For his racist comments
about African Americans, Donald Sterling's professional career ends
in disgrace. His less than sterling reputation has finally caught up
with him through his latest offensive remarks captured on tape, and
he pays the price: banishment from the NBA for life and the maximum
fine of $2.5 million.
Deplorable that
incident be, yet it is agreed by most, this issue is bigger than
Sterling himself and his personal racial prejudices. Importantly, greater efforts are
needed to cultivate a stronger diversity
working culture, and deeper tolerance for
the growing diversity of the American people.
In the following views,
some important lessons can be gleaned.
Firstly, this is how
NBA Commisioner Adam Silver view Sterling's remarks:
“The central findings
of the investigation are that the man’s voice heard on the
recording…is Mr. Sterling, and that the hateful opinions voiced by
that man are those of Mr. Sterling,” Silver said. The views
expressed by Mr. Sterling are deeply offensive and harmful. That they
came from an NBA owner only heightens the damage and my personal
outrage. Sentiments of this kind are contrary to the principles of
inclusion and respect that form the foundation of our diverse,
multicultural, and multi-ethnic league.” See here
The swift justice
rendered by Silver is described as a victory for both women and
minorities:
Racism and sexism
aren't competitors -- both are terrible things -- but there is a
certain justice to Sterling finally being humbled by his connection
to a young, bi-racial woman. It's almost as if his indulgences
smashed headfirst into his supposed belief structure, and the result
was his own professional demise. Regardless of how you view this
whole situation -- through what prism or specific context -- it
should be viewed as a victory for both women and minorities
everywhere. Read more at
Another opinion in
praise of Silver's decisive action goes:
What Silver did was a
great lesson in crisis management. He made a bold decision, expanding
his broad powers as commissioner to right an obvious wrong.....Bigots
have no place in society.
Read more
Read more
From hopeful Clippers
fans:
"But now, in retrospect, I'm actually glad that those comments
were made because it exposes the prejudices that we have to deal with
in today's society."
In the eyes
of Clippers fans, the crisis Sterling caused may well be an
opportunity for bigger and better things in the future of the team
and the city. Read more here
A pragmatic
analysis by Kathleen Parker of Washington Post:
Making
racist remarks can do great harm to the public trust and damage
hard-won gains toward racial harmony. Consolation can be found in
evidence that Americans on the whole have no tolerance for racism or
discriminatory behavior. Read more
Finally, here are two
more views worth pondering in the hope these help formulate more
affirming inclusive and equal opportunity policies for a more
authentic culture of diversity
in society
to thrive.
- Racism is a real problem that has survived through generations and generations in this country. It is time to use the opportunity to further the race discussion. - from NBA Hall of Famer, Hawks exec Dominique Wilkins See here
- It is time to also look at the other dimension of racism: the policies and procedures that sustain our system of racial inequality, writes Jamelle Bouie of Slate. The outrage that comes when a state representative says something stupid about professional basketball players is absent when we learn that black children are punished at dramatically higher rates than their white peers, even as preschoolers. Likewise, it’s absent when we learn that banks targeted minorities—regardless of income—for the worst possible mortgage loans, destroying their wealth in the process. In turn, this blinds us to the racial implications of actions that seem colorblind. In a world where racism looks like cartoonish bigotry, it’s hard to build broad outrage for unfair voter identification laws or huge disparities in health care access. See here
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