By now you’ve surely heard all about Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling’s humiliating racist rant. It’s essentially impossible for you to have not heard about it, as it seems to be one of the only things the Internet’s been (rightfully) obsessing over for the last couple days.
A Not So Sterling Revelation
It’s always disturbing when a high-profile sort is exposed as a bigot, though in this case, I’m not sure many folks are too too surprised—Sterling has a history of gross racist remarks. But on the off chance that you’ve been hiding under a rock or living with your head smushed beneath your pillow in an attempt to avoid the return of the work week, here’s a little breakdown for you.
On Friday, a recording was leaked to the press. In said recording, gazillionaire Sterling was heard grilling his girlfriend, the mixed-race V. Stiviano, about Instagram photos she’d posted of herself hanging out with black celebrities like Magic Johnson.
Here’s a snippet of the foul conversation:
Girlfriend V. Stiviano: “People call you and tell you that I have black people on my Instagram and it bothers you?”
Donald Sterling: “Yeah, it bothers me that you want to…broadcast that you’re associating with black people … Don’t put him [Magic] on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me. And don’t bring him to my games.”
There’s more, of course, but you knew that. What you possibly didn’t know is that some media-watchers are now speculating about whether alcohol played a part in Sterling’s rant—and if it did, will he pull the rehab card in an attempt to smooth over his actions?
The Role of Addiction in Reprehensible Behavior
There does seem to be a thread of addiction running through Sterling’s bloodline, at least when it comes to his offspring. In 2013, his 32-year-old son Scott was found dead (at his Dad-owned luxury Malibu apartment) in an apparent drug overdose. Interestingly, his family then released a statement that seemed to largely blame Scott’s death on his diabetes. (Also interesting, though not necessarily relevant: In 1999, Scott was arrested in connection with the shooting of childhood friend Philip Scheid, but Sterling was never charged.)
No matter what justification Sterling tries to scrounge up to compensate for his hateful comments, it seems doubtful that the public or the sports world will give him a pass on this, and they shouldn’t. Still waiting on a comment from the NBA, which has launched an investigation into the remarks.
Image courtesy of Newslocker
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