Karma finally caught up to Donald Sterling, the slumlord owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. Just when his team is finally thriving and competing for an NBA championship, NBA commissioner Adam Silver last week banned him for life.
But it's sad the NBA didn't boot Sterling, who was caught on tape making racist comments to his ex-girlfriend, V. Stiviano, a long time ago. It's even sadder that the NAACP and some players, coaches, and team owners embraced this nasty bigot.
In a 2009 ESPN The Magazine piece, many of the characters condemning Sterling didn't have a problem with the man, who at the time had been exposed as a racist. He was so vicious to his minority tenants that he paid a record $2.7 million to the Department of Justice to settle a discrimination lawsuit.
The article recounted, among other atrocities, how one of Sterling's tenants, an elderly black woman named Kandynce Jones, was living in a flooded apartment. When Sterling was told Jones wanted to be reimbursed for the damage, he replied, "I am not going to do that. Just evict the bitch."
This man has degraded women. He committed sexual harassment and adultery. He cheated people out of money.
Those allegations didn't stop NBA celebs from praising Sterling. Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, told the magazine: "I like Donald. He plays by his own rules." Yet Cuban tweeted, "I agree 100% with Commissioner Silver's findings and the actions taken against Donald Sterling."
Golden State Warriors head coach Mark Jackson told ESPN The Magazine he "never had a problem" with Sterling when he played for the Clippers from 1992 to 1994. Last week, Jackson told Clippers fans to protest by staying home.
Though Silver said Sterling's comments "are deeply offensive and harmful," his predecessor, David Stern, did nothing to sanction Sterling when his despicable acts against his minority tenants were exposed. Instead, Stern rewarded him by letting him snatch Chris Paul after vetoing a trade that would have sent the all-star point guard to the L.A. Lakers.
Now Silver says he'll get the owners to force Sterling to sell the Clippers, allowing him to make billions. That's not right.
My wife owns a Wing Stop franchise. If she did something like this, the company would revoke the franchise. The same rule should apply to Sterling. It's time to stop him from making a profit off the people he hates.
Follow Luke on Twitter: @unclelukereal1.
