NBA vs Owners Issues - Essay Example

NBA vs. Owners Donald Sterling, the owner of Los Angeles Clippers that he bought 33 years ago, is being faced with bans and a possible force removal as the owner of Los Angeles Clippers following a racist conversation that he allegedly had with his girlfriend who was responsible for recording and releasing the record to the press. According to the recording, sterling had asked his girlfriend not to bring black people to the team and stop posing for photographs that she posted on the Internet with blacks and Hispanics. Although Donald Sterling has since apologized for this behavior, he has a long-standing history of racism. For instance, in 2009 he paid $2.73 in fines to the federal government to settle claims that were placed on him regarding discrimination towards the African Americans and Latinos. Donald Sterling has also been sued in the past by his own 22-year manger on claims of harassment, discrimination, as well as wrongful termination. This case becomes a moral issue because the recording that Donald Sterling has been accused of was released to the press illegally and his conversation was recorded without his consent. This has led to Sterling claiming that his rights were violated. The image conscious NBA has several options that can be taken against the billionaire who has since maintained that he is not racist. This issue becomes more confusing because Donald Sterling has been involved in initiatives to support the minority groups. However, one of his own managers has maintained that he does something expecting to benefit in another way. For instance, helping the minorities and having a girlfriend from a minority group would be effective in showing that he is not racist and in improving his own image. Although the NBA has a clear constitution, several changes should be incorporated in it to ensure that firm actions are taken against individuals who make racist remarks. Due to the evil that is involved in racism, NBA should punish such individuals as Donald Sterling accordingly to ensure that such instances do not occur again in the future and to ensure equality in the American society. Preventing a re-occurrence of the same in the league, NBA should monitor the behavior of the team owners, create an environment that advocates for equality, react immediately to racist behaviors, and enforce racism cases regarding the league in the U.S constitution. The NBA should monitor the behavior of the team owners as well as their actions so as to ensure that actions that may tarnish the name of the organization and the image of the overall American society are eliminated and avoided so as to ensure equality. In spite of the fact that the tape was not released to the media through the correct legal channels, the team owners should behave in such a way that they respect the society and all people in it. Daniel B. Wood, the author of the article, “Could NBA really force out Donald Sterling over alleged racist remarks”, maintains that NBA intends to move quickly to begin the process of arranging for Donald Sterling to sell his Clippers controlling interests to another individual. This is to show how much NBA values the image of the organization and the extent to which they do not tolerate bad behavior. “Sterling did not attend Sundays Clippers game, and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) has asked the NBA to ban him from all remaining 2014 playoff games, among other things.” This implies that NBA is bound on taking stiff measures that include forcible ouster if other team owners favor this move. Judging on the reputation of Donald Sterling in the past instances regarding racism, he should be forced to sell the team if NBA expects to maintain its image. “How did Sterling stay in the game? One factor: He found that he could generate his own good publicity”. This could be used to show the team owners that they cannot control their own reputation by using money. The environment through which the teams coexist should also be checked. The owner’s association of NBA must ensure that it creates an environment whose main agenda is equality for the player so as to ensure the racist remarks are avoided. Franz Lidz, the author of an article by the title, “Sterling Reputation” maintains that, “The image-conscious NBA, so strict with players dress codes and inappropriate language, has long given Sterling a free pass.” This shows that although NBA has a constitution, it has not been as keen in following it. This is in spite of the idea that, “The NBA holds its constitution closer to its vest than does Major League Baseball or the National Football League”. Therefore, the organization should avoid this behavior and change for the better so as to ensure that the environment for the players is motivating. This would not only improve the image of the organization but also ensure that the organization controls the behavior of the owners for the overall good of the organization and the players. This change would be important in ensuring that the players feel equal and especially those that come from the minority groups that include the African Americans and Hispanics. Incorporation of the most appropriate rules that govern the team owners is a good move that would also help the organization in the eyes of the public and the overall American society. This would ensure that such issues as that with Donald Sterling’s remarks would be avoided. The response rate of the overall organization should also be checked and improved to eliminate these ideas. To further help in eliminating racism in NBA and the overall American society, the NBA commissioner should react with immediate punitive actions on any NBA members that show racist behaviors. According to Wood, “Commissioner Adam Silver, who said Sunday the NBA would move quickly, is set to hold a news conference before the Clippers host the Golden State Warriors”. Although this quote maintains that the NBA would move quickly to punish Sterling’s actions, investigations on the original recording have taken a significant amount of time and so is the punitive actions. This shows that the effectiveness of the organization in passing quick punishments on the racist owners is lagging. This should be changed and the organization should also ensure that it does not allow any action to go unpunished as was the case with the background