Donald Sterling Interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper

[Donoghus]

Btw, in regards to the Sterling interview, I'm not sure if anyone can really look at that and not cringe & think "trainwreck". 

An old man who appears pretty out of touch and losing it.  Awfully defensive and deflective. 

[fairweatherfan]

There's a big difference between being the defendant in an ultimately unsuccessful lawsuit and being caught on the record saying racist things.

About your employees who are basically not replaceable and are also organized as a union and then threatened collected action in response to those comments.

Of course the "SQUIRREL" defense is still in play apparently, along with the idea that because he wasn't punished immediately its wrong to punish him now.

Yeah that argument makes no sense to me.  If it was wrong to not punish him before, wouldn't it be doubly wrong to not do it now?  And if it wasn't wrong to not punish him before, what's the big deal? 

It's like the argument is that being "consistent" (big quotes there as the circumstances are very different) in doing the wrong thing is more important than getting it right. 

[Fafnir]

I still don't see how anything Sterling said has an iota of a strand of a connection to Magic Johnson, aside from the fact that Sterling brought him up.

I'm trying to figure this out myself.  Definitely having a WTH moment.

Are we dealing with an innate hatred of Magic here?  A tinfoil crowd conspiracy?  I haven no idea.

I think a lot of the weird tangents you see come from a knee-jerk desire to defend Sterling coupled with the high social undesirability of defending Sterling as a person or his actual comments.  So you see a lot of attacks on anything and anyone vaguely connected to it.

It is really interesting to watch.  Especially the folks who are deeply concerned about a slippery slope and then immediately turn around and demand a slippery slope be used to punish someone else.

OTOH there's at least one poster here who thinks Magic's been faking HIV for a quarter-century now, so there's probably some pre-existing animus for some people too.

Yeah you can't defend his statements directly, so you work with anything else you can lay your hands on if you want to defend or take issue on his side in the situation.

There are several interesting splits on opinion of the situation based on political self-identification and other characteristics (race, region, etc).

[paidthecost2betheboss]

There's a big difference between being the defendant in an ultimately unsuccessful lawsuit and being caught on the record saying racist things.

I still don't see how anything Sterling said has an iota of a strand of a connection to Magic Johnson, aside from the fact that Sterling brought him up.

Your 1st sentence blows my mind. Watch this (you won't but you should...comparing a conversation to what him and his wife were pulling years ago is to believe...I have to believe you know none of the details, accusations etc. If you did I don't think you would have typed the first sentence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6bLKe9-Mto

Your 2nd sentence confuses me since it answers itself and you maybe didn't realize the connection is the mentioning.
I'm done.
You guys should read the words written by Magic before you even attempt to address his past.
Sterling has been a worse human than the phone convo shows and your mostly not all aware of what that was all about if you compare the opinion of a loon to his acts.

Enjoy

[sed522002]

You guys should read the words written by Magic before you even attempt to address his past.
Sterling has been a worse human than the phone convo shows and your mostly not all aware of what that was all about if you compare the opinion of a loon to his acts.

For the last time, WHO CARE'S about Magic's past, this is just a deflection of the real issue which is DONALD STERLING. I think that's the point everyone is trying to make. It's not about what Magic has done or didn't do. What does Magic's HIV status and and his relationship with his wife have to do with Sterling going off on a tangent....NOTHING at all.

So the fact that we're even discussing Magic more than we're discussing Sterling is very confusing to me.

[D.o.s.]

There's a big difference between being the defendant in an ultimately unsuccessful lawsuit and being caught on the record saying racist things.

I still don't see how anything Sterling said has an iota of a strand of a connection to Magic Johnson, aside from the fact that Sterling brought him up.

Your 1st sentence blows my mind. Watch this (you won't but you should...comparing a conversation to what him and his wife were pulling years ago is to believe...I have to believe you know none of the details, accusations etc. If you did I don't think you would have typed the first sentence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6bLKe9-Mto

Your 2nd sentence confuses me since it answers itself and you maybe didn't realize the connection is the mentioning.
I'm done.
You guys should read the words written by Magic before you even attempt to address his past.
Sterling has been a worse human than the phone convo shows and your mostly not all aware of what that was all about if you compare the opinion of a loon to his acts.

