OT - Donald Sterling comments

[Sabres Fan in NS]

 

the take on this that must be heard is here, starting at 3:45.

 

http://youtu.be/g6bLKe9-Mto

 

 

I'm not sure who this guy is, but he is right on.

 

That is the real problem and it happens everywhere. It happens right here in Halifax. Shameful!!

 

The bigger problem is that the people who view racism as a big problem do not understand the key underling issues. If we do know them (unfortunately, I include myself in this group) we don't say, or do, anything about it.

 

Thanks, Aud, for digging this up. I encourage everyone to give it a listen.

 

The NBA knows where its bread is buttered. Let's not pretend for a minute that this is morally motivated.

 

Sad, but true.

 

They knew about this POS for years. They new his other businesses and how he ran them.

 

The NBA, IMO, only acted because huge sponsors pulled out and the players told the league that they were united in their stance that unless something big happened to this jerkoff they would not play the games.

 

The NBA had countless times to take this clown down, but didn't. This stinks and it will come back to haunt the NBA, unless it just goes away quietly.

[shrader]

I would bet that the girlfriend tried to extort money from Sterling first, saying that she would make the tape public if he didn't pay her and the old man thinking he did nothing wrong, told her to go ahead.

I am really sick of hearing about this already, with hockey playoffs and basketball playoffs going on and the NFL draft just over a week away, all I keep hearing on sports is this drama about an 80 year old man saying something considered to be racist. Is what he said racist and is he a racist ? Sure seems like it, but I really don't care enough to make it a major issue all week long, get done with it already. There are serious racism issues (against all races) happening every day, but they don't have the making of a weekly reality show to garner as much attention as this has, so we don't hear about them.

 

I'm right there with you. This thing has gone way out of control. You can't tune into any sports programming right now without I just want to turn on the TV and find out who scored some goals and who hit a couple home runs. It is next to impossible to get that information right now. I miss the days where the most serious sports talk you would get was "look at this crazy mascot fight".

[Marvelo]

Where did Adam Silver come from? I thought Bud Selig lookalike David Stern was in charge. Instead, it looks like this latter-day Kenesaw Mountain Landis came from the moon to exact untold punishment on the utterings of mere mortals. 2.5 million fine for something he said at a b-ball game? Lifetime suspension? It's a rush to judgement accelerated by our big-mouth president. It was a setup, an extortion, a blackmail. The guy is 80. He might have dementia. I don't support the guy, he sounds pretty scummy. But the punishment is way too severe for what he did and amounts to PC-panic.

 

Kareem has it right: It's the finger-wagging Olympics. http://time.com/7959...-jabbar-racism/

 

The NBA is thug league...this is no surprise.

Edited April 30, 2014 by 716

[inkman]

Where did Adam Silver come from? I thought Bud Selig lookalike David Stern was in charge. Instead, it looks like this latter-day Kenesaw Mountain Landis came from the moon to exact untold punishment on the utterings of mere mortals. 2.5 million fine for something he said at a b-ball game? Lifetime suspension? It's a rush to judgement accelerated by our big-mouth president. It was a setup, an extortion, a blackmail. The guy is 80. He might have dementia. I don't support the guy, he sounds pretty scummy. But the punishment is way too severe for what he did and amounts to PC-panic.

 

Kareem has it right: It's the finger-wagging Olympics. http://time.com/7959...-jabbar-racism/

 

The NBA is thug league...this is no surprise.

What does the last comment really mean? It's a black league? I think that's what you are getting at.

 

He didn't say any of this at a game.

 

Why are you bringing Obama into the discussion? I listen to sports talk all day and night and no one I've listened to has even mentioned the POTUS. Who cares what he thinks about this issue? This is an organization handling their business because one of their own tarnished the brand.

[shrader]

What does the last comment really mean? It's a black league? I think that's what you are getting at.

 

He didn't say any of this at a game.

 

Why are you bringing Obama into the discussion? I listen to sports talk all day and night and no one I've listened to has even mentioned the POTUS. Who cares what he thinks about this issue? This is an organization handling their business because one of their own tarnished the brand.

 

I heard a comment this morning that Biden talked with someone. I didn't catch who it was though, possibly someone from the PA. But anyway, the politicians have absolutely nothing to do with this decision. Regardless of who they talked to, this was how the NBA was going to react.

[Marvelo]

What does the last comment really mean? It's a black league? I think that's what you are getting at.

 

He didn't say any of this at a game.

