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Sports Daily: Should Donald Sterling Be Forced to Sell the Clippers?

  03:58 PM - April 30, 2014 by RaychelSnr

By now you've heard the news on Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

Banned from the NBA for life? Check. Fined the maximum $2.5 million? Check. Forced to sell the team? Possibly in the works.

In dropping the ban-hammer, NBA commissioner Adam Silver suggested he would seek a forced sale of the team from Sterling's hands due to racist comments by the current Clippers owner. It's hard to imagine an individual who would want to simply own a franchise without being allowed involvement in league or team activities, but can the league force someone to sell their property?

In the United States there are many constitutional and legal protections like free speech which also includes an implied right to say stupid things as well. If a stubborn Donald Sterling refuses to remove himself from an awkward situation, there may not be much more the NBA can do.

Sound Off: Should the NBA be allowed to "force" Donald Sterling to sell the Los Angeles Clippers?

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Member Comments
# 1 WorkingILLINI @ 04/30/14 04:19 PM
Yes he should be. Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from repercussions because of that speech. Let the world know you are a racist, expect to get treated like one.
 
# 2 Brandon13 @ 04/30/14 04:29 PM
Yes, the NBA owners collectively should be able to force out another owner if a forced sale is deemed necessary for the overall health of the league.

And by legal definition, this isn't a free speech issue.
 
# 3 soonermagic88 @ 04/30/14 04:38 PM
No.
I think his opinion is absolutely horrible and in no way agree with it. However, it is his opinion which he stated in the privacy of his own home. Not to mention that it was illegally recorded.
 
# 4 KingV2k3 @ 04/30/14 04:56 PM
If you place the focus simply on the "bottom line", this incident has the potential to create labor problems, issues with sponsors and endorsers and cost EVERY owner (and the league) a staggering amount of $$$ on a global scope...

So:

He's bad for business...

The entire league / players / owners and organizations shouldn't have to take a hit on this idiot's behalf...

If I was one of the other owners, I'd sure as heck want him OUT!

Ethical and moral issues aside, it's bad for everyone's (NBA) business...
 
# 5 Gramps91 @ 04/30/14 05:25 PM
Yea, I'm glad he's likely going to be forced to sell. He doesn't need to be anywhere near the NBA with his mindset.
 
# 6 soonermagic88 @ 04/30/14 05:42 PM
So if we are going to fire him for what he said, then shouldn't they fire Spike Lee from NBA Radio for all of the racist remarks he has made against white people?

Racism is a two way street.
 
# 7 willh313 @ 04/30/14 06:35 PM
Gotta force a sale...or allow the entire roster free agency....it's lose/lose for Sterling at least one way he gats a return on an investment,but there is no way anyone in thier right mind is going to play for him. Those stupid enough to would probably be blacklisted by the rest of the league.
 
# 8 DamnYanks2 @ 04/30/14 07:07 PM
Let it go, racism is the dumbest thing man has ever taken part of. Sterling is a discredit to the human race, and anyone like him. Can't we all just agree on that?
 
# 9 dat boi Q @ 04/30/14 07:14 PM
Yes since he is done regardless.
No sponser is going to go near the team if he stays. No respecting player is going to go to the team and that means no fans too. So if he stays the team would go under in which he would have to sell it anyway. If he doesnt sell it that team is doomed.
 
# 10 josephid @ 04/30/14 07:30 PM
Hopefully banning Steriling helps blacks. It is sad that too many of them are suffering.

What is worse, whites or basically ever other race are at an advantage because they have Neanderthal genes and blacks don't. To put it simple, the blacks that stayed isolated in Africa never mixed their genes. Whites have black genes or mixed genes and as a result, pure blacks did not evolve as fast as every other race.

In any event, no one can handle or talk about the truth and we will never solve racism until we do.
 
# 11 DEFAULTCAMERA @ 04/30/14 07:51 PM
To answer the question no he should not be forced to sell his team if he does not want to. The real question here is why was Chris Paul, Doc Rivers and the rest of the team not upset before they signed with the team? They're saying he had a prior history of racist actions before this tape came out why did all these players go there. Where was all this outrage for Mr. Sterling back in October when the season started if they knew he was such a bad guy already. Everyone is just jumping on the bandwagon right now because it seems like the cool thing to do. When in reality they're missing the whole point of what he was saying.
 
