SterlingGate: Was Sterling Banned For History of Bad Behavior -- Or Just This Tape? By Larry Elder

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver

By Larry Elder, May 3, 2014

History or just the tape? This is not a trick question. It is a multiple choice with only two possible answers.

Based on what NBA commissioner Adam Silver said during the press conference, why did he impose a $2.5 million fine and recommend a ban of Sterling and a forced sale of the Clippers from their embattled owner Donald Sterling?

Did Silver impose this punishment:

A) because of this tape and this tape only?

Or

B) because of Sterling’s track record, including the offensive tape; two settlements with the housing authorities over accusations of refusing to rent to blacks; lawsuit filed by former general manager Elgin Baylor alleging wage and age discrimination; Sterling’s demeaning treatment of employees and others both within and without the Clippers and the NBA; and finally the cold, tightfisted way Sterling's run the Clippers for most of his 33 years of ownership?

Pick one. Which was it? On what did Silver say he based his decision -- the tape or Sterling’s conduct during his 30+ years as owner?

Most people would probably say B), that Silver urges a ban for an ownership tenure full of offensive actions with the tape serving as the last straw, the final offense in a series of them.

Sterling certainly piled up quite a track record. In a piece for Time Magazine -- written before Silver imposed the ban -- former Laker great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar summarizes the most cited and troubling issues:

“2006: U.S. Dept. of Justice sued Sterling for housing discrimination. Allegedly, he said, ‘Black tenants smell and attract vermin.’

“2009: [Sterling] reportedly paid $2.73 million in a Justice Dept. suit alleging he discriminated against blacks, Hispanics, and families with children in his rentals. (He also had to pay an additional nearly $5 million in attorneys fees and costs due to his counsel’s ‘sometimes outrageous conduct.’)

“2009: Clippers executive (and one of the greatest NBA players in history) sued for employment discrimination based on age and race.”

For the record, Baylor lost his lawsuit -- a detail often omitted in the litany of Sterling's supposed racism-revealing offenses.

This gets us back to the tape. What did he say that was so offensive? Smart people see different things in the same tape. But nearly all have reached the same conclusion. The tape is slam-dunk, smoking gun, exhibit A of Sterling’s “racism” -- confirmed by a long track record.

But a lot of smart people are dead wrong. Again, what did Sterling say? Of course, he said many things, including a strange dissertation on the treatment of “black Jews” in Israel.

For example, I asked TMZ's Harvey Levin the following question: Can you name the most egregious thing that Don Sterling said in that tape? Levin said it was his “disdain.”

I repeated my question, what were his "words" -- not your interpretation of them. The most offensive “words”? Harvey eventually said, Sterling said he didn't want her bringing Magic Johnson a game.

That’s it? Johnson, mind you, was given permission from Sterling -- as he says on the tape -- to sleep with his girlfriend. And Johnson can attend a game without Sterling’s girlfriend. And Sterling never came close to saying he did not want blacks at games.  He just doesn’t want the embarrassment of his friends telling him about it the next day. This may call for a shrink -- or for remedial courses at Racism School -- but taking away his team?

Meanwhile, media have collectively agreed not to ask about the nature of Johnson’s friendship with Sterling’s girlfriend.  That’s too personal.  But a secretly recorded tape of someone in private quarters by an enemy/mistress -- no worries.

I also put the question to L.A. City Councilman Bernard Parks, a former LAPD chief. Provide us, I said, with the most offensive words that Sterling uttered.

As with TMZ’s Levin,  he summarized what he thought were Sterling’s views on the tape. As with Harvey, I demanded specifics. He finally described the haughty way in which Sterling said, “I buy them” cars, clothing, houses etc.

A boss who expresses a condescending attitude towards his employees is racist? Does it matter that two of his 14 players are white. Does he not also buy their things, too?

For reasons unfair to Sterling, these exculpatory passages from the recording are rarely mentioned:

V. Stiviano: What's wrong with minorities? What's wrong with black people?

Sterling: Nothing, nothing.

