Donald Sterling Isn't Very--But Then, It Isn't Actually His Name Either

I really have nothing to say that isn't obvious and doesn't go without saying, but I am so incensed that I feel compelled to say it anyway.  First of all, if Donald Sterling doesn't bring any black people to the game, there is no game.  He has no team.  So he is both a racist and not very bright.  Or maybe, at 81, he is cognitively impaired and disinhibited.  Or intoxicated.  Or does this reflect the trend of open disdain that the super rich feel for those who are not? Whatever the reason, may he reap what he sowed.  Sell the Clippers, change Sterling back to it's original Tokowitz, and get out of LA, a city known for its multiethnic culture.

The New York Times today reports that Sterling is well known for his racial intolerance.  In 2009, Sterling paid a $2.725 million settlement in a lawsuit brought by the Justice Department accusing him of systematically driving African-Americans, Latinos and families with children out of apartment buildings he owned.  He has been sued by two former coaches, one of whom declared that Sterling strived for a "Southern plantation style" organization. 

In the 21st century, where everyone's phone is a video recorder and there is a 24/7 news cycle to fill, you have to know that what you say publicly is just that.  Public information.  You have no expectation of privacy in a basketball arena even if you feel that you own the place.  The man is an attorney, after all.  No excuses to be had, and no excuses for being bad.

The worst part is that I am not impressed with professional sports holding players responsible for their actions, so I am not holding my breath that there will be any higher standard for the owners, but here's to hoping that I am wrong, wrong, wrong about that.