Los Angeles Clippers Protest “Racist” Owner Donald Sterling
When people think about the game of basketball many fanatics will likely think about their favorite player or team, yet other will probably think of basketball as a selfish sport. But few people’s first thought will be about has basketball is one of the few sports that most of the ‘Star Players’ are African Americans.
The
opposite is true when it comes to the owners, “only one majority owner is
black” ( Tognotti, “NBA Owners Are Almost Always White, Even Though 80 Percent
Off The League’s Players Aren’t”). There has always been tension between owners
and players, perhaps because of different upbringings or different personal
values, but there has been no bigger disagreement than that of Clippers Owner
Donald Sterling. Sterling says in a recorded argument to a woman he was
involved with not to broadcast in her instagrams that she is walking with black
people (Hanna, CNN).
Following
these statements from Sterling the Clippers basketball players began to form in
protest against their owner. In a playoff game the Clippers gathered at half
court and threw their warm up jerseys onto the ground, the jerseys which were
turned inside out so that the team logo was not visible. This was an act that
stated the players were not going to let this action done by Sterling go
unnoticed.
Many
more forms of protest would follow. Many players, both African-Americans and
non alike would form a “Band of Brothers” by literally wearing black arm bands
and black socks during games to show that they were in support of eliminating
Sterling from that N.B.A. The color of the bands were significant because it
was to show that this wasn’t just wrong because Sterling didn’t like the female
walking with a particular person but a particular race. The wristbands reminded
people that this was a white owner who hated African-Americans. It was
important for the Clippers to be the first team to protest since they were the
ones when Sterling owned. And they would be able to report on a personal level.
The
Clippers had the perfect stage to protest from with millions of people watching
and the media covering the story leading up to the game the Clippers performed
the protest on national TV. During a NBA playoffs game in Los Angeles. Many
believed the team should protest by sitting out the playoffs but the team knew
that it would hurt their fans more than the owner. They knew by wearing the wristbands
and socks along with taking off their warm up uniforms their message would be
seen by millions of people. The sign they were applying was not only standing
up for blacks but for all who have faced racists. They believed a team unified
in a goal was much stronger than a few individuals. And using a thought-out protest
rather than an unorganized and hateful protest would last longer and be focused
more strategically.
WORKS CITED
Tognotti, Chris. "Bustle." Bustle.
N.p., 1 May 2014. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.bustle.com/articles/22864-nba-owners-are-almost-always-white-even-though-80-percent-of-the-leagues-players-arent>.
Hanna, Jason. "Donald Sterling
Purportedly Says Jealousy behind Racist Comments." CNN. Cable News
Network, 11 May 2014. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/09/us/nba-donald-sterling-audio-recording/>.