 

Why are you bringing Obama into the discussion? I listen to sports talk all day and night and no one I've listened to has even mentioned the POTUS. Who cares what he thinks about this issue? This is an organization handling their business because one of their own tarnished the brand.

 

no, it means it's a league full of thugs.

[That Aud Smell]

2.5 million fine for something he said at a b-ball game? Lifetime suspension? It's a rush to judgement accelerated by our big-mouth president. It was a setup, an extortion, a blackmail. The guy is 80. He might have dementia. I don't support the guy, he sounds pretty scummy. But the punishment is way too severe for what he did and amounts to PC-panic.

 

But you think he's being treated unfairly? No one should feel a bit of compunction or shed a single tear for that guy.

 

That said, the points that people like Kareem are making are the right ones: This guy's been around for a long time, and the league let him be -- until it no longer could. The finger-wagging is nothing but profit-driven-media-piling-on at this point.

[TrueBlueGED]

no, it means it's a league full of thugs.

 

People really need to stop using "thugs" in place of the word they really want to use. It's growing tiresome. Richard Sherman was spot on with this point.

[LastPommerFan]

This has been the "burden" of the white man since our ancestors decided to enslave a continent of people for half a millennium. There is a double standard.

 

Speak for yourself. My ancestors were poor tenant farmers in Ireland and Serbia up until the last century. They were barely above slaves for their landlords anyway, and never would have even had the thought to own another person. I understand a bunch of rich ###### 500 years ago figured out a way to get richer off the backs of others. I understand my ancestors who lived in poverty avoided a worse fate solely because of their race. I understand that there are consequences of that advantage, an advantage I enjoy to this day. But I'm not willing to blame the 99% of Europeans who lived in abject poverty from the Plague onward for the actions of the Rich.

Edited April 30, 2014 by Glass Case Of Emotion

[That Aud Smell]

It's a rush to judgement accelerated by our big-mouth president.

 

 

edit: obama was on air somewhere - in asia? - talking about this before the commissioner dropped the hammer. POTUS had strong words, fwiw.

 

no, it means it's a league full of thugs.

People really need to stop using "thugs" in place of the word they really want to use. It's growing tiresome. Richard Sherman was spot on with this point.

 

Sherman had it right. In the event anyone's unaware, the large majority of people out there now know that when a person says "thug" to refer to unruly black athletes, they're substituting that word for the word "n igger". Efforts to say otherwise are unpersuasive, and, IMO, dishonest.

Edited April 30, 2014 by That Aud Smell

[North Buffalo]

The NBA just ###### themselves big time.

 

They let the racist POS own a franchise for this long and waited far too long to do something about it.

 

The problem now will be this...

 

The owner of the Magic actively campaigns against gay lifestyles. How long before the moral outrage gets too great and he's forced out?

 

The owner of the Cavaliers helped caused the mortgage crisis... a real poster child for integrity.

 

What's next on the thought control police agenda? I can't wait. Don't threaten the all-mighty bottom line.

 

 

The bottom line is that we, as society, turn to choose a blind eye to most things until the point where it's cool to jump on the bandwagon. I listened to WGR talk about this and they were talking about people still buying tickets to the games and justifying that by saying the fans shouldn't have to suffer because of the owner's views. Well, that might be true, except that in buying a ticket to see his franchise play they are lining his pockets. In my opinion, you give your right to complain even the smallest iota if you are participating in driving revenue for that person. Clearly a person like that does not care enough and that's what big business, etc. count on. People like to complain, right up until their precious "gotta have it" entertainment is taken away and then it's all over. Yes, that's a sweeping generalization but our society has fit the bill nicely.

 

So, you know what? Screw the NBA and the mess they are in. I want this to go further and I want them to suffer immeasurably for being so goddamned greedy for money that they allowed this racist POS to own a franchise for so long and turn a blind eye. And screw the sponsors who jumped on the bandwagon who also knew of this ######'s motivations for just as long.

 

I am sick of corporate manipulation.

 

See also: http://www.espnfc.co...planned?cc=5901

 

Sure it's the right motivation, but manipulating people usually undermines your efforts once they find out.

 

Yea.. tonight I am on a rampage.

 

Can I get an Amen!

 

Stupidity and corporate manipulation rampant right now... Kinda like medical ethics and military intelligence or environmentalism in California. If you have to name it, you know there is a problem.... more like SNAFU and this is a surprise to anyone. Agreed Sterling had to go, but right now our country is rife with people who are greedy and would rather divide than find some consensus based on mutual respect even in disagreement.

