Ostensibly Hoops

[aTm]

Fascinating that Bryant Gumbel decided to paint Astros owner Jim Crane with the racist brush (I guess because he wanted to say that this happens all over?). He made the Astros play the "Nuh uh, I have loads of black friends!" card.

“Bryant Gumbel’s statement about Jim Crane was completely irresponsible. He attacked Jim without knowing any of the true facts about which he was speaking.

“Gumbel referred to allegations in a lawsuit that were disproven. The federal judge who presided over the case repeatedly admonished the EEOC and plaintiffs’ lawyers for making baseless, inflammatory allegations about Jim and his former company, EGL. The judge stated that the EEOC was “relying on third-rate gossip in order to impugn” EGL and Jim and they were “taking positions that have no factual or legal merit.” In order to avoid the high cost of litigation, EGL agreed to set up a settlement fund that was used to investigate and pay claims. Almost 90% of the funds were eventually returned to EGL because of the lack of valid claims. Not one of the plaintiffs who made the inflammatory allegations ever received a penny.

“Minority hiring and the advancement of minorities in baseball is an important issue to Jim and Major League Baseball. Before approving Jim’s ownership group, all of these issues were thoroughly vetted by MLB. Since becoming owner, Jim has proven to be one of MLB’s best in regard to minority hiring and advancement of minorities. The Houston Astros have two members of the ownership group who are African Americans; the Astros are one of three teams that has an African American manager; the only MLB club that has an African-American radio play-by-play announcer; and the Astros have more African American players than any American League team and the second-highest total in MLB. Jim has also worked hard to help the minority community. The Astros’ Urban Youth Academy provides free services for underprivileged kids and promotes the game of baseball to minority children (mostly African American). Jim created the Community Leaders program which has received commitments of $18 million to refurbish baseball fields in disadvantaged, city-owned neighborhoods. And, under Jim’s ownership, the Astros have hosted the 2013 MLB Diversity Summit; the 2012-13 MLB Urban Invitational, which is nationally-televised and designed by MLB to give Historically Black Colleges and their baseball programs national exposure; and the 2013 MLB Breakthrough Series, which is designed to give high school African-American and Hispanic ballplayers exposure to college and professional baseball scouts. The Astros will also host the 2014 MLB Civil Rights Game, which is a tribute to those that have fought for equality in our nation.

“Mr. Gumbel should have looked at the facts before making such an inflammatory statement.”

[hedge]

I didn't see a word in there that indicated Jim Crane had any black friends. Racist!!

[crashcourse]

so why would a racist want to own a NBA team where he hires the like of elgin baylor and doc rivers and pays paul and griffin multimillions of dollars.

anybody that says they havent said something a little racially insensitive sometime in their lives is lying especially inside your home to family or close friends. a senile old relic telling his girlfriend of 4 years he didnt want her hanging around bros--shouldnt be surprising. but to label somebody a racist who was the Ncaap man of the year for a tape recording inside his house when his actions as an nba owner should speak louder then his words as an old coot to me borders on idiotic.

[crashcourse]

dont get me wrong he is a racist but hes a racist that works as an owner who helps make many among the most powerful black men in society

why woiuld a true racist own an NBA basketball team

[AlabamAlum]

Money?

[eCat]

Chris Paul wondered why the guy had Kevin Love posters all over the place

[Saint]

telling someone not to bring black people to an NBA game is probably the most hilarious thing I've ever heard, esp. when that someone is black herself.

[hedge]

I don't care either way about this old fucker, but one of the commentors made a good point. These athletes get in all kinds of trouble, domestic abuse, dog abuse, drug abuse (and worse), you name it, and nobody cares or else they care for about one news cycle and then all is forgiven. But now this guy is going to get branded as the satan of all-time. And he should be excoriated and probably has no business owning a team, just based on the nature of his "crime" in relation to the business he's in, but the commentor made a decent point about how people just shrug when some athlete beats his wife (or whatever) but there will be no forgiveness for this guy for being a closest racist, even though his public actions have been anything but. Just something to think about...

[hedge]

I'd love to hear a recording of some of the chatter going on in some NASCAR owner's suite during a race...

[hedge]

I suspect the late night hosts are going to have a field day with this Sterling situation...

[BigRedMan]

I agree 100%.

Rape, shoot, drugs, and murder dogs. No problem.

Say anything that might offend someone that isn't white - Talk about it for 24 hours on ESPN.

I promise you if this was someone like Patrick Ewing that was recorded during the strike that he hated David Stern's cracker ass, the media would spin it as Patrick is old school and has to fight oppression for many years. Hell, they would probably spin it so that David Stern would be the bad guy for not having more discussions to end the strike.

