Such a cluster. Silver is going to end up caving on this one.

http://msn.foxsports.com/college-football/outkick-the-coverage/donald-sterling-s-legal-response-fires-back-at-kobe-shaq-and-others-052814

Sterling on Kobe:
On page 20, Sterling asserts, "A player was fined $100,000 but not suspended for referring to a referree as a "fu----- fa----" on television."
How can the NBA determine that a privately recorded and illegally taped conversation in California that doesn't involve the league is deserving of an infinitely more significant punishment than an on-court homophobic slur by a player that's directed to an NBA employee?

Sterling on Shaq:
"Referring to Yao Ming,... (on a television show): "Tell Yao Ming, ching chong yang wah ah soh." And although the statement offended many in the Chinese community, the NBA neither fined nor suspended the player. Last month (Shaq) was accused of publicly mocking (on Instagram) a picture of a man with ectodermal dysplasia, a rare genetic disorder affecting one's appearance. Despite being a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings, the NBA has yet to take any action against this individual."

On Knicks Executive Larry Johnson:
"After Mr. Sterling's illegally recorded private comments were leaked, a former player and current Knicks executive tweeted: "Black people your Focusing on the wrong thing. We should be focusing on having our own, Own team own League! To For Self!" The NBA ignored this call for a racially homogenous league."

Sterling also cites several owner actions that resulted in no punishment, including the Orlando Magic owner's $500,000 donation to combat gay marriage that led to calls for an NBA boycott from the LGBT community.

"An owner was suspended for nearly a year for signing a player to a secret contract, which violated the salary cap rules.
An owner was fined $25,000 and suspended two games for being convicted of drunk driving.
An owner was fined $100,000 for confronting referees on a court after the game and using inappropriate language toward them.
Multiple owners were fined undisclosed sums (reported at between $100,000 and $500,000) for making public comments on Twitter about the collective bargaining process during the 2011 NBA lockout."

I didn't know that Bryant quote

It was only a couple seasons ago and was against the Spurs. James Anderson drew a charge on Kobe called by Bennie Adams.

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/news/story?id=6344596

Isiah Thomas received no punishment from the league for sexual harassment (11.5 million dollar civil settlement), ODing on sleeping pills, or the attempted murder of the New York Knicks.

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Such a cluster. Silver is going to end up caving on this one.

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Yep.

I think Silver has essentially invested his reputation on removing Sterling, so he won't back down. What he will do is work behind the scenes to get the Sterlings a ridiculous ($2 billion +) offer that they won't decline.

I don't think the money matters to Sterling. He seems like the type who will fight this out of spite. Pointing out the inconsistency in punishment was a good start.

You don't become a multi-billionaire if money doesn't matter to you.

If he sells the team, he owes like $500mm in taxes. If he wills it to his kids, he owes $0. I guarantee you he cares about that.

The problem for Silver was he was facing major pressure by the players who all came out puffing their chests that they wouldn't play and sabotage the playoffs.

Silver and the league office took the threat as real and went way overboard. I would have enjoyed seeing him levy a major suspension and fine but that's it.

It was a tough situation for him to be in, but he should not have caved to the point of lifetime ban and forced sale 5 days after a private conversation was released to tabloid media.

Sterling is scum, but I hope he wins in this case. Then I hope he sits around with a team full of nobodies because the stars won't want to play for him.

The first thing I told people after the suspension was levied that he would cite Kobe dropping the f bomb.

The NBA can punish their members however they see fit, as long as they don't violate the law in doing so. What the NBA should do in response to Sterling is VERY hard. Rather they have the LEGAL RIGHT to punish him as they did is an entirely different question. I don't see why they wouldn't have that legal right.

I stated repeatedly Sterling was going to do this very thing. There is a history of bad behavior in the NBA and Sterling was going to point this out. In a court of law where justice is bling Sterling wins. And this nonsense about the NBA being able to do as they please is just that...nonsense. There are laws in this country and Sterling was railroaded.

What law did the NBA violate in their punishment of Sterling?

I'm pretty sure Sterling already lost in the court where justice is bling. If you meant blind, then perhaps your statement is correct.

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You don't become a multi-billionaire if money doesn't matter to you.

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Well no **** lol. Contextually I meant THE money (implied: from the sale of the Clippers) probably doesn't factor in as much as opposed to the heavy inconsistency in punishment of which he is receiving the full force.

I will preface this by saying I believe Sterling is a scumbag and I hope he leaves the nba scene sooner than later.

With that said, the NBA is restricted to their constitution/bylaws/contract that applies evenly to all parties. The question is did Sterling's action violate those statutes and even if they did, have they been enforced evenly in the past to even withhold a challenge.

I am not a legal expert, but a quick read of the instances listed above seem to indicate an inconsistent discipline. I think there is a very good chance Sterling wins this or settles for a much lesser punishment.

