Disappointed in Doc

[PhoSita]

Doc is a politician, and I imagine Mrs. Sterling is fairly slick with image and that sort of thing as well.  So to me it seems like a case of Mrs. Sterling distancing herself from her husband, and Doc knowing that he can score positive image points by coming out as having sympathy for a woman whose husband is not just a scoundrel, but a revealed racist.

[Fafnir]

Doc is a politician, and I imagine Mrs. Sterling is fairly slick with image and that sort of thing as well.  So to me it seems like a case of Mrs. Sterling distancing herself from her husband, and Doc knowing that he can score positive image points by coming out as having sympathy for a woman whose husband is not just a scoundrel, but a revealed racist.

Plus there is a very real chance that due to the upcoming litigation from Sterling Doc could have to work with her in the future.

[Celtics18]

Doc is a politician, and I imagine Mrs. Sterling is fairly slick with image and that sort of thing as well.  So to me it seems like a case of Mrs. Sterling distancing herself from her husband, and Doc knowing that he can score positive image points by coming out as having sympathy for a woman whose husband is not just a scoundrel, but a revealed racist.

Plus there is a very real chance that due to the upcoming litigation from Sterling Doc could have to work with her in the future.

Everybody's so darned cynical all the time.  I honestly just read it as Doc trying to be nice for the sake of being nice.

I guess in some people's eyes, there's no such thing anymore. 

[Finkelskyhook]

Hard not to be cynical or sarcastic concerning the indignant classless Rivers....Apparently...In the interest of covering for himself...He's decided to disconnect Sterling's wife from any knowledge of her husband's past throughout their multi-decade marriage.

[Neurotic Guy]

I don't know.  It's hard to defend anyone who knowingly engaged in discriminatory practices (I'm taking the OPs word for Mrs. Sterling's involvement in housing discrimination)... but, we don't really know the specifics and extent of her involvement. 

While I've never been party to a race discrimination scheme, there are things I've done in my life that I am not proud of that have belied my values (revealed my weakness perhaps, but belied my values).  I know far too little about her to condemn her, or to condemn Doc for supporting her.   As much as I could surmise negative things about her, I could also surmise that she got herself into more than she bargained for with Sterling.  A decision made initially as a young woman --  in an era where men dominated women with immunity -- perhaps she was victim to his power.  This doesn't excuse her, especially in later years,  but does present at least some cause for compassion -- which is all Doc is showing.  He's not nominating her for sainthood.

[GreenFaith1819]

I don't know.  It's hard to defend anyone who knowingly engaged in discriminatory practices (I'm taking the OPs word for Mrs. Sterling's involvement in housing discrimination)... but, we don't really know the specifics and extent of her involvement. 

While I've never been party to a race discrimination scheme, there are things I've done in my life that I am not proud of that have belied my values (revealed my weakness perhaps, but belied my values).  I know far too little about her to condemn her, or to condemn Doc for supporting her.   As much as I could surmise negative things about her, I could also surmise that she got herself into more than she bargained for with Sterling.  A decision made initially as a young woman --  in an era where men dominated women with immunity -- perhaps she was victim to his power.  This doesn't excuse her, especially in later years,  but does present at least some cause for compassion -- which is all Doc is showing.  He's not nominating her for sainthood.

My thoughts, too.

[incoherent]

What is Doc suppose to do here?

He is in the middle of the playoffs, do you expect him to create more controversy and distractions for his team? 

Doc doesn't have tape recordings of Mrs. Sterling saying racists things... he can't just attack her through the media with no proof?

[get_banners]

What is Doc suppose to do here?

He is in the middle of the playoffs, do you expect him to create more controversy and distractions for his team? 

Doc doesn't have tape recordings of Mrs. Sterling saying racists things... he can't just attack her through the media with no proof?

