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Adam Silver Should Have Sent A Message With Donald Sterling [BLOG]

By: Martin Weiss
@martinweiss22

I'm not mad at Donald Sterling.

If anything, I'm glad he made his feelings known and exercised his right to express himself freely.

I'm not mad at the players of the Clippers, who didn't boycott the game Sunday -- instead participating in a silent protest.

I'm mad at Adam Silver. The NBA commissioner failed to take advantage of what could have been a great opportunity in the first time many fans hear him speak.

He toed the company line when he should have taken a stand.

He should have said is this:

"While the NBA has yet to verify if the tape is Sterling and he deserves due process, such commentary is unfit of a man who has the privilege of being a part of our league. If verified to be Sterling, behavior like this will not be tolerated by any circumstance and punishment will be swift and absolute. The NBA stands in support of all minorities and women."

Instead, he promised a quick investigation and expressed how difficult it must be for the players and coaches to focus with the distraction.

What a joke.

Bottom line, if the recording is Donald Sterling, he should not own an NBA team. Not only is he racist, he also has some serious issues with pacifying women. And he's a hypocrite; I'm sure he doesn't mind when black people like Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and Doc Rivers come to his arena.

But because Silver represents the interests of the NBA owners, of course he wouldn't say anything of that nature.

In my eyes, the worst thing about the alleged Sterling commentary is that he doesn't represent his belief of "society" he thinks we live in- at least when it comes to the product on the Staples Center floor. But I guess it's not the first time a white man has justified profiting greatly off the labor of black people by "giving" them "[f]ood, clothes, ... and houses" -- as Sterling said to his girlfriend.

It is 2014 still right?

Sadly, it is.

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