|
Sterling Hires Litigator to Nowhere
by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700
Copyright
May 16, 2014
All Rights Reserved.
Bounced out the NBA playoffs in second round by the
Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma Thunder, Donald Sterling continues to flail
around after getting banned for life and fined $2.5 million from the NBA by
Commissioner Adam Silver April 29.
Silver put Sterling on notice that he intended to get at least 75% of NBA
owners, per the NBA rules, to force the 80-year-old Los Angeles real estate
tycoon to sell the team. When a
secret recording by Sterling’s 31-year-old lady-friend V. Stiviano was
broadcasted on Hollywood gossip site TMZ Sports it instantly went viral, causing
a national uproar. Sterling was
heard telling “V” to not associate or bring blacks to Clippers’ games, offending
just about everyone. Concluding his
punishment didn’t fit the crime, Sterling hired Los Angeles antitrust litigator
Maxwell Blecher to fight the NBA for what he sees as denial of due process.
When Silver put down the hammer April 29, he did so to save the NBA
playoffs, with the Players Association threatening to boycott if Sterling
weren’t banned. Silver’s legal team, operating under the NBA’s constitution, believes they have the right
to ban Sterling for life for harming the NBA brand and debasing the sport. Sterling doesn’t see all the harm in
his secretly recorded racist rant, despite apologizing May 11 to CNN’s Anderson
Cooper in an exclusive interview.
Cooper got more than he bargained for, allowing the octogenarian to go off the
rails on NBA icon Magic Johnson, telling Cooper Magic’s no role model for
sleeping around and getting HIV.
Sterling’s off-the-wall remarks about Magic raise more doubts about Sterling’s
judgment, the exact same problems that go him into hot water. Blecher can argue the law but he
can’t put the genie back in the bottle.
Sterling thinks its no big deal to make disparaging comments about
blacks, despite owning an NBA franchise in a predominantly black sport. His words were so offensive, so
hurtful, so classless, so insensitive, so outrageous that it forced Silver to
rid the NBA of any connection to Sterling.
While it’s reasonable to ask whether or not Sterling’s really a racist,
it’s not unreasonable to eject Sterling from the NBA. It’s perfectly within Sterling’s
rights to protest his $2.5 million fine and ejection from the NBA. Blecher can’t un-ring the bell, only
argue legal technicalities about preserving Sterling’s due process and property
rights under the California and U.S. constitutions. As a proprietary private enterprise,
the NBA can create its own rules regarding membership, much the same way private
clubs in America reserve the right to approve membership or serve guests.
Sterling’s longwinded interview with Cooper vacillated from almost normal
to confirming his estranged wife Shelly’s diagnosis of dementia. In “V”’s private recording, Sterling revealed a pathetic lonely old man clinging to his
31-year-old pet Girl-Friday, throwing a fit on tape over petty jealousy. “Admire him, bring him here, feed
him, f**k him, but don’t put [Magic] on an Instagram for the world to have to
see so they have to call me,” Sterling said on “V”’s secret recording. “In your lousy f**ing Instagrams,
you don’t have to have yourself with—walking with black people,” Sterling ranted
on tape. Once the recording went
viral on TMZ Sports, there wasn’t much empathy for the 80-year-old billionaire
throwing a jealous fit in response to his pet’s shenanigans with her friends. Sterling tried to apologize May 11
on CNN’s “AC360,” only to find himself ranting more about Magic.
Sterling humiliated himself on tape before his fellow NBA owners, making
it impossible to continue his NBA franchise.
Running around with thirty-something’s, embarrassing the league, putting
on record racist remarks, shows the kind of abysmal judgment that warrants
Sterling’s eviction from the NBA.
Holding any professional sports franchise is a fiduciary duty to the public,
requiring more than typical slumlord behavior, tolerated in certain circles,
protected under First Amendment rights but not forgiven when it comes to
violating the public trust. “We
reject your demand for payment,” said Blecher’s letter to the NBA. Sterling’s desire to fight with NBA
has little to do with the league’s right to exercise its legal right to
terminate his franchise for moral turpitude, causing undue harm the NBA brand. If Sterling’s on his way out, what’s
the point of paying the fine?
Hiring a high-priced litigator means nothing when it comes to the NBA’s
right to evict Sterling from the league.
In a moment of lucidity with Anderson Cooper May 11, Sterling questioned
whether litigation would be worth it considering the cost and PR damage to
himself and the league. Whatever
Sterling’s claims about property rights, he’s going to get more than
fair-market-value when the NBA finds a suitable buyer. Putting his team through the ringer
during the Western Conference Semifinals didn’t help his team’s chances in the
playoffs. Sterling’s attorney can
argue the law but he can’t undo the irreversible PR damage done to himself and
the NBA. If he battles the NBA
legally, it won’t bode well for the eventual bidding war once the Clippers go on
sale. Putting Blecher on the case
might save Sterling’s due process but won’t reverse irreparable harm done to his
reputation and the NBA.
|
