Donald Sterling is still the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA. Mr. Sterling was a closet racist until his girlfriend outed him a couple of days ago. Mr. Sterling's wife says he's not a racist (I know, I still haven't figured this out yet; Mr. Sterling's in his eighties, his girlfriend is in her twenties, so I doubt this is an open marriage...but that's another point altogether). Today, the commissioner of the NBA permanently banned Mr. Sterling and is strongly recommending that the other owners force Mr. Sterling to sell the team which, apparently, is allowable under the bylaws of the NBA.
First, before anyone starts in about Free Speech, this isn't the government infringing Mr. Sterling's rights. This is a private institution whose rules, presumably, Mr. Sterling agreed to abide. Second, once the girlfriend made the statements public, they were no longer private. The girlfriend may herself be facing actions for taping Mr. Sterling and then publishing his comments, but that's not germane to this discussion. Third, plenty of people from different segments of the country are outraged, rightly, by Mr. Sterling's comments. But there are some problems with this.
To begin, Mr. Sterling should lose his franchise. The problem is that he's long been known to be a racist. Why other owners tolerated his conduct for this long is unanswerable. To act with high dudgeon now is a little disingenuous. Unfortunately, the sale of the team will only serve to enrich Mr. Sterling more, so he gets to ride into the sunset with one heck of a payday.
Next, this casts more aspersions on other whites. Despite never having uttered a racist word in private, blacks will continue to view us with a jaundiced eye. It's not entirely forgivable, but it is understandable, to a degree.
That blacks might be suspicious of other whites is one thing, but what took the local chapter of the NAACP so long to recognize it? From what I've read, Mr. Sterling has been taken to task several times in the past for his racism, has been revealed to be a racist by other whites and was even fined for his conduct, yet the NAACP of Los Angeles already gave him a lifetime achievement award for his support and was about to give him another lifetime award (as with the girlfriend/wife issue, this repetitive lifetime award business begs explanation). Since the kerfuffle became public, the chapter has rescinded its award, but what was it thinking offering him another award?
Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, rightly worries about a slippery slope. Say someone voices his opinion in private against gay marriage -- not gays, but gay marriage -- or abortion, or any other controversial topic that is a minority opinion. If public outrage ensues, at what point does the NBA say enough is enough and respect the opinion of an owner no matter how detestable a majority finds the opinion. In this instance, there is no question Mr. Sterling has to go, when the totality of the circumstances is examined. I still think that letting market forces determine the sale is better, but given the bylaws provide for this remedy, it's fine with me.
There is a double standard, however, that no one is discussing. When the likes of Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson make offensive comments, are they going to be taken to task? Supporters will quickly point out that neither employs a majority of whites who could be offended by the comments. They'll say that unlike Mr. Sterling, neither has the kind of wealth he has. Even so, Mr. Jackson has substantial holdings and runs a couple of companies, and Mr. Sharpton, with the help of MSNBC, has had his image laundered and probably has sizable holdings himself. Will there be calls for their expulsion when they make similarly offensive comments?
Make no mistake: Mr. Sterling is wrong and doesn't deserve to own an NBA franchise. He must go. Greater scrutiny must be kept on public comments that are patently offensive. But it should be a blanket scrutiny combined with a blanket approach to punishment. Like Mr. Sterling, Mr. Jackson and Mr. Sharpton have uttered horribly offensive comments without being taken to task on them. That's wrong and completely contradictory to Martin Luther King's dictum to which I have referred several times before.
With any luck, the commissioner's stern and swift action on this will prove to naysayers that whites are serious about rooting out racism and not tolerating it. Blacks should do the same thing with their own racists.
(c) 2014 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles
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