Clippers drop NBA playoff game amid protest over Sterling’s remarks
The Los Angeles Clippers chose not to speak publicly about owner Donald Sterling before they faced the Golden State Warriors for Game 4 of their first-round series Sunday. Instead, they made a silent protest to generate attention.
In response to Sterling’s purported comments urging a woman to not bring black people to his team’s games, the Clippers let their uniforms become a show of solidarity.
They ran out of the tunnel wearing their usual warmups. Then they huddled at centre court and tossed the outer layer of their warmups to the ground, going through their pregame routine with their red Clippers’ shirts on inside out to hide the team’s logo.
Players also wore black wristbands or armbands during the game, which they lost 118-97. They also donned black socks with their normal jerseys.
“It’s just us, only us. We’re all we got,” Clippers point guard Chris Paul could be heard shouting to teammates before they ran out.
The Warriors’ announced sellout crowd of 19,596, decked out in gold shirts, booed the Clippers — as they always do — during team introductions.
Sterling’s wife was sitting courtside across from the Clippers’ bench. Commissioner Adam Silver had said Donald Sterling would not be at the game.
Clippers coach Doc Rivers said prior to the game that he would remain the only one to speak for the team on the issue because players wanted to remain focused on basketball. Afterward, Rivers said he knew what his players had planned but didn’t voice his opinion.
Rivers said he wasn’t thrilled about the demonstration, though he didn’t elaborate why. Even he, though, acknowledged that staying focused has not been easy since TMZ released the alleged recording of Sterling.
“Our message is to play,” Rivers said. “Our message is that we’re going to let no one and nothing stop us from what we want to do. And I think that’s a good message. I really do. I think that’s the message we’re trying to send. And if we can pull this off all the way, I think that would be a terrific message.”
In an overcrowded postgame locker room, most of the Clippers’ players deflected comment or refused to answer questions related to Sterling — other than to say they remain united and focused on basketball.
Shooting guard J.J. Redick, who is white, said the controversy has impacted everybody on the team and around the league. He also admitted it might have affected their preparation.
“Maybe our focus wasn’t in the right place would be the easiest way to say it,” Redick said. “I didn’t get the sense that we couldn’t function. I thought we competed, but give them a lot of credit as well. It wasn’t just the distraction of everything that has happened in the last 24 hours. Golden State played a great basketball game, let’s keep that in mind.”
While the Clippers wanted to let their play do the talking, other NBA players continued to speak out on the subject.
Some talked about the hurt Sterling’s alleged words caused. Others urged Silver to take an aggressive stance against Sterling, who has a history of alleged discrimination. Most of them hoped Sterling would be removed as the team’s owner someday soon.
Miami Heat star LeBron James said Silver needed to take action, going so far as to suggest “there is no room for Donald Sterling in our league.” Lakers star Kobe Bryant wrote on his Twitter page that he couldn’t play for Sterling. Warriors coach Mark Jackson, who played for the Clippers from 1992-94, said he could forgive Sterling but couldn’t play for him right now, either.
Asked if he needed to hear something from the league or Sterling to return as coach next year, Rivers said he didn’t know and that he was just concentrating on the playoff series.
At the Trail Blazers’ playoff game against the Houston Rockets on Sunday night, Portland players all wore black socks in solidarity with the Clippers players.
“I wanted to do something to support our brothers,” Blazers All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge said before the game in Portland.
The players union, still without an executive director since firing Billy Hunter in February 2013, is following the situation closely. The union has asked former NBA All-Star and current Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson to take a leading role on the players’ behalf to address the Sterling matter.
Johnson and Silver attended the game Sunday. and Johnson said he called an emergency phone meeting of every player representative to the union Saturday night poke with Silver before the game. He said this is a “defining moment” for the NBA and for Silver.
Johnson said players trust that the commissioner will meet their demands, which include: Sterling not attend any NBA games for the rest of the playoffs; a full account of past allegations of discrimination by Sterling and why the league never sanctioned him; the range of options that the league can penalize Sterling, including the maximum penalty, which players want if the audio recording is validated; assurance that the NBA and the union will be partners in the investigation; and an immediate and decisive ruling, hopefully before the Clippers host the Warriors for Game 5 on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.
Johnson also said there will be no league-wide protest by players or a boycott because there’s enough attention on the issue already and that players “trust Adam Silver. They trust that Adam Silver will do the right thing.”
Summary
Human Rights Connection
Donald Sterling was recorded saying that he did not want his wife to bring black people to the game. This is a violation of multiple human rights, such as article 1 which states, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” Sterling does not want black people at the game, everyone has a right to go to the game. Sterling is discriminating skin color. This also violates article 2 which states, “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.” Sterling is distinctly singling out African-Americans and when it comes to white people attending his games, he doesn’t mind whatsoever. These are clear violations of human rights and action must be taken against Donald Sterling.
Discussion Question: When something like this occurs during the most important part of a season, is it fair to the organization’s fans, supporters, players, and the NBA that coaches and staff most of the time choose to not speak out on the issue regardless of its severity? After reading the above it is obvious that it caused a huge distraction for the team, and thus may have cost them a victory.
Work Cited
Gonzalez, Antonio. "Clippers Drop NBA Playoff Game amid Protest over Sterling's Remarks." The Globe and Mail. N.p., 27 Apr. 2014. Web. 22 May 2014.
The Los Angeles Clippers chose not to speak publicly about owner Donald Sterling before they faced the Golden State Warriors for Game 4 of their first-round series Sunday. Instead, they made a silent protest to generate attention.
In response to Sterling’s purported comments urging a woman to not bring black people to his team’s games, the Clippers let their uniforms become a show of solidarity.
