NBA hypocrite MUCH?

[Roy H.]

You are right though, if the NBA is so concerned about the racist comments of an owner, shouldn't they show their commitment to a diverse society by instituting parameters to have minority owners be able to be given priority status to purchase franchises, even at a reduced rate. Of course, we all know that ain't hapnin

What's the hypothetical discount that a minority group should get?

I've never been a fan of fighting discrimination with more discrimination.

they do not need a discount at all. The NBA just has to stipulate that Ballmer come in with minority partners. That takes care of that!!!

Do token minority owners really change anything?

I think it really does. Example, when the Sterling debacle broke the NBA had to reach to the WNBA to find a black owner to show the diversity in ownership because after Jordan I guess they did not have anyone else. So getting some minorities in the door will go a long way in reducing the appearance of hypocrisy.

Several NBA teams are already partially-owned by minorities, including but not limited to Charlotte (principal owner), Sacramento (principal owner), Milwaukee, San Antonio, Brooklyn, Cleveland, Philadelphia and Chicago.  The Lakers, Nuggets and Raptors have had minorities in their ownership groups, as well.

Does that change the perception at all?

[mgent]

They did not sell it to the white guy because he was white, they sold it to him because he offered the most money.

Affirmative action sucks in most situations.  Definitely would have sucked here.

[Ogaju]

I didn't know Radiv and Lasry were black, my bad.

[Lucky17]

I didn't know Radiv and Lasry were black, my bad.

Minority =/= black.

[Roy H.]

I didn't know Radiv and Lasry were black, my bad.

So the league is scheduled to approve the sale of an NBA franchise to yet another white guy when there were bids made by groups that involved minorities, albeit token minorities.

[Ogaju]

They did not sell it to the white guy because he was white, they sold it to him because he offered the most money.

Affirmative action sucks in most situations.  Definitely would have sucked here.

You obviously do not understand Affirmative action. Affirmative action has long taken stuff from qualified white people, I don't know why you think this is any different. I would actually support affirmative action here because Ballmer not getting to buy an NBA franchise is not going to hurt him as much as a qualified white kid being denied a med school entrance so a  less qualified black kid can get in.

[Ogaju]

I didn't know Radiv and Lasry were black, my bad.

So the league is scheduled to approve the sale of an NBA franchise to yet another white guy when there were bids made by groups that involved minorities, albeit token minorities.

In this case we know minority is code for 'black' come on. If you are extending minority to Indians and Arabs you might as well extend it to Jews. Did you see any Indians or Arabs at those pressers that were called to protest Sterling?

[Roy H.]

They did not sell it to the white guy because he was white, they sold it to him because he offered the most money.

Affirmative action sucks in most situations.  Definitely would have sucked here.

You obviously do not understand Affirmative action. Affirmative action has long taken stuff from qualified white people, I don't know why you think this is any different. I would actually support affirmative action here because Ballmer not getting to buy an NBA franchise is not going to hurt him as much as a qualified white kid being denied a med school entrance so a  less qualified black kid can get in.

So laws should be enforced on the basis of who will be hurt the most?

Applying things equally to everyone seems like a better solution.  Outside of some obvious disqualifying factor (like, say, membership in the KKK), the team should have been sold to the highest bidder.

[Roy H.]

I didn't know Radiv and Lasry were black, my bad.

So the league is scheduled to approve the sale of an NBA franchise to yet another white guy when there were bids made by groups that involved minorities, albeit token minorities.

In this case we know minority is code for 'black' come on. If you are extending minority to Indians and Arabs you might as well extend it to Jews. Did you see any Indians or Arabs at those pressers that were called to protest Sterling?

Here's a helpful tip:  don't use "code". 

[saltlover]

I don't see it as hypocritical to sell to the highest bidder while kicking out a guy that is hurting the league and did for so long.  Even if it is hypocritical that doesn't mean they are wrong, and I don't recall them saying they saw it as their job to fix all race issues in America or sports.

How was Sterling financially hurting the NBA for so long when he just increased the value of every franchise in the league by a considerable amount by creating the first $2 billion sale of a  franchise in NBA history. Whatever small way Sterling harmed the league financially was all paid back in spades today(no pun intended).

How much did Sterling have to do with $2 billion, aside from general circumstances?  It's a team in LA.  TV revenues have been skyrocketing, because live sports is about the only thing people don't DVR and therefore reliably see the ads for.  Heck, the league even forced Chris Paul to him.  The Clippers were the laughingstock of the NBA for 27 of the last 30 years.  It's been suggested here and elsewhere that the Clippers even change their name, they have that weak of a brand.

Yes, the Clippers sold for $2 billion.  About the only thing Sterling has to take credit for is not running the team into bankruptcy -- and the Dodgers sold for $2 billion out of bankruptcy court two years ago, so even that wouldn't seem to matter.

[saltlover]

Have I ever challenged your right to express your views? Give your censorship a rest.

This is just a straw man argument because you feel threatened that being racist could have financial consequences for people.  Plain and simple.  You've been making these arguments every chance you've gotten for the last month.  It's gotten tiring.

[bdm860]

While we're at it, the League should force Silver to step down so he can be replaced with a black guy!

[86MaxwellSmart]

the ONLY thing I care about---is the Pick we get from the Clippers next year....that's it.

[footey]

Not a horrible topic to talk about, but given the technicalities that being mentally incapacitated with Alzheimer's Disease gave to the Sterling Trust to take power and make the forced sale not have to happen because of Shelley Sterling wanting to be distanced from her husband's comments, its probably to little to late,

You are right though, if the NBA is so concerned about the racist comments of an owner, shouldn't they show their commitment to a diverse society by instituting parameters to have minority owners be able to be given priority status to purchase franchises, even at a reduced rate. Of course, we all know that ain't hapnin

Any real pressure to have more minority ownership would have to come from the players.  It was the players' reaction to Sterling that was the major impetus to the league's decisive action.

[celticsfan8591]

There is absolutely nothing racist about selling a team to the highest bidder.  Selling a team to someone who bid less solely because of their race, on the other hand, is a textbook example of racism.  Which bidder is of which race makes no difference whatsoever.