Thoughts on Donald Sterling

[eagle eye]

He had the hammer come down today when NBA commissioner Adam Silver issued a lifetime ban from the NBA and the max allowable fine of $2.5 mm all stemming from comments Donald Sterling made to his girlfriend V Stiviano in private. What he apparently forgot is Stiviano was supposed to record his conversations because he's old and he tends to forget but what I'm sure he obviously didn't expect was that TMZ would get hold of the conversation tape and smear it all over the media-sphere. Sterling gets what he deserves because he is a racist and we know this not just from this case from a prolonged history of race related injustices in his business dealings. People have known about Sterling's character flaws for a while and one question begs to be asked. Why now is he being sanctioned? He made a comment in the privacy of his own home. It doesn't excuse the racist nature of his comments but in reality nobody suffered anything but indignation. In his past his racist attitudes have affected the employment of minorities, affected the housing of minorities which caused actual physical and psychological hardship. Sterling, as I said, is a tool bag but another question begs to be asked, can't you express yourself in your own home without the whole world being privy to it. The question of privacy seems to have changed a lot in the past week. It has been pointed out that Sterling's first amendment rights have not been violated but his right to privacy in his own home was compromised to the nth degree. Again, I am not defending Sterling--he's a heinous individual--but a conversation in your own home is now open to public domain and that is disturbing. V. Stiviano didn't break a law that I'm aware of but her actions are not grounds for celebration either. I make no judgement about her and I won't until I know more but a reasonable amount of trust was apparently violated by her and I'm not sure how I feel about that.