Adam Silver and the league office should do everything possible to cut all ties with Donald Sterling if it is found he was behind the horrific remarks, an admittedly uphill battle considering Sterling owns the LA Clippers.
There is no place for ignorant, hateful words in the NBA or in our society.
However, as Silver and the NBA deal with the Sterling situation, let’s not lose sight of how historically great this first round of playoff basketball has been. The Clippers players have worked so hard to turn one of the worst franchises in professional sporting history into a franchise contender.
As Magic Johnson (who was mentioned by Sterling, allegedly, in an incredibly racist recording obtained by TMZ) said on ESPN’s NBA Countdown today:
“I’m really upset that we’re sitting here talking about Donald Sterling and this tape when the spotlight should be on the playoffs. These playoffs have been tremendous.”
I can’t say I’m old enough to recall the majority of the NBA’s playoff series, but many folks who are certainly seem believe that so far, this first round has the making of the greatest we’ve ever seen.
Take a look at what these guys have to say about what we’ve seen so far:
“The most thrilling first round in NBA history,” Kevin Harland said.
“The best Round 1 we’ve had,” said Bill Simmons.
“The best first round I’ve seen in over 35 years of being associated with this league,” Magic Johnson said.
Let’s take a quick look.
Indiana versus Atlanta may see an eighth seed beat a first seed, while the Clippers and Warriors could fill your nightly top 10 plays on their own.
Dallas, expected by many to be made light work of by the Spurs, lead the series 2-1 on the back of a miraculous Vince Carter three point buzzer beater.
Brooklyn versus Toronto looks like it might be going to seven games. It’s a series which has seen Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri yell “F*ck Brooklyn” to a screaming crowd of Raptors fans, KG returning serve with “I don’t know if you can say f*ck Brooklyn and then come in to Brooklyn”.
Not to mention The Truth has emerged, particularly when it matters most, and Kyle Lowry has been pushing through as many injuries and opponents as he has to in order to win.
Both the OKC versus Memphis and Portland versus Houston series have seen three of the four games go to overtime. There is genuine mutual dislike lingering in both series, fuelling an absurd level of intensity and exacerbated by wild crowds. It’s all accumulating in some kind of hyperactive madness, which reminds us why we love this part of the basketball calendar so dearly.
Yes, Sterling is an allegedly racist human being who needs to be removed from professional basketball.
No, I’m not saying let’s ignore this Sterling issue just because great basketball is being played. That would be the worst thing we could do.
My point is that we should let Sterling’s alleged idiocy be a sobering reminder that we’re still some way from a racism free world.
All the while we should remember, though, that his alleged crime is an even greater one if we allow it to take our collective attention away from the world class performances on the court. The athletes who work for him (and their counterparts around the league) have worked so hard to produce during these spectacular playoffs.
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