Felger & Mazz: Doc Rivers Left The Celtics To Coach For A Known Racist
BOSTON (CBS) - As the steward of the National Basketball Association, commissioner Adam Silver likely can't force disgraced Clippers owner Donald Sterling out of power, but the other 29 owners and corporate sponsors sure can.
There may be no language in the bylaws of the NBA that says a commissioner can force an owner to sell their team, but with the league in turmoil something has to be done.
"It's been time to get rid of this guy for a long time," said 98.5 The Sports Hub's Tony Massarotti. "The owners in the league now have to do everything they can to get [Sterling] out. Aside from the fact that he's bad for the league, bad for business and all that, he's bad for society. Out. Get him out of there! What are they waiting for?"
One glance at Donald Sterling's Wikipedia page and you'll find a number of disturbing instances of prejudicial behavior, and there's been rumblings of his alleged racism in years past, but never before has there been this smoking gun audio tape for all to listen.
"This is hardly anything knew. When this whole thing came to light, I was not the least bit surprised by any of it. Some of my response was like, 'Yeah, did you hear about the Lindbergh baby?' Like, people weren't aware of this [behavior]? But in terms of the response to it now, it's the audio," said Mazz.
From a Boston perspective, this story immediately got Marc Bertrand's wheels spinning on former Celtics coach Doc Rivers.
Now head coach and VP of basketball operations of the Clippers, from a personal and basketball perspective it made perfect sense for Doc to take the Los Angeles job. More money, more responsibility, more power and a budding, NBA title contender waiting in the wings.
But from a moral perspective, Beetle says there's no way Doc didn't know what he bargained for when he agreed to work for Sterling.
"If you're Doc Rivers, you knew [about Sterling's racism]. There's no way a guy as smart as Doc Rivers didn't do his homework and know what was going on with Donald Sterling and what kind of guy he was going to work for. I look at Doc Rivers and say, 'You shouldn't be surprised. You knew what this guy was about. Bad. Dude.'
"The NBA does need to get [Sterling] out of the league. It'll be a long process, but it's a process they need to start," Beetle concluded.
Michael Felger says the other NBA owners should have pushed Donald Sterling out of the league a long time ago, but now they have their excuse to do it.
But on Rivers, Felger rips the NBA-mentality in general on why the Clippers are a more desirable destination than say the Boston Celtics.
"The Los Angeles Clippers constitute a better destination than the Boston Celtics. . . how sick is that?" asked Felger.
"It's really unbelievable," answered Mazz.
"One of the losingest organizations in all of sports with one of the worst owners in all of sports. But what, Doc? You get to play golf in January? What? There's reality shows filmed out there? Is that why [players and coaches] all want to go out there? What's wrong with these basketball players?" asked Felger.
Along with Rivers, Marc Bertrand also took Chris Paul to task for re-signing with the Clippers.
"Chris Paul is a smart player. He's no dummy. He knew about this. Everybody in the league knew about this guy. This should come as no shock to the guys already employed by Donald Sterling," concluded Beetle.
Listen below for the full discussion:
Doc Rivers Left The Celtics To Coach For A Known Racist
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
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