 

These idiots at the top are forget that spreading a little cheer goes a long way. Arrogance and paternalism eventually brings out knives as others of the same ilk try their hand getting a piece of the pie for themselves. Depressing isn't it. There has to be a balance between capitalistic motivation and ensuring there is enough opportunity for as many people as possible to maintain a healthy society and diverse economic prosperity.

 

Right now this country is out of with Sterling as one of the grosser examples of balance.

[Marvelo]

I think it's a rush to judgement by the PC police. There was no investigation, no trial. There was a severe penalty. I'm not condoning what he said...what he's saying makes no sense to me...I think there are mental issues there. Sounds like a demented, crazy old bastard to me. The guy was taped in secret...this should be considered in some kind of well-researched trial, like in the Black Sox scandal.

[LastPommerFan]

I think it's a rush to judgement by the PC police. There was no investigation, no trial. There was a severe penalty. I'm not condoning what he said...what he's saying makes no sense to me...I think there are mental issues there. Sounds like a demented, crazy old bastard to me. The guy was taped in secret...this should be considered in some kind of well-researched trial, like in the Black Sox scandal.

 

There absolutely was an investigation, in which Sterling admitted that the comments were his? What more is needed?

[LGR4GM]

But you think he's being treated unfairly? No one should feel a bit of compunction or shed a single tear for that guy.

 

That said, the points that people like Kareem are making are the right ones: This guy's been around for a long time, and the league let him be -- until it no longer could. The finger-wagging is nothing but profit-driven-media-piling-on at this point.

I think that he is a dirt bag racist POS who deserves what he got. That being said there is something shady that he was in his own home and got recorded having a private convo. Neither of the ppl involved in this are right. Sterling the racist f###tard he is or his mistress for playing the game.

[shrader]

Sherman had it right. In the event anyone's unaware, the large majority of people out there now know that when a person says "thug" to refer to unruly black athletes, they're substituting that word for the word "n igger". Efforts to say otherwise are unpersuasive, and, IMO, dishonest.

 

I have no doubt that initial use of thug in this thread was in fact the racial version, but I hate that this word is now one of those suddenly forbidden words. I threw out the word thug when Sherman taunted Crabtree. I have also used it several times for Milan Lucic and when talking about mafia shows/movies. I associate it with jackass behavior meant for intimidation. Now I'm suddenly racist because I applied it to the wrong person.

 

The double standards that have evolved when it comes to race have gotten way out of control.

[LGR4GM]

Sherman had it right. In the event anyone's unaware, the large majority of people out there now know that when a person says "thug" to refer to unruly black athletes, they're substituting that word for the word "n igger". Efforts to say otherwise are unpersuasive, and, IMO, dishonest.

I use Thug and Punk interchangeably meaning a scumbag/douche. Never once have I thought Ni##er when saying it so if people are that is their prerogative but I don't.

 

For instance Richie Icogonito is a punk.

[Johnny DangerFace]

 

I use Thug and Punk interchangeably meaning a scumbag/douche. Never once have I thought Ni##er when saying it so if people are that is their prerogative but I don't.

 

For instance Richie Icogonito is a punk.

 

Black people are thugs, white people are punks. Iv rarely ever heard a white athlete ever called a thug. But iv heard countless black athletes called a thug when they have a clean record

[shrader]

Black people are thugs, white people are punks. Iv rarely ever heard a white athlete ever called a thug. But iv heard countless black athletes called a thug when they have a clean record

 

The word thug has been thrown at countless hockey players. Go ahead and google just about any fighter's name and thug and you get an endless list of links. To say that it is rare is ridiculous.

[That Aud Smell]

I think it's a rush to judgement by the PC police. There was no investigation, no trial. There was a severe penalty. I'm not condoning what he said...what he's saying makes no sense to me...I think there are mental issues there. Sounds like a demented, crazy old bastard to me. The guy was taped in secret...this should be considered in some kind of well-researched trial, like in the Black Sox scandal.

 

Well, here's the thing. He hasn't been charged with a crime. This time. He's being disciplined by a commissioner of an association with which his private business (a pro sports franchise authorized by the association) associates. That association wants no part of him because he was caught saying awful, awful things about black people.

 

Nothing you're saying changes any of that.

 

Also, if you listened to the clip I posted, this guy is a bad guy, and has been a bad guy for a long, long time. So, shame on David Stern & co., really, for letting it go on this long.

