Donald Sterling's racist comments spark league wide movement

You are a professional basketball player for a team in the midst of the golden era of their franchise, leading a first round playoff series against your biggest rivals two games to one; geared up and ready to roll, the adrenaline and confidence of your team is at an all time high ... and then your owner grabs a hammer and tears it to shreds. That was the case with Donald Sterling, the then owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, who made insensitive racial comments against African-Americans in April 2014.

Sterling at the time was in a relationship with his then-girlfriend V.V Stiviano. In September of 2013, Stiviano posted an Instagram photo of her and Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson, which irritated Sterling.

"It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you're associating with black people", Sterling told Stiviano in the recording. "You can sleep with [black people]. You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want ... but the little thing I ask you is ... not to bring them to my games".

Of course, Sterling’s comments had a number of negative responses from players and owners alike. 

“There is no room for Donald Sterling in the NBA”, Lebron James said during an interview before a Saturday playoff game against the Charlotte Bobcats in 2014.

The owner of the Miami Heat, Mickey Arison, also called the comments, “appalling, offensive and very sad.” Other legends such as Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and Kevin Johnson spoke out against Sterling’s remarks.

The biggest impact Sterling’s racist comments had was on the team itself, and their response was just as significant. Before their Game 4 playoff game against the Golden State Warriors, a game which they lost by a significant margin, the players took off their warmup shirts and left them on the floor. In the locker room before the game, "We are one," was written on the dry-erase board, which was the message players and coaches talked about before taking the court. The Clippers players also, in an attempt not to display the team’s logo, turned their red shooting shirts inside out and began to practice.

During the game, players wore black wristbands and black socks. The leader of the team, superstar point guard Chris Paul attempted to unify the team, declaring,

"We're going to be one, everything we do, we do it together," Paul told ESPN in 2014. "Stay together, play ball...we worked hard to be where we are..."

Sterling’s comments wasn’t just a nuisance to the players and coaches, but the city of Los Angeles as a whole. The Los Angeles chapter of the NCAAP cancelled its plan to award Sterling with its lifetime achievement award, and as a whole, the Clippers lost considerable fan support and money. Numerous sponsors, including Chumash Casino and CarMax severed their ties with the team, while other sponsors temporarily suspended their respective relationships.

It was obvious that the NBA needed to act in order to improve publicity. On April 29, 2014, newly instated commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling from the NBA for life and fined him $2.5 million. He also moved to force Sterling to sell the team based on a “willful violation of the rules.” Sterling challenged the league at every turn, but it was to no avail, as the NBA approved the sale of the team to billionaire Steve Ballmer. The Board of Governors unanimously ratified the deal 29-0, and Sterling was ousted as owner.

The NBA’s quick disposition of Sterling earned considerable praise around the league. Clippers coach Doc Rivers, who has expressed doubt about whether he'd honor the two years left on his contract if Donald Sterling remained the owner, called it "an amazing new day in Clippers history."

“I couldn’t be more excited to work together with Steve as we continue to build a first-class, championship organization," Rivers told CbsSports.com in 2014. "I am already inspired by Steve’s passion for the game, his love of competition and desire to win the right way and I know our players and fans are going to be inspired as well.”

Three years after the ordeal, the stench of Sterling as owner occasionally lingers around the franchise. After beating the Golden State Warriors in a grueling seven game series that year, they lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the semifinals. Although, the Clippers are still in the midst of the most successful period in franchise history, they’ve yet to achieve a NBA finals berth, or Western Conference for that matter.

Donald Sterling’s comments had huge repercussions regarding the team’s playoff run, and one must wonder if this fiasco, despite ousting him as owner, prevented the team from achieving even more success. Nevertheless, it’s comforting for NBA fans and players alike to know that situations like this does not go unnoticed, and it portrayed  the NBA's willingness to stand up against immoral social standards.

Authored by Arik Armstead and Matthias Granja

The Celtics succeeding without Rondo

Rajon Rondo - Mark Runyon / Flickr

On January 27, 2013, the Boston Celtics announced that their star player Rajon Rondo would be out for the rest of the season because of an injury he sustained during their game aaingst the Atlanta Hawks two days earlier. After Rondo’s absence the team was able to go on a seven game winning streak. The players came together and were able to develop both their defense and offense in order to produce a team that is a contender in the race to playoffs.

Without Rondo, members of the Boston Celtics had to step up and work harder in order to fill his spot. Paul Pierce, Avery Bradley and Jeff Green are a few of the players who have improved to compensate for Rondo’s absence. “It’s giving guys an opportunity to step up, being able to elevate their play, and it’s showing,” said Paul Pierce to the Boston Globe.   

The Celtics focused on coming together and developing a game plan that did not include Rondo. “You have all those injuries, you usually go the other way. I just think our guys kind of came together and realized we don’t have a margin of error anymore,” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers to the Boston Globe.

The team worked on their skills and together they were able to developed good plays. The Celtics had a few days in between games, which allowed them to have more time to practice. As a result, the Boston Celtics won games against many strong teams.

Even though many people called the season over for the Celtics, they are still going strong, holding a 13-6 record without Rondo. The team has continuously worked on their skills and they have even allowed players who aren’t starters to play during most games. They will need to continue to progress without Rondo to ensure the team a spot in the playoffs. 

Contributed by Anya Batista