04/27/2014
Donald Sterling Raises The Bar On Ignorance, Again
www.smacchat.com
A few of weeks ago Minnesota representative Pat Garofalo posted a twitter comment that stated “would anyone notice if the NBA shut down? No one except for the increase in the crime rate”. A comment so poignant that anyone worthy of a public office should have known it would yield massive reciprocity, but he didn’t. It virally shot though social media until it landed on his doorstep in the form of an email from ESPN the next day asking him if he wanted to clarify before they ran with the story. At that point he actually re-raised his position and stated “they should fix the problem rather than chastising him for pointing it out”. It was only when the storm front hit St. Paul Minnesota did Garofalo fold faster than a lawn chair. His exit strategy was to claim that he didn’t really know that the NBA tested for ma*****na, when the truth was that he never mentioned the NBA drug policy in his initial statement at all, it was simply based on the racial component of the NBA. The consequences of his drunken tweet will not be know until the mid-term elections in November.
By now everyone has heard the recordings although I don’t believe the full nine minutes has been made available to the public. If you like drama then Tom Clancy got nothin’ on this as it only seemed to get worse with each second as the conversation went on and when it finally ended, so did the Clipper organization’s aspirations of ever being anything more than a ugly step-child in the eyes of the 12.9 million inhabitants of county of Los Angeles. This may be hard to believe but this actually isn’t the worse part of the story, as it spirals downward as the Sterling camp and Clipper management deployed the ‘damage control’ phase. A pure contrived and calculated whiteboard flowchart on solidifying the flood gates. Step one: destroy the credibility of the witness. In their statement they stated that the ex-girlfriend was being sued by “the family” for 1.8 million dollars for embezzlement, when in actually “the family” is Sterling’s ex-wife who is suing her to recoup because the “gifts” she received from her former boyfriend weren’t HIS to give as it was community property under California law as they were married and it was technically 50% hers as well. However they framed it like she was stealing from the company in the “bad accountant” scenario. I don’t know of may wives who were cheated on would be cool with her husband giving his mistress 1.8 million worth of “their” stuff. Then came the statement from Clipper President Andy Roeser:
“Mr. Sterling is emphatic that what is reflected on that recording is not consistent with, nor does it reflect his views, beliefs or feelings. It is the antithesis of who he is, what he believes and how he has lived his life. He feels terrible that such sentiments are being attributed to him and apologizes to anyone who might have been hurt by them. He is also upset and apologizes for sentiments attributed to him about Earvin Johnson. He has long considered Magic a friend and has only the utmost respect and admiration for him--both in terms of who he is and what he has achieved.”
If this were a chess match, which it appears this has become, this would be the equivalent to the “queens gambit” where although somewhat aggressive, leaves plenty of ‘outs’ if countered. Firstly, they attacked the witness in an attempt to discredit her as a criminal and/or a scorned lover. Secondly, a half-hearted apology without admitting any wrongdoing, and a feeble attempt to align with Magic as “a friend”. Lastly, the “not a racist bone in his body (please see Minnesota Rep Pat Garofalo) then pump up his accomplishments as a businessman and member of the community. Phase two comes into play when the tape is authenticated in a day or two, then they come back with the fact that they NEVER said the recording wasn’t Sterling just that it “wasn’t consistent with his views”, even though he said it, it was in a fit a rage (see Mel Gibson) and wasn’t to be taken literally (see John Kyl circa 2012). Just for good measure, let’s throw in the ‘catch all’ phrase of “we’re sorry if we offended anyone”. Can’t you see them now? The sound of dry erase pens clicking as they put the caps on and stating “ok gentlemen, that’s the plan, let’s roll with that, now call the presser”. They simply just following the bigot playbook, and hope to hunker down until the storm blows over. Well this isn’t politics where your career isn’t really over until you’re caught with a live boy or a dead girl, Sterling is going up the river this time (see Marge Schott) and the casualties are the Clipper fans not named Billy Crystal who have lived underneath the shadow of the Forum Blue and Gold Dynasty in LA for three decades for the chance to finally bask in the California sun only to wake and realize that they were misled into believing they were representing the working man’s champion while the posh ‘Hollywood, front runners’ garnered all the attention, only to wake up and realize that they were simply plantation workers owned by the slave trader.
Sadly speak, we’ve read this story before and we know how it ends. The problem is that the persona that is projected to the general public isn’t the same as it is when they think the cameras are off and it’s the “good ol’ boyz sippin’ brandy” when they think no one is watching or listening. At the end of the day Donald Sterling does have a right to say and think what he wants, and no one is denying him his freedom. Conversely, if there is a more apparent example of someone whom should not be the head of an organization where the talent is 78% African American I’ ve never seen it, and this not an aberration but rather par for the course from this man. So, I move that it’s time for the new commissioner to step up to the plate and choose the direction of his administration and demonstrate that he’s not just a Stern clone and set a precedent that if you want to be an Association that is revered globally, that no one is above the law of common decency.