Racism? Sterling loses his team, Rice loses 2 games.

Ray Rice has been caught on camera handling his unconscious wife after knocking her out in an elevator. He received a 2 game suspension. Donald Sterling makes some perfectly legal, albeit racist, remarks and actually loses his NBA team. What does this say about us a country? Are we really as brave as we think by standing up to racism when a man can knock a woman out and get a slap on the wrist?

Seems more like we're living in a time when it's easy to pile onto an 80 some year old man for lacking modern tact. But when it comes time to hold someone to task for actually assaulting a woman, we got no cojones.

Are US sports leagues racist against whites?

Or are US sports leagues actually racist against blacks and therefore hold them to a low standard of conduct while holding whites to a higher standard of conduct?

www.npr.org...

www.azcentral.com...

a reply to: hammanderr

There is bias whenever it suits a purpose.

Ray Rice is needed on a team to win games. So his sins are ignored.

Donald Sterling was used as a patsy so he'd sell his team. So his sins are highlighted.


Truth, justice, honor, ethics, dignity and respect were words best used when steam engines were popular.

Now they are used to further entitlements, further greed, further selfishness.

It's a sad world we live in.

a reply to: beezzer

You're actually suggesting that Sterling shouldn't have been banned from the NBA for life? But he made some statements that people found offensive, and holds antiquated viewpoints, and he's an easy target. Your opinion is shocking.

Yup, dude KO's wife in public. He clearly needs a couple weeks to think about his marriage.

80 year old smack talks minorities while talking to his minority girlfriend. Destroy his life.

a reply to: hammanderr

I "voice" opinions every day on ATS that people take offense to.



*meh*

originally posted by: hammanderr
Ray Rice has been caught on camera handling his unconscious wife after knocking her out in an elevator. He received a 2 game suspension. Donald Sterling makes some perfectly legal, albeit racist, remarks and actually loses his NBA team. What does this say about us a country? Are we really as brave as we think by standing up to racism when a man can knock a woman out and get a slap on the wrist?

Rice was arrested for what he did. Sterling was not. That's the end of the legality of this issue.
What Rice did, did not involve the NBA directly. What Sterling did, DID.
Rice will be dealt with under the legal system. Sterling has been dealt with by the NBA.

You cannot compare the two situations, as one was illegal (and is being dealt with by the legal system) and the other was an NBA issue (and was dealt with by the NBA).

What the NBA did to Rice and to Sterling has nothing to do with the law. It's up to the NBA to deal with each incident as they see fit, and they have.

I think you're bringing race into an issue where it doesn't belong.

a reply to: Benevolent Heretic

Ummm, some team owner making constitutionally protected, albeit bigoted, statements to his girlfriend in private does not involve the NBA directly. However, it was found to be in poor taste, as racism is not en vogue at the moment. And the NBA was worried about appearing soft on racism in 2014, in a black athlete dominated sport.

Ray Rice is an NFL player, a very good one. He committed an actual crime, a crime that our society usually finds inexcusable and indicative of possible sociopathic tendencies.

So my question is: why is the white guys non crime dealt with exponentially more severely than the black guys actual crime? Keep in mind that physically abusive men are far more likely to murder their wives according to domestic violence statistics.

Do we hold blacks and whites to different standards?

originally posted by: hammanderr
Ummm, some team owner making constitutionally protected, albeit bigoted, statements to his girlfriend in private does not involve the NBA directly.

He was the owner of a mostly black team. He made derogatory remarks about black people. The team could no longer trust or respect him. The team is most definitely part of the NBA.

And the NBA was worried about appearing soft on racism in 2014, in a black athlete dominated sport.

You can certainly have that opinion. If true, I don't blame them. If the head of the International Alliance for Women was found to be speaking badly about women, she might be fired, too.

He committed an actual crime,

And is being dealt with by the law.

So my question is: why is the white guys non crime dealt with exponentially more severely than the black guys actual crime?

I know what your question is and I already answered it. Sterling ONLY had to deal with the NBA. Yes, the punishment was severe because his PLAYERS were affected and he doesn't admit to any wrongdoing. Rice had to deal with the NFL AND the law and his players were not affected and he seems genuinely sorry. The NFL also took Rice's past behavior into account and the punishment they've given to other players in similar situations.

Do we hold blacks and whites to different standards?

"We" who? The law certainly treats blacks differently than whites. They are treated worse.

If anything, sports PLAYERS are treated differently than owners, but as I said, you're inserting race where it doesn't belong. Race isn't the only difference in the two cases. You're seeing two men receive different punishments (by different organizations) for different offenses and assuming it MUST be because of their race.

a reply to: Benevolent Heretic

So the fact that the owner of the NBA team holds antiquated, racist views is a gigantic distraction to the team. But the fact that an NFL teams star player is guilty of physically assaulting a female is completely okay with his team mates. How do you know that?

Perhaps the LA Clippers players were utterly indifferent to the fact of Donald Sterling's racism. Conversely, perhaps a player on Rice's team witnessed his own mothers physical assault at the hands of a man and is therefore not okay with Rice's behavior. How would you know? You're assuming an awful lot. That Sterling's actions affected the team and that Rice's actions didn't, how would you know?

