Now, I know I'm going to get a lot of flak for this, but I need to ask this question. Is the NBA and society being a bunch of hypocrites for wanting Donald Sterling to be punished for what he said? I mean Jay Z used to part owner of the Brooklyn Nets from 2003 to mid april last year, AND he used to sport a medallion saying "Whites are the devil" all the time, and he even held a party where he told the bouncers not to allow anyone who is white to come in. Now correct me if I'm wrong here, but isn't that racist?
And if he was sporting that medallion openly like that when he part owned the Nets, then why did the NBA allow him to get away with it? Whereas a guy like sterling who was recorded illegally in the privacy of his own him, we as a society want him to be punished.
Look, I just want to say right now. That i'm a 150 percent against EVERYTHING Sterling said in that audiotape, and I agree that he shouldn't be an owner an nba team anymore. Plus if his comments about magic johnson prove one thing, it's that that man is a hypocritical f**king idiot. Period.
However, that makes me wonder though. Why is it okay for Jay Z to sport a medallion like that, when he was part owner of the nets, and nobody gave a crap? Yet when sterling says something in the privacy of his own home, and he was recorded illegally saying something he shouldn't, then why is that everyone is wanting to hang him? Yet with Jay Z admitting his racism openly nobody gives a damn? Makes no sense to me, so can somebody please explain this to me.
Also bear in mind, I'm half Chinese, one quarter Hispanic, and a quarter Native American, so please don't assume I'm some sort of white supremacist bringing this up, as I despise racism
Even assuming an equivalence between the two examples, I would rather they be half right than all wrong.
I do not think he should be punish at all. It was not a press conference or an interview but in the privacy of his own home even if he knew his girlfriend was recording him. His thoughts on the matter is not the issue. Freedom of Speech is also the Freedom to be Offended. He was in his home and when our society is worrying about our thoughts like something out of "Minority Report" we are in trouble.
The 1st Amendment just says the government can't indict and imprison you for what you say. It offers absolutely zero protection from any reproach your bosses or your neighbors may send your way--you can't legally be arrested, but you sure as hell can legally be fired or evicted or ostracized.
Also, if you remember anything about Minority Report, you'd know that the psychic visions that foresee those crimes were accurate, so Pre-Crime would stop crimes just before they happened. The plot of the movie is just that one douche-canoe hated Tom Cruise and planted a false vision, and Tom Cruise had to prove it/stop it.
Yeah, but the point is that the nba banning sterling is a bit hypocritical on their part. I mean Jay Z was part owner of the nets for years, during David Stern's run as commissioner of the nba, yet nobody banned him for wearing a medallion saying "whites are the devil." Heck, he even had a party once where he told the bouncer not to allow white people to enter the party. And, Adam Silver was deputy commissioner of the nba at the time too, so he can't play dumb about this crap.
If you ask me, all this does is prove my point that the nba doesn't really give a rat's a** what Sterling actually said. The only real reason they want him banned is because he was caught saying some racially offensive comments against minorities, so now the new commissioner, Adam Silver, has to do something to save the nba's image. That's all this is if you ask me. It's the same reason why Jay Z got away scott free being openly racist in the nba because there really aren't too many black owners in the league, and if stern would've tried to ban him for his openly racist medallion, then it would've caused a pr nightmare for the nba; especially considering how many of the nba players like jay z such as carmelo anthony, lebron james and etc. Don't want to risk pissing them off. God forbid. They're the face of the nba right now, so Stern would've been a damn fool to try to ban Jay Z.
Yet a white owner like Sterling where even Lebron James is demanding he get banned, you bet your sweet a** that Silver is going to ban him. Personally, I don't give a damn what LeBron says. He can say whatever he wants about him and Silver being friends, and how Silver cares about the well being of the nba players, fans and blah blah. The reality is Silver (like David Stern) only cares about the image of the nba, so it can stay marketable. that's all he cares about. hell, he'd probably tell Lebron james to go to hell if he thought it would boost the nba ratings. LeBron James is not friends with Adam Silver. He just thinks he is.
Adam Silver can say whatever he wants, but he doesn't give a damn about eliminating racism from the nba. He only cares about saving his own a**. period.
Love your answer Stevennixx2001 and no wonder you have such good hubs. It is true. Blacks can't be racist only whites. When I was an manager, I had one employee whom was black and we had some performance issues with her and she told me she hated white people. It was around MLK Day and she was upset her white co workers got the day off too. No joke. I simply said this is America and you have an right to your views but keep those comments to herself at the door. You are in a place of business. Do I agree what Sterling said, absolutely not. Do I think he should be punish? No, I do not. Just the other day, an OK Congressman in an interview said "gays should be stone to death" He said these things in an interview on a TV Show I believe. Good God. No outcry. Just ask yourself if he said "blacks should be stone to death", we would Jesse Jackson and Al S. on TV 24/7 with the outcry. Crazy times we live in.
Well to be honest, I think Donald Sterling did deserve to be punished, but I'm not sure if Silver really has the power to take away Sterling's team though. I know the constitution doesn't protect you from losing your job if you say something controversial. However, I'm not sure if it means that the nba, government, or whoever can take away something you legally own because of what you said. I know the NBA rules say that the commissioner has the power to do that with a 2/3 vote from the other owners, but I'm pretty sure the government laws supercede those. I think Mark Cuban said it best. He does deserve to be punished, and shouldn't be apart of the league if that's how he feels. However, it's kind of a slippery slope that the nba is trying to climb here.
Personally. I don't think he should be owning the clippers anymore. Not just because of what he said (although that's part of it), but mainly because it's already been proven by two different doctors that he's mentally incompetent at this point in his life. His own wife is claiming that he might be suffering from dementia, so he may not have total control over what he's saying, or he might be oblivious to it. Medically speaking, a man that's suffering from dementia allegedly isn't fit to run an nba franchise.
My biggest issue with all this is that if Sterling is getting punished this badly for what he said, then I don't see why Jay Z didn't receive the same damn punishment in return. Plus, Jay Z doesn't have any mental illnesses that would lead one to believe he's mentally incompetent; whereas Sterling does, so we can't ignore the possibility that he might not be fully aware of what's going on around him.
I know some people that I've talked to about this did bring up that Jay Z is an entertainer, and how he might've only been wearing the medallion to stir up controversy for his next album, but I don't really see that as an excuse to wear it to begin with though. Even if he was trying to stir up controversy for his next album, that still doesn't make it right.
Another person I talked to brought up the fact that Jay Z can't be a racist because he did own the Nets for a while alongside the majority russian owner, who happens to be white. To that I say..well by that same logic, then you argue that Sterling isn't either because he's dating a half black girl, and he works with black people on a daily basis. However, that doesn't prove anything. You can work with someone on a day to day basis, but it doesn't mean that person necessarily has to like you.
Like I told this same person, I used to work with a white guy that was probably the most racist person that I've ever met. He was always talking down to me like I was stupid, and talking crap about how whites were the superior race and all that. Eventually, I told him to f*** off, and leave me the hell alone because it was getting annoying listening him to talk like that on a day to day basis. Therefore, that kind proves my point that just because Jay Z used to run the Nets with a white owner, it doesn't mean anything. You don't have to like a person to do business with them on a day to day basis. Anyone who thinks otherwise is very naive about life in general.
As far as the OK Congressman goes, I'd be more worried about him than I would about Donald Sterling at this point. If anything, he should be the one that loses his position because he's actually in a position of power to help make changes within our government. whereas sterling, his limited range of power only affects one sports team in the nba that's usually overshadowed by the lakers.
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