Earlier this afternoon in a live news conference, Adam Silver announced he has banned Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life and is fully committed to forcing him to sell his franchise.
Sterling was accused of making racist remarks in tapes leaked to TMZ over the weekend, and many of the league’s players reportedly threatened to boycott tonight’s playoff games had the punishment not met their expectations.
While this story is most certainly not over—not only are the Clippers still playing playoff games but Silver, as Adrian Wojnarowski points out, needs a super majority vote from the other owners to drive Sterling out (he has it, reportedly… all 29 votes, too)—NBA players took to Twitter to celebrate today’s news.
Today is a good day in the NBA, and a major step forward for the game. Check out some of the comments made by NBA players on social media following the announcement.
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Commissioner Silver thank you for protecting our beautiful and powerful league!! Great leader!! #BiggerThanBasketball #StriveForGreatness
— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 29, 2014
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Former and current NBA players are very happy and satisfied with Commissioner Silver's ruling.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 29, 2014
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Way to go, Commissioner Silver! The NBA stands for everybody!
— SHAQ (@SHAQ) April 29, 2014
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@nba #AdamSilver thank you for standing up and leading not only in sport, but setting the example for society to follow!
— Isiah Thomas (@iamisiahthomas) April 29, 2014
Commissioner Silver….STRONG…way to take charge and protect our great league.
— THREE (@DwyaneWade) April 29, 2014
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'Standing ovation' for Commissioner Silver. Big time decision standing up for the league and it's players. Now, Gotta see it through
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) April 29, 2014
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Proud of the #NBA and their handling of the offensive comments made by Sterling. I'm honored to be joining this league and family.
— andrew wiggins (@22wiggins) April 29, 2014
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Thank you Commissioner for protecting our League & what it stands for!
— Tyson Chandler (@tysonchandler) April 29, 2014
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Good job commissioner silver clean up this stupidity in our society about race this will open up a lot of people's eyes I applaud u
— Gary Payton (@GaryPayton_20) April 29, 2014
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Very proud of commissioner Silver for his leadership. Well done Adam!
— grant hill (@realgranthill33) April 29, 2014
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Proud of Commissioner Silver and what he did today! Respect him taking a strong stance on such an important issue #zerotolerance
— Harrison Barnes (@hbarnes) April 29, 2014
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Hit page 2 for more reactions…
Strong stance and the right decision by Adam Silver and the @NBA. #Respect
— Al Horford (@Al_Horford) April 29, 2014
Big ups to Adam Silver. I think this is a very appropriate way to handle this situation. Now it's up to the owners to make him sell.
— Mario Chalmers (@mchalmers15) April 29, 2014
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I commend commissioner Adam Silver for making the right move. Players it's time for us to come together and change the league. #NBA
— Terrence Ross (@T_DotFlight31) April 29, 2014
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We have no place for racism in our society…great job Commissioner #ilovethisgame #NBA
— Tyreke Evans (@TyrekeEvans) April 29, 2014
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Commissioner of the @NBA just showed us how he drops the hammer on ignorance. #lifetimeban for Donald Sterling. The ultimate #gonefishing
— Jason Collins (@jasoncollins34) April 29, 2014
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Nothing but respect for commissioner Silver
— Ed Davis (@eddavis32) April 29, 2014
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NBA, job well done! Swift and Hard! Would be pretty sweet if Magic ended up as the next Owner!
— Quentin Richardson (@QRich) April 29, 2014
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David West on Donald Sterling ban "He's 80 years old, he doesn't have that much more to life to live"
— Mike Wells (@MikeWellsNFL) April 29, 2014
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???????????????????????? !!!
— Quincy Acy (@QuincyAcy) April 29, 2014
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Steve Nash thanks Commisioner Silver for "quick, unequivocal and decisive" move in banning Donald Sterling for life.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) April 29, 2014
"We stand together in condemning Mr. Sterling's views. They simply have no place in the NBA." – Adam Silver
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 29, 2014
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What do you think?
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