Did NBA Get It Right In Donald Sterling Ruling?

The NBA, as we know, has been in a major uproar over the last few days over the comments made by Clippers owner Donald Sterling. After this came down, it was almost a guarantee that the league was going to do something as a form of punishment for the Clippers owner for making these comments. Most of the people playing in the league, almost half the people who attend NBA games, are of African American decent, so you know this was going to cause a major problem. Players were planning walk outs and protests, other owner around the league were planning on doing the same thing. Some companies had even pulled sponsorship from the Clippers and the league because of Sterling's comments. So you knew that with all of this going down, that the NBA and Commissioner Adam Silver were going to do something. And they did in a big way.

In a press conference yesterday, Silver made the announcement that Donald Sterling has been banned for life, fined $2.5 million, and Silver was going to force Sterling to sell the Clippers. The ban went into effect immediately, a ruling which barred Sterling from attending NBA games or practices, being present at any Clippers office or facility, or participating in any business or player personnel decisions involving the team. He also cannot participate in any league business going forward. In regards Sterling and his ownership of the Clippers, if Sterling can't sell the team, he can still be removed as owner of the franchise. Under the terms of Paragraph 13 of the constitution, the owners can terminate another owner's franchise with a vote of three-fourths of the NBA Board of Governors, which is composed of all 30 owners (ESPN). All of these measures that have been taken against Donald Sterling by the NBA and Commissioner Adam Silver are clearly outlined in the NBA Bylaws, so Silver is within full right to do what he as done with this ruling. To date, this is the harshest penalty ever issued by the league and one of the stiffest punishments ever given to an owner in professional sports.

Now for the big questions in this matter. Did the NBA get the ruling right and make the right decision?

It is a unanimous YES that this is the right ruling. From a legal perspective, the punishment is well within the bylaws of the NBA. Adam Silver didn't go over his limits in making this punishment. In regards to Sterling selling the team, if he doesn't do it on his own he can be legally removed on a vote by the other owners, which from every indication will probably happen anyway.  The NBA went about this the right way in handling the whole situation, squashing any further problems that this could have caused in the future. The league went about it the proper way with their investigation and handed out a proper ruling for the situation. Reaction coming down from this ruling, from the fans, to players, to other owners, and to groups outside the league who may have had an interest in the NBA, all agreed with this ruling and were pleased with the way things went down.

This ruling from the NBA also leads to another question. Could something have been done sooner in regards to Sterling's actions? It has been well documented in the past that Donald Sterling has not had a liking to minorities. For the most part, his racist comments and actions have been acted out in his business world, never getting into the basketball side of things. There was one thing of note that Sterling had been involved in with the Clippers. He did have that messy little incident with former Clippers General Manager, and legendary NBA Player Elgin Baylor. Baylor sued Sterling and others in February 2009 in L.A. Superior Court for wrongful termination and discrimination on the basis of age and race. Baylor, who spent 22 years as Clippers general manager before departing in 2008, later dropped the race accusation. A jury ruled in favor of Sterling in March 2011. So you knew then that there was a problem with Sterling and a race issue in the league. It wasn't as big a deal as this incident last week, but still it was something that former Commissioner David Stern should have addressed. If it had been addressed when it happened, Sterling might not still be owner and this latest incident might not have happened.

Current Commissioner Adam Silver did a great job of handling the situation in the manner he did. He was swift and came down hard on Sterling. This was a statement that Adam Silver will not be pushed around and will do what needs to be done for the best interest of the league and the players!