel back. IANAL but I would think that they could bring up all the things that were said in his countless appearances in court. Add the fact that players and fans will be watching this and I think the NBA has to show that racism is not tolerable at this level. This isn't Europe.

As a society we are running around freaking out if people could have some thoughts outside of the PC attitudes running around. Therapy this and therapy that. Fire anybody who dare says they don't believe in gay marriage. Fire anybody who says they don't want their GF also dating black people. I doubt the guy is actually racist.

If the players don't want to play with the team, then fine, have them tear up their contracts and forfeit their money. I'd love to see that. The contract law food fight would be hilarious. What would be even better is for the other owner's "racist" behaviors and talk unveiled. Then we can talk about what is said in the player's locker room.

 

[desura]

man how is this shit any different than when...i dunno, espn is like mtv, hardly shows sports, just annoyong talk and analysis.

 

[toughtrasher]

Where do you guys think the lawsuit will go?

 

[Miramonti]

Nba sets owners full vote for 6/3.

NEW YORK -- The NBA charged Donald Sterling on Monday with damaging the league and its teams with his racist comments, and it set a hearing for June 3, after which owners will vote to decide the future of his ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers.

 

[smackababy]

Nba sets owners full vote for 6/3.

I could be wrong, but I don't see the owners voting him off the island. Especially, not for some illegally obtained evidence. All Sterling has to do is say "Prove I agreed to being recorded." and it won't be admissible in court when he sues the NBA. The owners know it is in their best interest to ensure the NBA can't just arbitrarily decided someone is bad for business and force them to sell. How long before people start witch hunts for homophobic stuff? I sure hope no owner donated to prop 8. They might be getting fired soon!

 

[Atomic Playboy]

I could be wrong, but I don't see the owners voting him off the island. Especially, not for some illegally obtained evidence. All Sterling has to do is say "Prove I agreed to being recorded." and it won't be admissible in court when he sues the NBA. The owners know it is in their best interest to ensure the NBA can't just arbitrarily decided someone is bad for business and force them to sell. How long before people start witch hunts for homophobic stuff? I sure hope no owner donated to prop 8. They might be getting fired soon!

Since the tape was released, he's done public interviews on national television with evidence that is just as damning as anything in the leaked tape, so I don't think the NBA will be hurting for qualifying evidence of him making statements detrimental to the league.

 

[Jeeebus]

I could be wrong, but I don't see the owners voting him off the island. Especially, not for some illegally obtained evidence. All Sterling has to do is say "Prove I agreed to being recorded." and it won't be admissible in court when he sues the NBA. The owners know it is in their best interest to ensure the NBA can't just arbitrarily decided someone is bad for business and force them to sell. How long before people start witch hunts for homophobic stuff? I sure hope no owner donated to prop 8. They might be getting fired soon!

Not to beat the dead horse further, but what the hell, here goes...

There is a difference between illegally obtained evidence in a criminal trial and illegally obtained evidence in a civil trial. You're thinking of a criminal trial, which this most certainly is not (in fact, it's not even a lawsuit at this point - the owners are voting after a quasi-judicial proceeding brought by the NBA internally for its owners). The tape absolutely can be used in a civil proceeding, which I have no doubt this will end up in.

As to the owners not voting him off the island, I suspect the NBA would not go through the formalities of having a vote if the NBA was not 100% sure how the vote was going to go. The NBA has already received assurances from every owner as to how he/she will vote - there is no way the NBA risks the humiliation of blindly calling a vote.

As to the end result of all this, I already stated it's a fascinating issue to me as an attorney. I think there are real issues at play far beyond the 'is he a racist piece of shit or not' question that so many seem to be focused on.

 

[Miramonti]

Not to beat the dead horse further, but what the hell, here goes...

There is a difference between illegally obtained evidence in a criminal trial and illegally obtained evidence in a civil trial. You're thinking of a criminal trial, which this most certainly is not (in fact, it's not even a lawsuit at this point - the owners are voting after a quasi-judicial proceeding brought by the NBA internally for its owners). The tape absolutely can be used in a civil proceeding, which I have no doubt this will end up in.

