Photo Credit: ESPN
What a weekend it has been. Lost were the amazing playoff games. Overshadowed by one man’s reprehensible comments. By now everyone has heard the audio allegedly of Clippers owner Donald Sterling telling his girlfriend not to “associate” publicly with black people. The man on the tape went on to single out Lakers’ legend Magic Johnson.
Clippers players and head coach Doc Rivers were as equally outraged as the rest of us when they heard the audio. However, they find themselves in a very hard place. They are all under contract and are still in a playoff series against the Golden State Warriors. The players decided to stage a small protest before the game, refusing to wear the name of their team. Instead, they all went out to half court and took off their warm up shirts and did their warm ups in their T-shirts turned inside out. They also all wore black socks and arm bands as a way to say they stand together.
The protest clearly took all of the team’s energy as they played flat all game. Steph Curry had a great game, scoring 33 on 7-14 from the three-point range. Rumors are swirling the Clippers players may stage an even bigger protest before the next game.
The NBA HAS to step in and get this man out of sports for good. This is not the first time his racist views have been brought to the surface and the NBA needs to finally send a message that enough is enough. Owning a professional sports team is a privilege and Donald Sterling has shown on numerous occasions that he cannot handle this type of privilege. It is unacceptable for employees, not just players, to be made to feel uncomfortable when they go to work.
Jeff Van Gundy made a good point yesterday that if the NBA does not remove Sterling as an owner, then the players and Doc Rivers should be allowed to be free agent next season. This has just gotten started and will likely not end before the playoffs do. From Snoop Dogg to Michael Jordan, everyone has made their opinion known. Adam Silver now has a very tough road to try and make this situation right while staying within his legal parameters. If Silver cannot legally force Sterling out, then it is on the owners to make a statement that this man does not deserve to stand shoulder to shoulder with them.
