Ken Ross Response

 I wanted to give you all a Question to ponder. Yesterday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued a lifetime ban from the league and a $2.5 million fine against L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling for racist comments he made to his girlfriend in private which were later broadcast on TMZ and then exploded in the national media. Silver also urged other NBA owners to force Sterling to sell his team.

The commissioner’s actions have generally met with enthusiastic agreement from everyone from players to team owners to political figures to ordinary folks, but some have questioned whether it’s right to take someone’s property for views they expressed in private, no matter how repugnant. For example, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said: “… regardless of your background, regardless of the history they have, if we’re taking something somebody said in their home and we’re trying to turn it into something that leads to you being forced to divest property in any way, shape or form, that’s not the United States of America. I don’t want to be part of that.” After Silver handed down Sterling’s punishment, however, and said it was based only on the audiotape and not Sterling’s history, Cuban tweeted that he agreed with the decision “100%.” 

So the Question to you all is, “Do you agree with the punishment handed down by the NBA against Donald Sterling?”

As always, have responses to me by 9 a.m. Monday for consideration for The Page, and keep them to 50 words or fewer.

If you want to read the entire AP story on this, go to http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2014/04/30/racist-views-exile-sterling-from-the-nba/8500731/.

Oh, and have a great rest of the week and weekend!.