Clippers Owner Donald Sterling Is Hated By Pretty Much Everyone Now

By Nick Roman ·

Clippers Owner Donald Sterling drew the ire of not just the sports world, but the universe as a whole. This is thanks to an audio leak of Sterling telling his girlfriend, V. Stiviano, not to bring any more black guys to Clippers games. He even goes on to ban her from bringing Hall of Famer Earvin "Magic" Johnson to his games due to his race. This argument was apparently the result of Stiviano being seen in a photo on Instagram with a black man.

"It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you're associating with black people," Sterling says in the audio. He tells her that, for all he cares, she could sleep with any black man she wants, "But why publicize it on the Instagram and why bring it to my games?" The audio in question is embedded below:

http://cdnapi.kaltura.com/index.php/kwidget/wid/1_835g801y/uiconf_id/6740162/st_cache/7935?&
Clippers Owner Donald Sterling to GF - Don't Bring Black People to My Games, Including Magic Johnson - Watch More Celebrity Videos or Subscribe

Credit: Noah Graham/NBAE

In the wake of Sterling's towering blunder, just about everyone with an opinion and a platform to speak it has something to say to him. And hardly any of it is pretty. For one, Magic Johnson took to Twitter to express his outrage:

Meanwhile, Miami Heat star LeBron James issued a statement through the Miami Herald in which he condemns Sterling's racist beliefs:

"If the reports are true, it's unacceptable. It's unacceptable in our league. It doesn't matter if you're white, black, Hispanic, whatever, all across the races. It's unacceptable and as a commissioner in our league, they have to make a stand, and they have to be very aggressive with it. I don't know what it's going to be, but you just can't have that in our league.

...

I hate the fact that something like this has to come out when the playoffs have been unbelievable and the game of basketball continues to grow, but there is no room for Donald Sterling in our league. There is no room for him.

...

"I'm not angry. Just disappointed more than anything. There is only 30 owners and 400-plus of us. For a player, I just think…I put my…I can only imagine if a player came out and said something of that stature what would happen to us as players. So, I believe in Adam [Silver], I believe in the NBA and they have to do something and do something very fast and quickly before this really gets out of hand. Like I said, there is no room for Donald Sterling in our league, man. There it is."

However, not everyone who commented on the situation was as eloquent or restrained. Snoop Dogg (or is it Snoop Lion? Snoopzilla?) took to absolutely RIP into Sterling, partially quoting a verse from the iconic N.W.A. track "F*** Tha Police". Not that Sterling is a cop, but he might as well be for how badly Snoop gives it to him here:

For his part, Sterling has defended his actions by swearing he's not a racist. His statement basically reads like one long mea culpa, which, even if it is sincere, will likely do little to stem his hemorrhaging reputation. The statement, released via TMZ, is a joint attempt at damage control from Sterling and the Clippers organization: "Sterling and the Clippers organization tell TMZ Sports, "We have heard the tape on TMZ. We do not know if it is legitimate or it has been altered."

The statement continues, "We do know that the woman on the tape -- who we believe released it to TMZ -- is the defendant in a lawsuit brought by the Sterling family, alleging that she embezzled more than $1.8 million, who told Mr. Sterling that she would 'get even.'

"Mr. Sterling is emphatic that what is reflected on that recording is not consistent with, nor does it reflect his views, beliefs or feelings. It is the antithesis of who he is, what he believes and how he has lived his life."

In closing, Sterling argues that this has all been blown out of proportion: "He feels terrible that such sentiments are being attributed to him and apologizes to anyone who might have been hurt by them."

Whether true or not, the court of public opinion has already had its say, although this doesn't necessarily mean that everyone hates Donald Sterling. In the irony of all ironies, Sterling is set to be honored by the NAACP on May 15, receiving another Lifetime Achievement Award to go along with the NAACP President's Award he won in 2008. Of course, this could all change now that this racist audio has hit the web. In fact, the LA chapter of the NAACP is already trying to get Sterling stripped of the honors.

BURN!

So yeah, this is probably going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better.

Via: Deadspin / Miami Herald / TMZ Sports

Sports