 

I have no doubt that initial use of thug in this thread was in fact the racial version, but I hate that this word is now one of those suddenly forbidden words. I threw out the word thug when Sherman taunted Crabtree. I have also used it several times for Milan Lucic and when talking about mafia shows/movies. I associate it with jackass behavior meant for intimidation. Now I'm suddenly racist because I applied it to the wrong person.

 

I accept what you're saying. What I would suggest is that you consider very carefully how and why "thug" has come to be used so commonly when referring, almost exclusively, to black males. And ask yourself who's using that term, for the most part. Maybe it's not a straight proxy for the N* word -- maybe it stands in for "ape" or other such epithets. Anyway, whether you're good with it or not, the way that 1000s of other people have used that word have made it what it now is.

 

Black people are thugs, white people are punks. Iv rarely ever heard a white athlete ever called a thug. But iv heard countless black athletes called a thug when they have a clean record

 

No doubt in my mind: It has become a racially charged term.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Oxford tells me that a thug is a violent person ...

 

http://www.oxforddic...on/english/thug

 

EDIT:

 

I have used the word at times, even on this board, and that is how I use it.

 

If someone now has it meaning other things well, whatever.

Edited April 30, 2014 by Sabres Fan In NS

[PromoTheRobot]

I think it's amazing that we found the last two racist people in America in the same week. What are the odds?

Edited April 30, 2014 by PromoTheRobot

[shrader]

Oxford tells me that a thug is a violent person ...

 

http://www.oxforddic...on/english/thug

 

EDIT:

 

I have used the word at times, even on this board, and that is how I use it.

 

If someone now has it meaning other things well, whatever.

 

Apparently it doesn't matter what your intended use is. All that matters is what someone else thinks your intended use is. All I know is that I have to now be very careful what words I use when describing action movies. "Hans Gruber and his team of rent-a-goons" doesn't sound anywhere near as good as "Hans Gruber and his team of thugs", but I guess I'll have to go that route from now on since the hacker guy was black.

 

 

edit: And now for some reason all I can think of is this:

 

John: Homer, what have you got against gays?

Homer: You know, it's not...usual! If there was a law, it would be against it!

Marge: Oh, please, Homer, you're embarrassing yourself!

Homer: No, they're embarrassing me! They're embarrassing America! They turned the Navy into a floating joke. They took our best names, like Bruce, Lance, and Julian. Those used to be our toughest, manliest names, but now they're just...

John: ######? (seriously, the Q word that rhymes with steer gets blocked?)

Homer: And that's another thing — I resent you people using that word. That's our word for making fun of you! We need it!

And on that note, I can never go to a steel mill ever again.

Edited April 30, 2014 by shrader

[LastPommerFan]

Apparently it doesn't matter what your intended use is. All that matters is what someone else thinks your intended use is. All I know is that I have to now be very careful what words I use when describing action movies. "Hans Gruber and his team of rent-a-goons" doesn't sound anywhere near as good as "Hans Gruber and his team of thugs", but I guess I'll have to go that route from now on since the hacker guy was black.

 

You've essentially summed up how human communication works into two succinct sentences.

 

Well done.

[WildCard]

Speak for yourself. My ancestors were poor tenant farmers in Ireland and Serbia up until the last century. They were barely above slaves for their landlords anyway, and never would have even had the thought to own another person. I understand a bunch of rich ###### 500 years ago figured out a way to get richer off the backs of others. I understand my ancestors who lived in poverty avoided a worse fate solely because of their race. I understand that there are consequences of that advantage, an advantage I enjoy to this day. But I'm not willing to blame the 99% of Europeans who lived in abject poverty from the Plague onward for the actions of the Rich.

My family didn't come over from Germany until right before WW1 started. Perfect time really, missed slavery in America and the Nazi's in Germany.

I think it's amazing that we found the last two racist people in America in the same week. What are the odds?

Who's the second?

[Drunkard]

Apparently it doesn't matter what your intended use is. All that matters is what someone else thinks your intended use is. All I know is that I have to now be very careful what words I use when describing action movies. "Hans Gruber and his team of rent-a-goons" doesn't sound anywhere near as good as "Hans Gruber and his team of thugs", but I guess I'll have to go that route from now on since the hacker guy was black.

Louis CK refers to stuff like this as white people problems. Regardless of that though, words are always up to the interpretation of the listener and always have been. Whether they interpret them in the way you desire or not depends on both the speaker/author and the listener/reader but you can’t always make people perceive things in the same way that you do.