# 12 sactown_13 @ 04/30/14 07:55 PM
Do the clippers belong to sterling or the nba? Dont condone what he said but he has a right to his opinion without losing his property. And if he does get to keep them does the nba just remove the clippers?
 
# 13 Vni @ 04/30/14 08:00 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by josephid
Hopefully banning Steriling helps blacks. It is sad that too many of them are suffering.

What is worse, whites or basically ever other race are at an advantage because they have Neanderthal genes and blacks don't. To put it simple, the blacks that stayed isolated in Africa never mixed their genes. Whites have black genes or mixed genes and as a result, pure blacks did not evolve as fast as every other race.

In any event, no one can handle or talk about the truth and we will never solve racism until we do.
What are you talking about man? All this 'race' talk makes me sick. I seriously thought we where over that.
 
# 14 Yeah...THAT Guy @ 04/30/14 08:14 PM
How the tape was obtained, and his actual point does not matter. Like one of the other posters said, he either sells the team and the league is fine or he hangs onto the team and sinks with them. Forcing him to sell the team is doing him and the league as a whole a favor.
 
# 15 rkocjay @ 04/30/14 08:55 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by soonermagic88
So if we are going to fire him for what he said, then shouldn't they fire Spike Lee from NBA Radio for all of the racist remarks he has made against white people?

Racism is a two way street.
ESPN radio am i correct Steven A smith show
 
# 16 elgreazy1 @ 04/30/14 10:32 PM
No. The man has the right to free speech regardless of his opinions.
 
# 17 IlluminatusUIUC @ 04/30/14 10:48 PM
This has nothing to do with the First Amendment. At all. This is an issue of contract law. Does the NBA charter give the owners the right to force another owner to sell? That I don't believe, the provisions quoted so far don't seem to authorize that drastic a step, and I think if Sterling sued on that point he would win.

However, the NBA can always eject a franchise from the league. And the Clippers without an NBA deal are worth no more than your beer league team. So it's not so much forcing him to sell directly as threatening to make his franchise worthless unless he sells.
 
# 18 ggsimmonds @ 04/30/14 11:07 PM
First, it is not a free speech issue.

Second, the NBA bylaws only allow the forceful removal of owners for financial reasons. The NBA will still go through with it, but Sterling will file a lawsuit. That could be very ugly for the NBA. If Sterling has any "dirt" on other owners it is coming out in discovery. Also many others may be hesitant to do it because of the precedent it would set.

Third, Sterling will fight as much as he can in order to avoid paying ~$300 million in capital gains tax.

My answer as to whether the NBA should be allowed to is only if the owners vote to do so.
 
# 19 Simaofan-20 @ 04/30/14 11:37 PM
No, however I do believe he should but is it really a punishment for the guy? He paid around 30 million dollars for the Clippers(with inflation) and he's going to get easily at least 100m for his team if not a staggering amount more. He did say it in the privacy of his own home and he was illegally recorded(right?) but his opinions are pretty terrible and thus he's been punished but forcing him to sell the team only makes him a bigger millionaire than he already is
 
# 20 Optik @ 05/01/14 10:32 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by josephid
Hopefully banning Steriling helps blacks. It is sad that too many of them are suffering.

What is worse, whites or basically ever other race are at an advantage because they have Neanderthal genes and blacks don't. To put it simple, the blacks that stayed isolated in Africa never mixed their genes. Whites have black genes or mixed genes and as a result, pure blacks did not evolve as fast as every other race.

In any event, no one can handle or talk about the truth and we will never solve racism until we do.
This has got to be the dumbest post I have ever seen on this forum. This post is a tribute to pure stupidity.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rtkiii
No...opinion is opinion. Is it a terrible thing to say...yes of course. But this is his business and he OWNS it. I think the NBA could put pressure on him or the fans should protest to where he needs to sell. But forced. No.
I don't think you understand the nature of "his" business. Without the Clippers being associated with the NBA, that franchise is worth nothing. If a guy owned a McDonalds franchise and then was booted out of the McDs community, he's got nothing to bring people to his restaurant anymore.
 

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