I don't think Doc has to call out Mrs. Sterling for her role in the housing stuff (though...that was pretty big news that a handful of writers, just not ESPN, wrote a lot about when it went down, so if he actually didn't know about it, he absolutely didn't do his homework before taking the job with the notoriously shady Clippers organization). I do think he should not talk nicely about her...just don't talk about her, period. He can talk about the distraction, being angry about the tape, etc., but when you start talking nice about someone who was part of the housing discrimination thing with her husband, I find it offensive.

[incoherent]

What is Doc suppose to do here?

He is in the middle of the playoffs, do you expect him to create more controversy and distractions for his team? 

Doc doesn't have tape recordings of Mrs. Sterling saying racists things... he can't just attack her through the media with no proof?

I don't think Doc has to call out Mrs. Sterling for her role in the housing stuff (though...that was pretty big news that a handful of writers, just not ESPN, wrote a lot about when it went down, so if he actually didn't know about it, he absolutely didn't do his homework before taking the job with the notoriously shady Clippers organization). I do think he should not talk nicely about her...just don't talk about her, period. He can talk about the distraction, being angry about the tape, etc., but when you start talking nice about someone who was part of the housing discrimination thing with her husband, I find it offensive.

I just think if Doc decided to take a stance against her now it would kind of ring hollow since he didn't care about the housing scandal before, but now he is suppose to use it as a reason to appear upset with her through the media and create more distractions for his players in the playoffs?

And if you look at his quotes Doc doesn't really say nice things about her, he says she has been through a lot and he has compassion for her, then goes on to say he doesnt even really know if it was the right thing to do in letting her come to the game, but ultimately he felt it was right and the players were OK with it.

The way Doc handled this was with pretty classy in my opinion, he definitely took the highroad and easier road in terms of not creating more controversy to distract his players.  I can also see how this is offensive to some people but if this is offensive now, then where was this thread when Doc agreed to work for her almost a year ago?

[Endless Paradise]

Just as a note, he said that stuff about her because he didn't know about her involvement in the housing scandal.  After a reporter told him about it...


http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/05/01/doc-rivers-learns-about-shelly-sterling/

[merkins]

Read the LA Times article about Sterling's other mistresses and arrangements with his wife.  They've been together for decades and their marriage is nothing more than a business relationship.  Aside from what she has been found guilty of with respect to housing and minorities, she could have split long ago with more money than she could ever spend if she really thought he was a bad person..

Instead she stays with this guy cause they are one in the same.  Having billions of dollars entitles you to carry whatever views you want that will go unchallenged because you can just buy yes people to surround yourself with.

Anyone associated with this group including the leaker who cashed in on the tape are all pretty low.  Doc would be well advised to stop shooting from the hip cause Im sure this won't be the last revelation he will come to hear about.

[Jon]

To be honest, I'm sick of Doc and the majority of the Clippers pretending to be victims in all of this. Anyone who signed or initiated a trade to the Clippers (Doc) knew who they were signing up to play for.  As the media has highlighted, Sterling had an extensive track record of racism dating back decades. 

And if Doc and guys like Chris Paul decided they could overlook that for money and circumstances when they signed up to play for the Clippers, they don't have a right to play the victim card now.  If you sign a deal with the devil, you don't have a right to complain about it after the fact. 

As for the rest of the NBA (and the world for that matter), they/we have every right to be outraged. 

[get_banners]

Well, looks like Doc is changing his tune a little. I'm really surprised he didn't know the background on the Sterlings as racist slumlord billionaires (if that's really the case)...considering the shady Clippers/Sterling history, you'd think anyone going there would really do there homework. Anyway, looks like he's at least hinting that Shelly Sterling taking over the team may not exactly be okay, either. Good. http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/10903441/doc-rivers-says-not-all-board-shelly-sterling-owns-los-angeles-clippers

[footey]

I think Doc saw this thing starting to play out in a way that wasn't satisfactory to him. Namely, that Mrs. Sterling would remain owning the team.  He senses that no good players want to come to the Clippers if that is the case, and where does that leave him? 

[Mazingerz]

Glenn Rivers is a politician.