The fact is, in 2014, it's considered far worse to utter a racist statement than to actually harm another person. That's what's made clear by this episode. You seem to be more bothered by Sterling's actions than by Rice's.

Why should Sterling apologize for his views?, he has a right to them. He didn't actually harm anyone and he is a large employer of African Americans. Rice harmed another human being, he'd better be sorry and he ought to be in jail. Or is it okay for men to knock out women in public now?, well if they're a black NFL player anyway?

So back to my original question, is this the standard we hold blacks to now? At best, they're only beating their wives in public.

But if a white guy says a few unpopular words we literally cheer while he's stripped of his life's work. Wow, we're so brave, down with racism!!! Domestic violence, it's okay if you're black, because we kinda expect that of you.

originally posted by: hammanderr
So the fact that the owner of the NBA team holds antiquated, racist views is a gigantic distraction to the team. But the fact that an NFL teams star player is guilty of physically assaulting a female is completely okay with his team mates. How do you know that?

I don't know that it's "completely okay" with his teammates. And I didn't say that it was. I said that him beating up his wife doesn't have a direct affect on his teammates.

Perhaps the LA Clippers players were utterly indifferent to the fact of Donald Sterling's racism.

They weren't. They protested Sterling and gave a statement about the NBA's ruling:

Following the audio release of incendiary, racist remarks reportedly by team owner Donald Sterling yesterday, the Los Angeles Clippers players stepped out of the locker room to warm up for their playoff match today wearing their team apparel inside-out in protest.

Source

“In response to today's ruling by the NBA and Commissioner Adam Silver, my teammates and I are in agreement with his decision,” Los Angeles Clippers Point Guard Chris Paul said in a statement. “We appreciate the strong leadership from Commissioner Silver and he has our full support.”

Source

Conversely, perhaps a player on Rice's team witnessed his own mothers physical assault at the hands of a man and is therefore not okay with Rice's behavior.

That is not a direct affect. And again, I never said they were OK with his action. But it doesn't directly affect the team.

The fact is, in 2014, it's considered far worse to utter a racist statement than to actually harm another person. That's what's made clear by this episode.

If that's what you take from this, fine. I don't see it that way. As I said, it was two different offenses, by members of two different leagues, whose punishment was handed down by two different organizations.

You seem to be more bothered by Sterling's actions than by Rice's.

Let me assure you that you're wrong. What Rice did was FAR worse than what Sterling did. That's why he was arrested and Sterling wasn't.

Why should Sterling apologize for his views?, he has a right to them. He didn't actually harm anyone and he is a large employer of African Americans.

I didn't say Sterling should apologize. It's just something they take into account when deciding punishment. If the person shows no remorse, then the punishment can be more severe. But I agree with you. He has a legal right to voice his opinion. No one has infringed on that right.

Rice harmed another human being, he'd better be sorry and he ought to be in jail.

I agree. But that has NOTHING to do with the NFL punishment. Rice should be in jail, but so should Lindsay Lohan, Justin Beeber, OJ Simpson, Casey Anthony, etc... Talk to the LAW. The LAW treated Rice differently because he's a PLAYER, not because he's black. If he wasn't a famous player, he'd be behind bars quicker than you can blink.

Read this to see why he isn't in jail. New Jersey Law doesn't require it. (But I would.)

Source

Justin Fenton of the Baltimore Sun reports that Rice pleaded not guilty to the charges and applied for a spot in a pretrial intervention program. If accepted into the diversionary program, which New Jersey uses for first offenses “when such services can reasonably be expected to deter future criminal behavior,” Rice would have no criminal record associated with the case.

Here's an analogy that may make my position clearer. Two individuals.

1. A Honeywell executive in the engineering department heads a group in which most of the engineers are Indian. He is caught making several derogatory statements about Indians, and it is publicized on the news. His engineers are hurt and offended and they let it be known that they are uncomfortable working for the man. That man will most likely lose his job. Because what he did directly affects the people who work for him (and therefore the business's bottom line). Remember, the NBA is a business.

2. A senior level engineer at Intel and his girlfriend get into a physical altercation at dinner. He is arrested and goes through the legal system. This has nothing to do with his job, although some of the other engineers are rightfully upset that he would do such a thing. He's a valued engineer but his job, Intel's bottom line and the other engineers are not directly affected by what he did. His crime has been handled and he has been legally punished.

What is Intel's role in his punishment? Does he lose his job?

I've worked at Intel and let me tell you what would probably happen. The engineer would be "strongly recommended" to see a counselor and to attend a program in which he would explore anger management, control issues and domestic violence... and it would probably be at least partially covered by company insurance.

They would not suspend the engineer or dock his pay.

Being the owner of a sports team, with the responsibility and power that entails, Sterling's behavior and its effects are potentially MUCH more dangerous to the business than that of one player who got into a fight with his wife.

The race of the individuals matters not one bit.

By the way, the police filed reports on both Rice and his wife. They were both charged with domestic violence, though her charges were dropped and she apologized for "her role" in the whole thing. I'm not sure what that was... maybe she started it.

Case Highlights
Janay Apologizes

I used "affect" when I should have used "effect" in the previous post but I can't edit it! :cry: