The Clippers' Silent Support of Donald Sterling

Friday night, April 26^th, I had the pleasure to see the film NOTHING BUT A MAN, a film originally released 50 years ago, directed by Jewish Holocaust survivor Michael Roemer, depicting what he saw as the Black experience in 1950s-60s America.

Saturday, April 27^th, sports news was dominated by the racially-charged recording between LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling (white) and his girlfriend (mixed Black and Mexican). The recording was offensive, no doubt. But I am pretty outraged at the reaction of the Clippers players and many of the NBA Talking Heads.

In a press conference with Doc Rivers, he was asked and answered as follows:

Q: Did you consider boycotting the game?
A: “We’re playing. We’re playing Golden State, and Golden State is our enemy right now. … We heard about all of the boycotts and all of the other stuff. That’s all stuff we could do. We choose to play. … The biggest statement we can make as men – not as black men, but as men – is to stick together and show how strong we are as a group. Not splinter. Not walk. It’s easy to protest. The protest will show in our play.”

Mr. Rivers, you are wrong. The easy thing to do is to play the game and take this jerk one step closer to a Championship. I understand as a pro athlete, the Championship is why they play. But this is bigger than a Game, the 1^st round of the playoffs, a Ring and/or a Trophy. For decades, people have sacrificed and suffered and too many have laid down their lives so that Black players could even be invited to play in the NBA.

Listening to Shaq, Charles Barkley and Kenny Anderson on TNT, all were understandably outraged. All called for an immediate suspension and fine by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. But when the idea of a player boycott was raised? All of them put on the brakes. Barkley opined that the players shouldn’t have to pay because the owner was a “jackass”.

During the Civil Rights era, and the decades before and since, so many nameless people suffered and sacrificed in order to stand up for equality. They lost jobs, their homes, in many cases, lost their lives. But we can’t ask a group of MILLIONAIRE basketball players to sacrifice? Really? If those 12 players banded together and chose to not show up for the game (even better, if the 12 Clippers players and the 12 Warriors players refused to play the game), the message that would be sent would be louder and clearer than anything we anonymous but outraged folks could hope to send.

But no… we can’t ask those players to sacrifice. We can ask the fans to sacrifice and stay away from the games. But we can’t ask the players to sacrifice. Playing the game is tantamount to silently supporting Sterling’s words and actions. THAT is unacceptable.