Clippers Hold Late Night Meeting to Discuss Owner’s Racist Remarks

The NBA is full of heated rivalries and intense competition. Sometimes tempers flare and it leads to confrontations. To a certain degree it is part of the game. However, there is no room in the NBA for a person like Donald Sterling. TMZ released an audio clip late last night that is believed to be Sterling speaking to his girlfriend for about 9 minutes and it is not easy to listen to. The comments made in that conversation are disturbing and unacceptable, especially coming from an NBA owner.

The NBA is investigating the situation and they still have not confirmed that it was Sterling in the audio recording, but the backlash has begun and it not stopping anytime soon. The conversation between Sterling and his girlfriend can be heard in the YouTube video below, but be advised that this conversation may contain explicit content and may not be appropriate for children:

The Clippers obviously in the middle of a contested series with the Warriors, but this story has definitely taken center stage. The Clippers currently have 2-1 series lead, but basketball has taken a back seat today. The Clippers are led by Doc Rivers and Chris Paul, both African-American and they would not be welcomed at a Clipper game unless they were part of the organization. Now, every African American player in the Clippers’ roster is put in a really awkward situation.

What do you do if you’re Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan? This is such a sensitive issue and at the worst possible time for the Clippers. Now, they must decide whether to take a stand and send a message publicly or handle this matter internally. According to Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News, the Clippers held a team meeting last night to discuss the matter at hand:

According to a source close to the situation, #Clippers players held a meeting late last night regarding Donald Sterling story.

— Vincent Bonsignore (@DailyNewsVinny) April 26, 2014

According to a source close to the situation, #Clippers players held a meeting late last night regarding Donald Sterling story. — Vincent Bonsignore (@DailyNewsVinny) April 26, 2014

Looks like the Clippers were well aware of the situation before most of the public had heard about Sterling’s remarks. One can only wonder what was said during the team meeting, but at this point we can only wait and see what the players will do in regards to this unfortunate situation. DeAndre Jordan is the only one to somewhat speak out against the Sterling, but did so without saying a single word.   Surely, Jordan is under orders not to speak on the subject, but it is important to come out and make your feelings heard. Although not much was said, Jordan’s Instagram post acknowledges his discontent with Sterling’s remarks. The Clippers have only allowed Doc Rivers to talk about the matter and the players will not address it at all. Some are suggesting the Clippers take a stand and not take the floor against the Warriors, but it looks like that will not happen according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo NBA:

Doc Rivers says the Clippers will play Golden State in Game 4. Rivers called it “a distraction.” — Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) April 26, 2014

Doc Rivers: “were not happy with any of it. Were going to let the due process happen.” Doc added that “it upsets me and upsets this team.”

— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) April 26, 2014

.@cp3 statement: “As players, we owe it to our teams and our fans to keep our focus on our game, the playoffs, and the drive to the Finals.” — Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) April 26, 2014

Doc: “in a weird way golden state is having a ball right now because we are not talking about them.”

— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) April 26, 2014

This series is no longer just about basketball, but the Clippers will continue to play and deal with the distractions. All the attention will now shift to Sterling and the Clippers will have to find a way to concentrate on playing the Warriors during this whole ordeal. Rivers has already admitted that the Warriors will have an advantage because this will keep them under the radar.

The Clippers will not act themselves and will leave it to the NBA to discipline Sterling. The NBA must act fast and hand out a heavy punishment. Sterling should not own an NBA franchise and Adam Silver must make a statement as the NBA’s newest commissioner.