Enjoy

You still haven't told me why Jerry West's book isn't sheeple fodder.

You're also completely misrepresenting my point -- which is not to compare and contrast which of Sterling's actions are better or worse, but to point out that people get unsuccessfully sued all the time, and that being the defendant in a lawsuit is not a great reason to remove someone from ownership, especially if the lawsuit is unsuccessful.

Let me break down the connection Magic Johnson has to this case:
Sterling brought him up.

There we go. That's it. Why waste time talking about Magic Johnson if he's not at all connected to the situation?

[SHAQATTACK]

This dude is looney .

He is losing control of his mental state

Not to mention he probably takes all kinds of meds for a huge variety of issues people his advanced age need or think they need or told they need.

His money and barely being connected to reality will make him a VERY unwilling seller of his team

I don't see. It being sold till AT least when he dies.  And then his old hag wife will use he loot to gain control.

So.....chances are this team could be under dark cloud of The Sterlings for a very long time.

Good luck Doc......you wanted out of Boston ...threw the Celtics job away for THEM...so there you go.....have fun with your buddy Donald Sterling .

[bucknersrevenge]

This dude is looney .

He is losing control of his mental state

Not to mention he probably takes all kinds of meds for a huge variety of issues people his advanced age need or think they need or told they need.

His money and barely being connected to reality will make him a VERY unwilling seller of his team

I don't see. It being sold till AT least when he dies.  And then his old hag wife will use he loot to gain control.

So.....chances are this team could be under dark cloud of The Sterlings for a very long time.

Good luck Doc......you wanted out of Boston ...threw the Celtics job away for THEM...so there you go.....have fun with your buddy Donald Sterling .

Wait, are we talking about the poster or Sterling here?

[LooseCannon]

There are several interesting splits on opinion of the situation based on political self-identification and other characteristics (race, region, etc).

Do you mean this relationship?

[D.o.s.]

There are several interesting splits on opinion of the situation based on political self-identification and other characteristics (race, region, etc).

Do you mean this relationship?

It could also be this one:



I eagerly await the use of the phrase 'mainstream media' in the retort.

[RAcker]

Just my 2 cents, but there are multiple odd things about this interview that haven't gone unnoticed by the CelticsBlog community.  How about these bi-polar arguments from Sterling:

* "I admire Magic" / "What has he ever done for the black community?" / "Not a role model"

* "I love black people" / "Jews give back to their own communities while blacks don't"

* "I don't know what you mean by 'plantation mentality'" / "You have more of a 'plantation mentality than I do"

The contradictions are amazing, but how can anyone at Sterling's financial level not have people close to him that talk him down from doing an interview like this? 

Last question, how can the NBA or anyone else that has dealt with this man over the last few decades claim to not have seen these general attitudes expressed in one way or another?

[Donoghus]

Last question, how can the NBA or anyone else that has dealt with this man over the last few decades claim to not have seen these general attitudes expressed in one way or another?

I'm sure they have seen it but when his franchise is bringing in millions upon millions of dollars and helping the NBA as a collective whole, its pretty easy to look past the warts as long as the $ is flowing in.  Plus, why expose yourself to contentious litigation in the past without a true smoking gun (that we know of )?

[Neurotic Guy]

Sterling really seems to struggle to hold together coherent threads of thought and, while he does some things that indicate that his mental status isn't completely trashed, he provides a fair amount of evidence that he is compromised in his ability to think things through.  We all have a mental filter (often subconscious) that prevents us from blurting out poorly constructed thoughts, and this filter is impacted when we are over stressed or if we suffer from mental health issues or onset of dementia.  Dementia isn't an all at once thing and people with dementia are impacted by stress.  The thought filter capacity may be different over the course of minutes, hours, throughout the day.   I hate to say it, but I do believe we ALL have thoughts of judgment that are based on people's appearances that are driven by our own personal history.  Most of us (these days anyway) filter the discriminatory thoughts with rationale that reminds us quickly to be open and fair and to not make character judgements about people based on their attractiveness, weight, clothing, ehtnicity, race...   Yet, initial thoughts do come to us despite the desire to be above such things.

