Steve Davis: Weighing In On Donald Sterling
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Let's just stipulate right off the bat. He is a racist. That is clear. However, I don't think this whole issue wraps into a nice little box the way the media is trying to make it, or at least the way the media did the first couple of days.
Here is the issue. In the 15 minutes of tapes that I have heard so far, Sterling doesn't drop the "n" word, and doesn't go on a terrible tirade about African-Americans. That is what I expected to hear based on everything I saw in the mainstream media. That doesn't mean it wasn't awful.
What he did to was seem to make it clear to his mistress/girlfriend was that he didn't want her making her relationships with black men public. Why did mainstream media outlets seem to stay away from a major component of this, which is mixed race relationships? Because it is uncomfortable to tackle that? I am thinking that Donald Sterling, who is 80, has a fairly archaic view of society, but he probably isn't alone. I will say again. It is appalling what he said, but I didn't see anyone dig into the nature of his relationship.
He is still married. He is going to games with a young woman that isn't his wife, and isn't white. So he is in some kind of a mixed relationship himself, yet doesn't condone it for others. Plus, listening to the tapes, she seems to be totally setting him up. In the tapes, he did say he "loves" minorities and that Magic Johnson should be admired.
Why didn't the media point that out, just demonstrate there are some contradictions here? Because that would make people think a little bit about exactly what he means?
I assume when the daily talk shows get back going (remember this did break on a Friday night), that this will get dissected a little more. It just seems interesting that the media is only playing the soundbites that they want you to hear to tell the story they want you to believe.
He is a racist, I get that, and I hope he is ostracized from the NBA, but, frankly, based on his history, that should have happened a long time ago. He also should be divorced, because he has made a mockery of marriage, and clearly has done that for a long time too.
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