A Verdict on Comments, but the Conversation Isn’t Over.
Sterling’s Remarks Offer Chance to Examine Racism.
Adam Silver did what he had to do Tuesday.
With advertisers deserting the Los Angeles Clippers by the hour, rumblings of a leaguewide player boycott and even fanciful talk that some fans might stay away from games, anything less than a lifetime suspension for Donald Sterling would have left Silver, the N.B.A.’s commissioner, with a moral train wreck on his hands.
He had little choice, given the racist remarks made by Sterling, the Clippers’ owner.
But where does the N.B.A. go now? With the public flogging over, some will declare the issue dead and the bad guy in the black hat vanquished. If that is the result, we will all miss a golden opportunity for a deeper exploration of racism.
Sports like professional basketball and football offer a particularly poignant insight into the power dynamics of racism. In these sports, the players are predominantly young and black and are being paid by an overwhelmingly white cadre of wealthy owners. Some of the owners, like Sterling, seem to take their role quite literally.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/01/sports/basketball/a-fresh-start-to-talking-about-racism-may-it-continue.html?hp