I think that when one's filter is faulty (due perhaps to dementia), the thoughts sometimes come out through words and the person's ability to make sense of them, take them back, reorganize them, often ends up causing further confusion -- even to the point where a person may conclude "I don't know what I am saying or why I am saying it".   I think Sterling may be a scoundrel, but I also think he is not in a position to effectively defend himself, and therefore, will continue to dig his hole deeper each time he is challenged.   I think that what is happening now MAY connect to a lifetime of racism, but even the best of us have initial thoughts and beliefs that we keep to ourselves -- perhaps working internally to negate any tendency to judge/misjudge based on things we know we shouldn't use to judge people.   

I admit feeling a little sympathy for Sterling because I do think his thinking capacity is compromised.  He should be advised to keep quiet, sell the team, and try to enjoy the remainder of his life in obscurity with people who care about him(presuming such people exist).  I hope is estranged wife and his children are going help lead him to this conclusion.   Some people, unfortunately, will enjoy seeing him publicly hung and humiliated.  That could be what he deserves, but I'd rather he just went away.

[LooseCannon]

Some people, unfortunately, will enjoy seeing him publicly hung and humiliated.  That could be what he deserves, but I'd rather he just went away.

Count me as someone who doesn't want him to just go away.  There are larger societal issues regarding race at play here.  People just want to hope that if they ignore things, then the problem will be solved.  That's the failed strategy that the NBA tried with Sterling.

I want this to interrupt everyone's fun and drag out in the courts in a manner that sustains a long-running national conversation about race.

[jambr380]

Sterling really seems to struggle to hold together coherent threads of thought and, while he does some things that indicate that his mental status isn't completely trashed, he provides a fair amount of evidence that he is compromised in his ability to think things through.  We all have a mental filter (often subconscious) that prevents us from blurting out poorly constructed thoughts, and this filter is impacted when we are over stressed or if we suffer from mental health issues or onset of dementia.  Dementia isn't an all at once thing and people with dementia are impacted by stress.  The thought filter capacity may be different over the course of minutes, hours, throughout the day.   I hate to say it, but I do believe we ALL have thoughts of judgment that are based on people's appearances that are driven by our own personal history.  Most of us (these days anyway) filter the discriminatory thoughts with rationale that reminds us quickly to be open and fair and to not make character judgements about people based on their attractiveness, weight, clothing, ehtnicity, race...   Yet, initial thoughts do come to us despite the desire to be above such things.

I think that when one's filter is faulty (due perhaps to dementia), the thoughts sometimes come out through words and the person's ability to make sense of them, take them back, reorganize them, often ends up causing further confusion -- even to the point where a person may conclude "I don't know what I am saying or why I am saying it".   I think Sterling may be a scoundrel, but I also think he is not in a position to effectively defend himself, and therefore, will continue to dig his hole deeper each time he is challenged.   I think that what is happening now MAY connect to a lifetime of racism, but even the best of us have initial thoughts and beliefs that we keep to ourselves -- perhaps working internally to negate any tendency to judge/misjudge based on things we know we shouldn't use to judge people.   

I admit feeling a little sympathy for Sterling because I do think his thinking capacity is compromised.  He should be advised to keep quiet, sell the team, and try to enjoy the remainder of his life in obscurity with people who care about him(presuming such people exist).  I hope is estranged wife and his children are going help lead him to this conclusion.   Some people, unfortunately, will enjoy seeing him publicly hung and humiliated.  That could be what he deserves, but I'd rather he just went away.

I tend to agree with this - tp. Having had several family members suffer from dementia / alzheimer's, I have seen what it can do to your 'filters' and it isn't pleasant. People you knew as friendly, wonderful souls can turn very mean. He may not be suffering from either of these, but old, angry men are a fairly common product in our society. I know that there a lot of people who want to use this as a prime example of racism in our society today, but basing it on the desperate comments (and then unstable, defensive comments) of this man [who seems to be slipping] doesn't seem like the best approach...especially when the vast majority absolutely disagree with what he said in the first place.