Donald Sterling No More NBA

So today Donald Sterling has been banned from the NBA for life as well as lost numerous endorsement deals. The NBA could have kept him around, but conveyed a strong message and ultimately pushed Sterling to be forced to sell his team. The move itself is a statement as well as needing to send a message to the global promotion of the game of basketball and appeasing themselves in the eyes of sponsors. His viewpoints have no place in today’s world, but surprisingly far too common in certain circles behind closed doors. This is by far Adam Silver’s biggest test since becoming NBA commissioner.

The conversation in question originated from an Instagram picture with Sterling’s girlfriend taking a picture with Magic Johnson among other things. Anything said by a public figure will go viral especially when the subject matter is controversial.

The messaging on every single page on the L.A. Clippers website currently says, “We Are One”, with a grey background and a Clippers logo. Every single visitor of the site is exposed to this messaging and is a united message especially when the team plays tonight in Los Angeles. Because of this scandal there is an influx of traffic and when all branding is removed, brand messaging of team sponsors, and access to merchandise during a time for peak sales. Sterling at this point has no say about this move and ultimately it hits him in the wallet losing possible display ad revenue although he is a billionaire.

Sterling’s girlfriend also recorded their conversation without his knowledge which is illegal in the state in California.  Any recording of conversations can’t be done without knowledge of the action. We face similar issues with call tracking for clients around the country. To get a good handle of quality of calls for clients for certain campaigns, the calls are recorded and listened to after the fact. Some states like in California, prohibit it while other states require a whisper message prior to the call stating that the call will be recorded.

America is a land of freedom of speech no matter of how twisted a person’s beliefs are. Hate cannot hide behind Constitutional freedoms, but at the same time freedom of speech should be protected no matter what is said. So a person’s beliefs and the world around them are shaped over time. This man’s views began to be shaped in an era where such things were acceptable is society. He obviously did not change his world view. Racism will always exist to a certain extent in society as long as these type of viewpoints exist with individuals of influence.