investigations on Sterling’s past behavior. This would also ensure that the NBA’s constitution is regulated in a similar way as the U.S constitution. On the other hand, “Sterling has also been embroiled in race and other controversies for decades, which suggests his latest controversy is more about who he is than his age” (McCann). This provides additional evidence that NBA has been lagging behind in ensuring that all rules under its constitutions are followed accordingly. Incorporating the idea of racism in the U.S constitution may be very effective in deterring the behavior. The NBA constitution, despite being strict mostly on non-race issues, should be enforced even under the U.S federal constitution to increase its impact on the team owners and show increased seriousness on the matter. This would be very effective since the U.S constitution is followed strictly. In addition, having the issue of racism included in the constitution would imply that the government would have a function in enforcing it. “The NBAs legal case against Sterling is premised mainly on Article 13(d) of the league constitution” (McCann). This implies that the league only regulates the activities concerning team owners based on its own constitution, which might not be taken as serious as the nation’s constitution. Failure to take strict measures such as including issues regarding racism in the U.S constitution has led to additional problems. “The league may have lost a fight to fine or suspend Sterling, but it would have won the respect of players and fans for going out on a limb and fighting it.” (Mannix). This shows that the league was reluctant in strategizing no ways that would show the seriousness of racism allegations in the organization. In spite of the lag, NBA still has a chance to resolve the issue mostly through passing a strict judgment on Donald Sterling that mostly involves forcing him to sell the team since even the team itself is not comfortable with him. Since the remarks were discovered, Donald Sterling was banned from most activities which although is a significant first step is not enough to pass the word to other owners on the seriousness of racism remarks and treatment of individuals unequally. A significant step was reached when NBA announced that it had begun the process of selling Sterling’s ownership. However, this would not be enough. Incorporation of the federal constitution in the case would improve the significance of the case as well as its seriousness. Changes in the policy structure of NBA could be the main aspect behind the success behind elimination of racism comments from the league and easing it from the American society. In spite of the claim to have Donald Sterling forcibly removed as owner of Los Angeles Clippers, there are counter claims that view the case from the perspective of Sterling being wronged. One of the strongest opposition claims is that Donald Sterling’s privacy had been violated. This is mostly because the conversation was recorded without Sterling’s consent. In addition, it was forwarded to the media through unconstitutional channels. There is a clear violation of rights although this does not justify being racist. In addition, from one of Clippers executives, “"Im not surprised by Donalds crash landing; Im surprised he didnt crash sooner” (Lindz 82). This shows that even his workmates knew of his racist viewpoints and the idea that his privacy rights were violated cannot be used to drip the charges against him or even change the public’s perception of him. Additionally, he was able to prevent his previous racist remarks from reaching the vast public through settling fines. This however, was not effective in eliminating his racist remarks as he repeated the same from time to time. Sterling is also accused of not only talking but also showing racism in action. Here, Sterling is accused of failing to lend apartments to African Americans in the apartment buildings that he owns. Due to the claims placed on Sterling, claiming that his rights were violated would worsen his viewpoint on racism since he is good at hiding that personality. Therefore, punishing him, as NBA is planning, is the best option so that his actions could serve as an example for other leaders with similar behaviors. In conclusion, issues related to racism represent the main cause of inequality in American teams and the overall society. Eliminating them, despite being challenging, would ensure that the public image of the league is preserved. In addition, this would create a better society for the minority individuals. To accomplish this, NBA has several options that it could follow; however, the most appropriate is the most serious. In this concern, Donald Sterling should be forced to sell the team. This is not only because of the remarks but also because of the idea that he has repeated these viewpoints but managed to eliminate them by paying fines. In the quest to prevent the reoccurrence, NBA should ensure that the racist issues are represented in the federal constitution, punishing the offenders immediately, and creating an environment that fosters equality. “Donald doesnt write checks unless he gets something in return,” says his former press agent, Michael Selsman. "These aid organizations give him a chance to demonstrate to a skeptical community that hes a worthy man” (Lindz 82). Monitoring the owners would ensure that this does not happen and that racism is taken seriously even by the most rich. Works Cited Wood, Daniel B. “Could NBA really force out Donald Sterling over alleged racist remarks.” Christian Science Monitor. 28 Apr. 2014. Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem. “How to tell if you are a Racist like Donald Sterling.” Time.com. 5 May 2014. Web. 5 May 2014. Lindz, Franz. “Sterling Reputation”. Sports Illustrated. 120.18 (2014): 82. Print. Terrance, McConnell. “Moral Dilemmas” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 8 Jun. 2010. Web. 31 May 2014. http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2014/entries/moral-dilemmas/ McCann, Michael. “The potential Legal Fallout from Donald Sterling’s CNN Interview” SI.com. 13 May 2014. Mannix, Chris. “Silver did what absolutely needed to be done with Ban of Sterling.” 30 Apr. 2014. Bruinus, Harry. “Why NBA may need to lawyer up if it proceeds to kick out Donald Sterling” Christian Science Monitor.5 Feb. 2014. Read More