Justice has been served to LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling last Tuesday, April 29th for making racist remarks during an argument with ex-girlfriend Vanessa Stiviano. The fiasco started the Saturday before when Stiviano allegedly released audio recordings to TMZ aof the fight between her and Sterling. In the recordings, “Sterling tells his girlfriend that he is upset because she wants to ‘broadcast’ that she is ‘associating with black people’ and later instructs her not to ‘bring any of them’ to Clippers basketball games” (MTV). Sterling has not made any statements claiming that it is not him in the recording and is in fact silent on the matter, causing greater belief that the audio is authentic.
After the recording hit the internet, outrage exploded from all over the country. Even celebrities have spoken out about the incident, including Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, Game, Meek Mill, and Rhianna. The players of the Clippers themselves made a display against their owner by tossing their warm-up jackets bearing the Clipper logo mid-court and practicing with their warm-up shirts inside out. With all the hype surrounding the Donald Sterling scandal, the NBA had to act.
That action came in the form of discipline. As a result of his racist remarks, Donald Sterling was ordered out of his team’s business, forcing him to sell the team. He was given a lifetime ban from the NBA effective immediately. Moreover, Sterling cannot associate with the Clippers or the NBA, attend any games or practices, or be at the Clippers facilities. On top of it, Sterling is being fined $2.5 million dollars, the maximum amount allowed by the NBA. That money will be donated to organizations dedicated to anti-discrimination efforts.
In the end, Donald Sterling got what he deserves! Now the question is, who will buy the LA Clippers?