As to the owners not voting him off the island, I suspect the NBA would not go through the formalities of having a vote if the NBA was not 100% sure how the vote was going to go. The NBA has already received assurances from every owner as to how he/she will vote - there is no way the NBA risks the humiliation of blindly calling a vote.

As to the end result of all this, I already stated it's a fascinating issue to me as an attorney. I think there are real issues at play far beyond the 'is he a racist piece of shit or not' question that so many seem to be focused on.

Agreed. I don't think this would be going to a vote unless the nba has assurances from the owners of the majority of their votes already. I assume these owners, especially the ones that might be in the crosshairs of sterlings lawyers 'threat' to publicize other 'unpopular' owner actions, the nba has probably suggested they 'have the other owners' backs' should sterling try to make things real ugly.

As for the "illegally obtained evidence"....that's moot because the nba obtained it legally from the public domain, not sterling. For example, if the nba were the ones recording or they commissioned the recordings, then that perhaps could have been a game changer, but that was not the case here. Taking it a step further, which isn't relevant here, is if a DA tried to use such information in a criminal case against sterling. Couldn't begin to speculate about that.

 

[Jeeebus]

It's not a difficult concept. Think of it this way...

If the police break into your house without a warrant or other valid reason and find drugs, that evidence will (likely) be suppressed.

If the police hire or encourage someone else to do it, same result.

If your neighbor hates you and on his own breaks into your house, finds drugs, and turns them over to the police, you''re fucked.

 

[toughtrasher]

Any updates on his suing the NBA?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

As a society we are running around freaking out if people could have some thoughts outside of the PC attitudes running around. Therapy this and therapy that. Fire anybody who dare says they don't believe in gay marriage. Fire anybody who says they don't want their GF also dating black people. I doubt the guy is actually racist.

If the players don't want to play with the team, then fine, have them tear up their contracts and forfeit their money. I'd love to see that. The contract law food fight would be hilarious. What would be even better is for the other owner's "racist" behaviors and talk unveiled. Then we can talk about what is said in the player's locker room.

:thumbsup:

 

[Dari]

According to Silver, he's already admitted to the voice being his so the illegality is extremely moot.

 

[Dari]

As a society we are running around freaking out if people could have some thoughts outside of the PC attitudes running around. Therapy this and therapy that. Fire anybody who dare says they don't believe in gay marriage. Fire anybody who says they don't want their GF also dating black people. I doubt the guy is actually racist.

If the players don't want to play with the team, then fine, have them tear up their contracts and forfeit their money. I'd love to see that. The contract law food fight would be hilarious. What would be even better is for the other owner's "racist" behaviors and talk unveiled. Then we can talk about what is said in the player's locker room.

You may be ok with an owner being racist but most of society is not. You are most definitely the minority here. You can bitch and whine about this being about PC but it most definitely is not. If you fail to understand that this latest speech by Sterling is one of many and many are tired of him then you really don't understand what is going on here and why many are upset.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Reported burglary at her, I mean HIS home, I mean her home.

http://www.tmz.com/2014/05/19/v-stiviano-burglary-break-in-sterling-home/

 

[Nebor]

You may be ok with an owner being racist but most of society is not. You are most definitely the minority here. You can bitch and whine about this being about PC but it most definitely is not. If you fail to understand that this latest speech by Sterling is one of many and many are tired of him then you really don't understand what is going on here and why many are upset.

It doesn't matter if society is ok with it or not, he still has the right to think and say it.

 

[Miramonti]

Any updates on his suing the NBA?

He has 5 days to respond to the nba's charges, tho he probably won't. It will go to a vote, which will probably succeed in requiring him to sell his stake in the team, at which point, I'm guessing, he'll sue the league and seek a court order to stay the selling requirement and put it on hold until it works it's way through the courts. Or not.