LA Clippers Owner Donald Sterling Racist Comments Caught On Tape! See The Furious Reactions From The Black Dominated-League And Beyond!
An audio recording of an argument between two people identified as LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling and his girlfriend V. Stiviano was leaked by TMZ. Strong racist comments spark furious reactions from the NBA and beyond!
The audio recording was released by TMZ. It lasts for 10 minutes and covers an argument over Stiviano posting Instagram pictures with black people specifically Magic Johnson, NBA Legend and one of the biggest supporters of the LA Lakers, the Clippers in-city rivals.
The racist comments were specified by TMZ:
"-- "It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you're associating with black people. Do you have to?" (3:30)
-- "You can sleep with [black people]. You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want. The little I ask you is not to promote it on that ... and not to bring them to my games." (5:15)
-- "I'm just saying, in your lousy f******* Instagrams, you don't have to have yourself with, walking with black people." (7:45)
-- "...Don't put him [Magic] on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me. And don't bring him to my games." (9:13)."
The Clippers organization has already issued a statement to TMZ: "We have heard the tape on TMZ. We do not know if it is legitimate or it has been altered," the statement said. "We do know that the woman on the tape -- who we believe released it to TMZ -- is the defendant in a lawsuit brought by the Sterling family, alleging that she embezzled more than $1.8 million, who told Mr. Sterling that she would 'get even.'"
Sterling has been accused of racism for two decades now but there was no concrete evidence until now. The statement addresses that: "Mr. Sterling is emphatic that what is reflected on that recording is not consistent with, nor does it reflect his views, beliefs or feelings. It is the antithesis of who he is, what he believes and how he has lived his life."
The reactions across the league spread rapidly.
Needless to say, there is tremendous anger among the #Clippers players
— Vincent Bonsignore (@DailyNewsVinny) April 26, 2014
Mark Jackson says Donald Sterling's remarks are "unacceptable." — Diamond Leung (@diamond83) April 26, 2014
The Clippers player I spoke to described the team as "upset" and "mad."
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) April 26, 2014
The Clippers player I spoke to described the team as "upset" and "mad." — Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) April 26, 2014
From outside the league, rap star Snoop Dogg has a message addressed directly at Sterling. WARNING: Contains very strong language!