My other question, is if Sterling does win, does Silver have any culpability for abuse of power or any other statute he may have violated? It would seem if he attempted to forcibly remove an owner in what is determined to be without cause he himself could be fined, disciplined or removed. I think Silver moved hastily in this whole thing, but again I have never seen the contract that governs all this so one can only guess if Silver did his homework before his quick decision.

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What law did the NBA violate in their punishment of Sterling?

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In California, you cannot use illegal recordings against someone, apparently. So his argument is that since they are illegal recordings, they cannot be used against him by the NBA and the NBA is punishing him to a degree that no one else has every been punished despite similar transgressions.

I think he wins that in a court

Sweet baby Jesus this is going to get so awesome.

But some argue that the law about taped recordings being illegal is only for enforcement or conviction of a crime by law enforcement. Not an association who can kick someone out for bad behavior.



In the end, the lesson will be the following: Listen up, if black people are offended, it's wrong. Everything else is ok. Otay?

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The first thing I told people after the suspension was levied that he would cite Kobe dropping the f bomb.

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As he should. And the Shaq examples are right on the mark too. Reverse racism double standards in effect.

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In California, you cannot use illegal recordings against someone, apparently.

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What is an illegal recording? Is there a California law that says that it is illegal to record someone against their knowledge? That's hard to believe.

Further, even if there is a state law that says that businesses can't penalize someone based on a recording made without their knowledge, the NBA can easily say that it penalized him based on the testimony of the mistress, not the recording.

[This message has been edited by Bose Ikard (edited 5/28/2014 9:43p).]

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What is an illegal recording? Is there a California law that says that it is illegal to record someone against their knowledge? That's hard to believe.

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Several states, including California, require consent from both parties before making a recording.

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Several states, including California, require consent from both parties before making a recording.

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So all those Candid Camera type shows, when filmed in California, are illegal?

I find that hard to believe.

You have to sign a waiver(get payment) giving consent before it airs.

So was the recording itself illegal or not?

(Edit for clarity: in candid camera - is the recording illegal, given that both parties did not consent prior to the recording?)

[This message has been edited by Bose Ikard (edited 5/28/2014 9:50p).]

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What is an illegal recording? Is there a California law that says that it is illegal to record someone against their knowledge? That's hard to believe.

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A lot of states have that law. Texas does not.

Here you can find state by state statutes: http://www.rcfp.org/reporters-recording-guide


Here is California in particular:
http://www.rcfp.org/reporters-recording-guide/state-state-guide/california

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Further, even if there is a state law that says that businesses can't penalize someone based on a recording made without their knowledge, the NBA can easily say that it penalized him based on the testimony of the mistress, not the recording.

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And Sterling's lawyers would probably win a battle of bull**** there, because Silver was very open with the reason being those tapes and the damage it did to the NBA's reputation.

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“The central findings of the investigation are that the man whose voice is heard on the recording, and on a second recording from the same conversation that was released on Sunday, is Mr. Sterling, and that the hateful opinions voiced by that man are those of Mr. Sterling,” Silver said. “The views expressed by Mr. Sterling are deeply offensive and harmful. That they came from an NBA owner only heightens the damage and my personal outrage. Sentiments of this kind are contrary to the principles of inclusion and respect that form the foundation of our diverse, multi-cultural and multi-ethnic league.”

Silver apologized on behalf of the NBA for Sterling’s comments.

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Pretty clear Sterling was banned/fined because of those recordings.

Maybe candid camera was before the law. Now it's you can't record someone without 2 party consent.

The argument I heard against in this case was that he knew he was being recorded and did it often so he could play back what he said because he never remembered. I haven't seen that verified though

I don't know if "before" is the right word, but Cal requires that both parties consent to a recording at some point. Whether that point is before the recording, before storing a recording, before using a recording, or some other point I don't know.

From GS's link:

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Summary of statute(s): In California, all parties to any confidential conversation must give their consent to be recorded.

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I guess the key phrase here is confidential conversation. I don't know what that is, nor whether Sterling's recordings were recordings of a confidential conversation.

[This message has been edited by Bose Ikard (edited 5/28/2014 9:59p).]

Maybe Candid Camera is set up, too. Or maybe they roll over to Nevada where one-party consent is all that is needed and film there.

Maybe they approach everyone before and tell them, "Hey, we are going to record you at some point, just sign this and take this $1k and you will get to be on TV. Now, while you are sitting there on my casting couch, I need to see if you know how to follow instructions. I can't just show the producers a pretty face. We have to know that you are committed to the role."

[This message has been edited by Guitarsoup (edited 5/28/2014 9:59p).]

Cash cab was set up like that. You'd be approached in bars about being on a game show and then you'd sign stuff and they'd say a can is coming to take you there.

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What law did the NBA violate in their punishment of Sterling?

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Private organizations have a lot of discretion to set their own rules, but those rights are far from absolute. Forcing a person to sell a multi billion dollar asset, when other members of that organization have received much lighter punishments, is probably a violation of some property right as well as equal protection (not my specialty so I don't know).

Wait wait, I thought the GF said he knew he was being recorded bc he was writing a memoir or something and asked her to record their convos.