They ran out of the tunnel wearing their usual warmups. Then they huddled at centre court and tossed the outer layer of their warmups to the ground, going through their pregame routine with their red Clippers’ shirts on inside out to hide the team’s logo.
Players also wore black wristbands or armbands during the game, which they lost 118-97. They also donned black socks with their normal jerseys.
“It’s just us, only us. We’re all we got,” Clippers point guard Chris Paul could be heard shouting to teammates before they ran out.
The Warriors’ announced sellout crowd of 19,596, decked out in gold shirts, booed the Clippers — as they always do — during team introductions.
Sterling’s wife was sitting courtside across from the Clippers’ bench. Commissioner Adam Silver had said Donald Sterling would not be at the game.
Clippers coach Doc Rivers said prior to the game that he would remain the only one to speak for the team on the issue because players wanted to remain focused on basketball. Afterward, Rivers said he knew what his players had planned but didn’t voice his opinion.
Rivers said he wasn’t thrilled about the demonstration, though he didn’t elaborate why. Even he, though, acknowledged that staying focused has not been easy since TMZ released the alleged recording of Sterling.
“Our message is to play,” Rivers said. “Our message is that we’re going to let no one and nothing stop us from what we want to do. And I think that’s a good message. I really do. I think that’s the message we’re trying to send. And if we can pull this off all the way, I think that would be a terrific message.”
In an overcrowded postgame locker room, most of the Clippers’ players deflected comment or refused to answer questions related to Sterling — other than to say they remain united and focused on basketball.
Shooting guard J.J. Redick, who is white, said the controversy has impacted everybody on the team and around the league. He also admitted it might have affected their preparation.
“Maybe our focus wasn’t in the right place would be the easiest way to say it,” Redick said. “I didn’t get the sense that we couldn’t function. I thought we competed, but give them a lot of credit as well. It wasn’t just the distraction of everything that has happened in the last 24 hours. Golden State played a great basketball game, let’s keep that in mind.”
While the Clippers wanted to let their play do the talking, other NBA players continued to speak out on the subject.
Some talked about the hurt Sterling’s alleged words caused. Others urged Silver to take an aggressive stance against Sterling, who has a history of alleged discrimination. Most of them hoped Sterling would be removed as the team’s owner someday soon.
Miami Heat star LeBron James said Silver needed to take action, going so far as to suggest “there is no room for Donald Sterling in our league.” Lakers star Kobe Bryant wrote on his Twitter page that he couldn’t play for Sterling. Warriors coach Mark Jackson, who played for the Clippers from 1992-94, said he could forgive Sterling but couldn’t play for him right now, either.
Asked if he needed to hear something from the league or Sterling to return as coach next year, Rivers said he didn’t know and that he was just concentrating on the playoff series.
At the Trail Blazers’ playoff game against the Houston Rockets on Sunday night, Portland players all wore black socks in solidarity with the Clippers players.
“I wanted to do something to support our brothers,” Blazers All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge said before the game in Portland.
The players union, still without an executive director since firing Billy Hunter in February 2013, is following the situation closely. The union has asked former NBA All-Star and current Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson to take a leading role on the players’ behalf to address the Sterling matter.
Johnson and Silver attended the game Sunday. and Johnson said he called an emergency phone meeting of every player representative to the union Saturday night poke with Silver before the game. He said this is a “defining moment” for the NBA and for Silver.
Johnson said players trust that the commissioner will meet their demands, which include: Sterling not attend any NBA games for the rest of the playoffs; a full account of past allegations of discrimination by Sterling and why the league never sanctioned him; the range of options that the league can penalize Sterling, including the maximum penalty, which players want if the audio recording is validated; assurance that the NBA and the union will be partners in the investigation; and an immediate and decisive ruling, hopefully before the Clippers host the Warriors for Game 5 on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.
Johnson also said there will be no league-wide protest by players or a boycott because there’s enough attention on the issue already and that players “trust Adam Silver. They trust that Adam Silver will do the right thing.”
Summary
- Clippers performed a silent protest due to the comments made by the Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling
- Sterling was recorded while talking to his wife, he stated that he did not want his wife to bring black people to the basketball games
- Clippers wore black socks, black headbands and wristbands, and also wore their warmup shirts inside out during warmup
- Sterlings’ wife attended game 4 while Sterling did not
- Rivers was not amused with the silent protest
- Clippers refused to speak about it while they look to only focus on the playoffs
- Reddick stated that the drama surrounding Sterling may have affected his teams performance
- Many want Adam Silver to take action against Sterling
- As other teams around the league take notice of Sterling’s comments, other teams wore black socks and wristbands
- Kevin Johnson has been asked to address the Sterling matter
- Kevin Johnson held an emergency phone meeting and after stated that this is a “defining moment” for the NBA
- Players have said they trust Adam Silver to take appropriate action against Sterling
- The players will not continue a league-wide protest and will not boycott the NBA
Human Rights Connection
Donald Sterling was recorded saying that he did not want his wife to bring black people to the game. This is a violation of multiple human rights, such as article 1 which states, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” Sterling does not want black people at the game, everyone has a right to go to the game. Sterling is discriminating skin color. This also violates article 2 which states, “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.” Sterling is distinctly singling out African-Americans and when it comes to white people attending his games, he doesn’t mind whatsoever. These are clear violations of human rights and action must be taken against Donald Sterling.
Discussion Question: When something like this occurs during the most important part of a season, is it fair to the organization’s fans, supporters, players, and the NBA that coaches and staff most of the time choose to not speak out on the issue regardless of its severity? After reading the above it is obvious that it caused a huge distraction for the team, and thus may have cost them a victory.
Work Cited
Gonzalez, Antonio. "Clippers Drop NBA Playoff Game amid Protest over Sterling's Remarks." The Globe and Mail. N.p., 27 Apr. 2014. Web. 22 May 2014.