There have been times in my life where I have refused to believe that racism still exists, but when you hear such comments uttered from Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, you’re just reminded that sadly it still very well does. TMZ released audio of owmer Donald Sterling saying to his girlfriend(who happens to be part Black), “Don’t bring Black people to my games.” It was just an argument Sterling had with his girlfriend that was unknowingly being recorded. That recording was sent to TMZ, and has now surfaced all over the Internet.
Something just tells me that I shouldn’t be surprised by what Donald Sterling said, because he has a history with former players accusing him of being a racist. But I’m still appalled by what he said. It’s obvious the man is racist. Let’s just be real about the situation. The NBA is a Black league, and this will obviously not sit well with anyone affiliated with it. Your players, your fans, and even some of your sponsors are mostly Black people. How do you think the Black Clipper fans – your paying customers- must feel. The NBA has no room for this ignorance. I hate to say it, but he almost has a slave master mentality. This will be the first test for new NBA commissioner Adam Silver. I believe you have to suspend him from the league immediately, and possibly set a partition for him to give up his ownership of the Clippers.
Unfortunately, for the Clippers, they have a playoff series against the Golden State Warriors to worry about with this now hanging over their heads. Reportedly, they had a team meeting about the remarks. It’ll be interesting to see how the team responds. You have to think about this from a long-term perspective as well. If you’re a Black free agent, and Donald Sterling is still the owner, would you want to play for his team? I would think not. You’re star players, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, are probably re-thinking their decision to resign with the Clippers. He also didn’t hesitate to mention Magic Johnson’s name during the argument as well. Sterling said to not bring Magic Johnson back to his games because he was Black. When Magic Johnson heard of what Donald Sterling said about him, he tweeted out this:
As a Black man, honestly, I’m not even angered by what Donald Sterling had to say. I actually just feel sorry for him. With our country’s history with racism and slavery, how can someone still have that kind of hate in their heart. I used to believe, as a nation, we were passed that stage. But apparently, we still have some ways to go. I predict the backlash to get even worse in the coming days.
If you haven’t heard the actual audio yet, here it is. I found it to be disturbing. Sadly, racism still exists.
