African-American? I don’t know any of this to be true, but the questions do linger. While I commend current NBA Commissioner Adam Silver for his actions in response to this mess, I still wonder why something wasn’t done sooner. Silver enforced a lifetime ban on Sterling and issued him a $2.5 million fine. He also is pushing for the NBA’s board of governors to force Sterling and his wife to sell the team. This vote will take place on June 3rd, though the NBA has said it may be willing to postpone this vote if the Sterlings willingly sell the team. Shelly Sterling has been listen to offers for a sale. The highest bid being reported as $2.5 billion. This is all well and good, but how much does Sterling actually lose in this? He will still make a substantial profit from the sale of the team. Yes, he’d be ousted as an owner, but with the behaviors he has displayed in the past one has to wonder just how important being an owner of an NBA franchise is to him.
Another angle to consider is the role Sterling’s girlfriend, V. Stiviano plays into all of this. Donald Sterling is still a married man, though it has been reported he is estranged from his wife. Many have wondered how the audio recording even got released. Did Stiviano release it, maybe as a way to get back at her lover? Shelly Sterling has sued Stiviano claiming that gifts and money given to her by her husband are community property and need to be returned, Maybe Stiviano just is a vindictive person looking to cause damage. Whatever the case, it does not excuse Mr. Sterling at all.
While I try to wrap my head around this whole debacle I leave you with this: how far have we really come as a society. This situation includes so many gray areas: racism, cheating, money, discrimination, and just bad intentions. Yes, we all have prejudices of some type. That does not mean it is right though. We have to figure out how to coexist better as a nation of people of many different heritages, social and financial backgrounds.I still don’t know how it all will end, but I do know we all have work to do.