I am not saying he is right. He is entitled to his thoughts and views. You don't like it. Don't go to a Clippers game. Don't buy stuff with Clippers logos on it. Don't work for him. If you are a player, demand a trade and play out your contract and move on to another team. He did nothing illegal. NOTHING. So what he is a racist? You think he is the only one in the NBA? You think he is the only WHITE racist in the NBA?

Just a giant waste of time.

[sardis]

It seems like everyone in the NBA knew of this guy's racism before this, but because he has money they turned the other way. This includes Magic Johnson, players, fellow owners. Now, that it is public, they have to cry to show their empathy to the common people who actually struggle because of racism. The Clippers protest yesterday, really? That is a protest? If they were really distraught, they wouldn't play at all. I mean, would have it been much of a hardship to just refuse to play so the owner has to return fans' receipts? The outcry is all fake for PR purposes. Those rich athletes didn't then and don't now give a shit whether the guy's racist or not.

[Bklyn]

You guys are shit for brains.

The issue is not about players and their own legal problems (the same way Jim Irsay's drug and driving issue was not a big news story after about a day). Race is a different ball game...and the guy has a large history with this stuff. It's just now large enough to get traction in the papers because it involves sex and race (and the Clippers now have a team that matters, thanks to a dickish move by David Stern on the way out the door). It wasn't sexy when it was just Sterling's housing discrimination and his team played like ass.

Yes, he is a racist and there probably are more in the league ownership ranks. Still, there are consequences for discourse. Those consequences can be felt in the ticket sales, the free agent acquisitions or the sponsorships. His franchise is toast as long as he is owner...even if his sin was simply being a vocal racist, instead of a racist who can hold his tongue at the right times.

[AlabamAlum]

You guys are shit for brains.

The issue is not about players and their own legal problems (the same way Jim Irsay's drug and driving issue was not a big news story after about a day). Race is a different ball game...and the guy has a large history with this stuff. It's just now large enough to get traction in the papers because it involves sex and race (and the Clippers now have a team that matters, thanks to a dickish move by David Stern on the way out the door). It wasn't sexy when it was just Sterling's housing discrimination and his team played like ass.

Yes, he is a racist and there probably are more in the league ownership ranks. Still, there are consequences for discourse. Those consequences can be felt in the ticket sales, the free agent acquisitions or the sponsorships. His franchise is toast as long as he is owner...even if his sin was simply being a vocal racist, instead of a racist who can hold his tongue at the right times.

Concur.

[aTm]

I don't see why everyone is making a big civil rights case out of this...

[hedge]

I feel bad for the players. Yeah, I know, they're still getting paid and whatnot, but those guys have got the talent to make a deep run, and then they have to deal with this shit, from the team owner, no less. Whatever anybody thinks about whether it should or shouldn't be a big deal, the fact it, it is a big deal, at least in the general court of public opinion and certainly in the sporting world, particularly the NBA. And now these players are thrust into the position of "what should we do? What kind of gesture should we make"? and that's not fair at all to them to have to bear the responsibility of making the right gesture (or whatever) in a case like this, like now they have to be the MLK's and Mandela's of the NBA (an overstatement, I know, but you know what I mean). Maybe the owner doesn't give a shit if they win or not (judging from some of his past personnel moves, it could be argued he doesn't), but it's not right that something like this is going to more or less ruin the chances for the players. Judging from his comments, this dude probably doesn't give a shit about that, either...

Thing is, it shouldn't just be on the Clippers players to make some statement or gesture. Some were saying they shouldn't have played the game in protest. If you want a real protest, get both teams to refuse to play. You can't give the win to anybody, and then the whole playoffs are fucked, b/c nobody advances in that series. See how fast the league would respond if that happened. Seriously, though, why is it incumbent on the Clipper's players to not play in protest? If it's up to the players, it should be up to all the players in the league. Let other team's star players say they refuse to play against the Clippers as long as this guy is in charge. I'm pretty sure this guy is toast anyway, but it would be kinda cool for the players to show who is really in charge of the league...

[Bklyn]

EFZ.

[aTm]

Out of curiosity, is this story worse than say random guy angrily using the N-word on somebody (like Michael Richards or whatever)?

[Bklyn]

Worse for whom? The individual getting yelled at? The NBA? Society, in general? Or worse for the "we are post-racial America" meme pushed by many?

Speaking of Michael Richards, my favorite observation was from a comedian who said "Michael Richards was not yelling at any 'niggers.' If he was, Michael Richards would not have made it through the video."

[Saint]

I think Magic set him up so he could buy the Clippers.

Still think it's hilarious that anyone would demand that someone not bring black people to an NBA game. Instead of all the outrage, why not just say that everyone knows he's a fucking old loon who was born during the Civil War so it's no surprise he hates black people.

What's even funnier is that the NAACP was going to give Sterling a lifetime achievement award and now they're not.