Stiviano: What's wrong with Hispanics?

Sterling: It's like talking to an enemy. There's nothing wrong with minorities, they're fabulous. Fabulous. Because you’re an enemy to me. …

Stiviano: You can’t even be seen with someone in which is considered a different skin color.

Sterling: They can be with me all day long and all night long. … I’m not a good person in your eyes. If I was a good person, you wouldn’t say ‘I can’t believe’ this, ‘I can’t believe’ that -- which are all lies. I love the black people.

Before we look at Silver's press conference transcript, we ask again.  

Did Silver ban Sterling solely because of the offensive tape?

Or did Silver take action based on Sterling’s “body of work” -- acts of offensive, demeaning and "racist" behavior over a long tenure?

Here are the parts of Silver press conference, in which he addresses how Silver reached his decision to ban Sterling:

Silver: The views expressed by Mr. Sterling are deeply offensive and harmful; that they came from an NBA owner only heightens the damage and my personal outrage.

 Silver: We stand together in condemning Mr. Sterling’s views. They simply have no place in the NBA.

 Q: The word you used specifically was outrage. You said that you were personally outraged, yet many people believe that they are outraged that for years people have known that this man is a racist slumlord and the NBA hasn’t done anything until today. Can you please answer why?

Silver: I can’t speak to past actions other than to say that when specific evidence was brought to the NBA, we acted.

Q: Should someone lose their team for remarks shared in private, as this is a slippery slope?

Silver: Whether or not these remarks were initially shared in private, they are now public, and they represent his views

Q: [In] determining what the punishment would be, including the suggestion to the Board of Governors, did you take into account Mr. Sterling’s past behavior, or was it just based on this one particular incident?

Silver: In meting out this punishment, we did not take into account his past behavior [emphasis added]. When the board ultimately considers his overall fitness to be an owner in the NBA, they will take into account a lifetime of behavior.

Q: Just to be clear, you said when specific evidence was brought to the league you did act. In past cases, has Donald Sterling ever been fined or suspended for racial or offensive remarks, and if not, why not?

Silver: He’s never been suspended or fined by the league because while there have been well-documented rumors and cases filed, he was sued and the plaintiff lost the lawsuit. That was Elgin Baylor. There was a case brought by the Department of Justice in which ultimately Donald Sterling settled and there was no finding of guilt, and those are the only cases that have been brought to our attention. When those two litigations were brought, they were followed closely by the league office.

Q: Just a follow to that, one of the greatest players of all time, Elgin Baylor, accused Donald Sterling of running a plantation style franchise. Did that not concern you, and why was that not investigated? Despite the fact he lost the case, he has a prominent standing in the league and he said some very serious things.

Silver: It concerned us greatly. We followed the litigation closely, and ultimately Elgin Baylor did not prevail n that litigation [emphasis added].

As you can see, Silver emphatically insists he reached his harsh decision based solely on what he heard on the tape. None of Sterling’s prior behavior was a factor. Indeed, Silver defends the NBA’s prior lack of action against Sterling by saying no one brought actionable leads. So Sterling’s record, as far as the league is concerned, is clean.

The owners can, as Silver says, use prior behavior in making their vote to kick Sterling out. But Silver’s decision to fine and recommend a ban is just based only on what Sterling said in the tape.

Again, listen to Sterling’s words.

Sterling never says the "n" word, speaks about his respect for Magic Johnson and even shrieks "I love the black people." Stripping the conversation to its bones, we are left with this. An old billionaire is jealous of Magic Johnson -- and doesn’t want his girlfriend sitting next to him at games. She can sleep with Magic, he tells her, in fact, she can sleep with anybody she wants, just don't embarrass him:

“How about the -- how about your whole life, every day, you could do whatever you want? You could sleep with them. You could bring them in. You could do whatever you want. The little I ask you is not to promote it on that, and not to bring them to my games.”

And for these Jerry Springer outtakes Donald Sterling loses his team?

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