So, Donald Sterling isn’t just an old school racist; he’s a delusional codger who thinks he can keep his control of the Los Angeles Clippers. He’s going to court.
For the sake of argument, let’s say that Mr. Sterling wins in court. What then? Things go back to normal? This isn’t even a battle worth winning. If Donald Sterling is the owner of the L.A. Clippers, the star players will leave, they’ll never sign another worthwhile free agent, the sponsors will flee, and the fans will boycott the team both at home and on the road.
But the crazy old man doesn’t care. He just wants to make this transition as miserable as possible…for everyone.
If the report I read is accurate, Sterling might not have legal standing. What was reported is that the Clippers is owned by a family trust and Mrs. Sterling is the sole trustee of the trust. If that’s correct and that ownership predates the NBA’s action against Sterling, it could also mean that the NBA’s action wasn’t legal.
Would also guess that Mr. and Mrs. Sterling are the trustors and regardless of whether it’s a revocable or irrevocable trust, it’s doubtful that one trustor could modify the trust. However, Sterling could file for divorce and force this to drag out for years.
From what I’ve read, it may actually be financially prudent for Sterling to put up a brief fight in court. That’s for important tax reasons. If the sale of the team is involuntary, some generous tax provisions come into play that could seriously reduce or even eliminate Sterling’s part of the tax bill.
So the tax payers will pay Donald Sterling for being a vile racist. You just made me vomit. Thanks.
The IRS should be the one filing a lawsuit if Sterling maintains that this nauseatingly massive capital gain somehow isn’t fully taxable.
Yes, poor, poor Donald Sterling. All he gets is $2 billion, and he doesn’t even get to keep every single penny of it. What if they only let him keep $1 billion? How will he survive?
Two billion? No thanks; rather have my law suit.
If ever one needed proof that money does not equal happiness. The main problem with being Donald Sterling is one has to be Donald Sterling.
Objectively speaking, it’s difficult to see how any sane person would want to be trapped in his brain. We’ve heard more than enough to know what a repulsive landscape exists in there…and probably much of that grotesque mental pollution was fueled by his vast fortune.
But he’s been publicly humiliated, an almost unheard of event for a plutocrat, and he’s got oceans of money to fight for him, hence lawsuit.
It is quite absurd to believe that his humiliation will somehow be alleviated in the courts, however. More likely, even worse Sterling Shit will be exposed.
Not an intelligent man. In fact, a dummy.
I hope he snitches on his buddies. I want to know who laid the facts of life to him.
I think that article left out part of the following quote.
“We have been instructed to prosecute the lawsuit,” said attorney Maxwell Blecher, “and we will do despite the fact that we have told Mr. Sterling repeatedly that it’s a sure loser and that he’ll be a global laughing stock for pursuing it, because if he’s going to throw his money down a hole we’d rather be at the bottom waiting to catch it.”
Wait..wait..wait.
Are you saying Don Sterling is a huge, suppurating asshole?
Yes
The NBA should stick the Clippers from it’s roster of teams. The players should be declared free agents available for hire on any other NBA team. The Sterlings do not deserve a two billion dollar reward. Their franchise should be worth NOTHING.
The NBA should then announce it is accepting franchise applications for another LA Team. I do not follow basketball. I assume the Lakers are the first team.
The Sterlings and the McCaskeys in Chicago show that urban teams should be owned by the municipality (Horrors! Socialism!). The cities and states provide stadiums and other remuneration ripped from the tax payers and only receive a small amusement tax in return while these owners become billionaires. It’s time for the people to get all the revenue from these games.
strike, damn spell checkers
talking sense about pro sports will get you nowhere…
The Green Bay Packers are owned by the people in the city and they seem to do alright. I was hoping someone in New Orleans would have that kind of vision when their basketball team needed an owner.
Membership in the owner’s club is determined by other owners. That’s the catch.
Joan Kroc wanted to GIVE the San Diego Padres to the city of San Diego, but Major League Baseball forbade it. It was scared of the precedent. Other cities would want their own teams.
I think the only way this can be forced is if enough large cities made a pact that they would forbid professional franchises unless the respective cities would own a majority stake. This would open up a Pandora’s box of politics mixed in with sports management, but at least there would be less blackmail and a better chance of financial benefit for municipalities.
My further pipe dream would be a North American sports commission that would oversee 32 team leagues of all major sports and a system of being relegated to lower divisions if a record was sufficiently bad (like the English Soccer system).
This would have the net effect of reducing individual profit margins in sports– which is why it would be fought ferociously.
Applause. Our culture should not be facilitating 1% “small business” sports owners.
In the recent Blackhawk’s playoff’s, SRO tickets were $269 and the best tickets were $6000! That’s not scalper’s prices, that’s box office prices. The amusement tax that the City of Chicago got must be small potatoes considering traffic and other services provided, not to mention the stadium.
I’d call Sterling’s behavior typical. From what I’ve read, he built his career, and was able to keep the Clippers for 30 years, on his reputation for being a vindictive bastard who was willing to take a hit if it meant his enemy took a bigger hit. Backing down now would damage that reputation. It must be central to Sterling’s self-image ’cause he currently values it at $2 billion.
In my life I have met more than a few seriously super rich people.
Some are amazingly humble and outwardly focused on the feelings and needs of others. Doesn’t mean they are egoless and non competitive. But they realize not everything is a competition and not every person is to be conquered. They also use their wealth to take the pressure off themselves, hit the pause button and focus on being a better person. Paul Newman would be the archetype for that.
Others are just dicks and the only lesson they learned on the way to the top is to be a dick and never trust anyone or let anyone win something you could have taken. These folks too I have found are never as happy and rarely as rich as the former.
I feel sorry for Sterling. He is going to die miserable and clueless as to why.
Fuggedaboudit!!!
Just another nasty hustler. A particularly crude one, but by no means extraordinary in capitalist business circles. He happens to be in the news now because another hustler…engaged at a very high level in the world’s oldest profession, bet on it…put the screws to him while he was in the playoff spotlight.
Ignore it. It’s just a distraction. He’s hustling other hustlers and they will come to some sort of agreement. So what? This happens every hour of every day somewhere in the world. Think big!!! Think about the trillion dollar hustlers like the people in control of the PermaGov.
Sterling?
He’s small potatoes.
Just anther sideshow for the rubes.
WTFU.
AG
Make Sterling’s worst nightmares come true–forget him!