The Ethics Cloud Over Ballmer's $2 Billion B-Ball Buy 398
theodp (442580) writes '"It is hard to imagine any more heinous way of earning money than by benefiting from racism," writes Rick Cohen, who argues that Donald Sterling and the NBA owners are being unjustly enriched by Sterling's racism, which led to the $2 billion sale of the L.A. Clippers to ex-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, a record-high sum for an NBA team. "Indeed, the only losers in the Sterling affair are the players," adds the NY Times. "What held promise as a possible D-Day in the N.B.A., a day when N.B.A. owners stood up to be counted and voted Donald Sterling out of the league, instead turned into a great day for the status quo." Forbes contributor Robert Wood speculates that if he plays his cards right, Sterling's windfall could be tax-free.'
Disable Advertising? (Score:5, Informative)
More like "Ignore my checkbox to Disable Advertising". I'm still seeing banners at the top of the content and at the top of the right column.
Re:Racism or Thought Police? (Score:4, Informative)
> Here's Slashdot cheering the thought police. The man was baited into saying something in a private phone call. Where are our privacy champions now?
It wasn't a phone call, it was in person. But, while the recording was what brought his bigotry to public attention, what really matters are all his other public actions, like refusing to rent apartments to blacks and hispanics. It was only a matter of time before all his shit caught up with him.
http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-sterling-racist-history-2014-4
Re:pishaw (Score:2, Informative)
Forfeit? Nope. He's getting paid for it. TFA and TFS even say so.
Re:pishaw (Score:5, Informative)
A private association had rules governing the association, and one of those members broke one of the rules*. Hence, he was kicked to the curb. No laws are alleged by any part to have been violated.
*He broke the rule that said he wouldn't do or say anything to harm the league financially. Its very broad rule for a reason. This reason.
Re:Harder Idea - Shutter the team (Score:5, Informative)
Let's not forget that Sterling has been a Grade A fuckwad for decades before this. He has been sued multiple times for his racist housing discrimination practices. He lost one case outright. The terms of the other were confidential, but he had to pay millions in attorney fees, so let's guess how that one ended.
http://www.latimes.com/local/l... [latimes.com]
That's just the tip of his douchebag iceberg. He should have been run out long ago, but the league is a bunch of cowards. Fortunately, the players forced their hands by pretty much promising that no one would play for him again after this season.
Re:Racism or Thought Police? (Score:2, Informative)
You can possibly be that stupid, can you? "he didn't even have a problem with minorities"?! Seriously?!
He said that he didn't want black people at his games or getting within one degree of separation from him. That's pretty obviously "having a problem with minorities".
Further, it's absolutely absurd to say that he's being unfairly characterized as racist due to "one minute of [his] private speech". Sterling has a decades' long history of blatant and overt racism, and not just in the form of speech or attitude. The man settled the largest housing discrimination lawsuit in US history for systematically trying to drive out minority tenants.
While he may not have used any slurs in that one particular recording, there are PLENTY of other examples: http://deadspin.com/your-complete-quotable-guide-to-decades-of-donald-sterl-1568047212
It's astonishing that you can be so misinformed in the age of the internet.