NBA Commissioner and Wallace and Gromit character Adam Silver is holding a press conference at 2 PM ET to address the league’s investigation of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, and word on the street is that he’s really going to bring the pain. It was reported earlier that the NBA’s attorneys have validated the audio recordings first obtained by TMZ and then Deadspin, and they have confirmed that it’s definitely Sterling complaining to V. Stiviano about her bringing black men like Magic Johnson to Clippers games.
So what can Silver possibly announce that could effectively level a strong enough response that proves that there’s no place for Sterling’s bullsh*t and blatant racism in today’s NBA? Yahoo!’s Adrian Wojnarowski wrote this morning that Sterling’s peers in the owner community and league front office seem to think that Silver has his finger on the NBA’s version of the button.
Several league officials – including owners and Board of Governors members – told Yahoo Sports they believe Silver has been studying the nuclear option on Sterling: a provision in the NBA’s bylaws that would allow Silver to summon a vote of league owners to strip Sterling of his ownership. The NBA would run the Clippers until the team could be sold.
Minimally, Silver could implement these penalties on Sterling: a one-year suspension, a $1 million fine and an assignment to counseling. For all the years former commissioner David Stern let Sterling slide, there’s a strong belief Stern simply feared Sterling in the courts. Sterling is an attorney – he loves litigation – and Stern feared Sterling would become Al Davis to his Pete Rozelle. (Via Yahoo! Sports)
David Stern afraid of someone? Unlikely. That man acted like he had balls made of hornet’s nests. But like Woj, ESPN’s Godfather of NBA Coverage, Bill Simmons, has also heard rumblings of nuclear protocol, which would mean that Silver is definitely bringing the ultimate swag to the podium at 2 PM.
There’s also that whole matter of the audio recordings that reveal what a colossal racist d*ckhead that Sterling is. That’s probably not going to make him any friends in a courtroom, although I’m no legal expert and don’t know how any of that stuff works. Either way, you can watch Silver’s press conference at 2 PM on NBA.com’s live feed, and I’ll be updating accordingly with whatever figurative mushroom stamps he drops on Sterling’s forehead.
UPDATE 1: Oh hey, Spike Lee…
UPDATE 2: Spoiler alert?
UPDATE 3: Adam Silver believes in being on time like David Stern believed in making sure the fans loved him.
UPDATE 4: A wee bit more than indefinite.
UPDATE 5: Donald Sterling is banned for life from any association with the Clippers and the NBA, effective immediately, per Adam “Cojones” Silver. “Mr. Sterling’s views simply have no place in the NBA.”
