The NBA's likable jerk, Mark Cuban, has chimed in on the league's unlikable jerk, Clippers' owner Donald Sterling. Cuban isn't looking to force him to sell for his racist transgressions-
I think you've got to be very, very careful when you start making blanket statements about what people say and think, as opposed to what they do. It's a very, very slippery slope.
Cuban doesn't mention what might be the next step down the gradient, but the recent Firefox episode might be an indicator. Could a traditionalist NBA owner be forced out as Brendan Eich was as Mozilla CEO? Or, on a less political tone, could the next Blog Maverick post cause the league to give Cuban the heave-ho as well?
Before the NBA pulls the trigger on trying to force a sale of the Clippers, they should note that Sterling is in the middle of a messy divorce case (that just got much messier, by the way) and would be likely to need to sell the team rather than split ownership with his soon-to-be-ex wife.
Also, if Sterling decided to stay on, it would be a drag on the value of the team, as advertisers are already bailing on the team and ticket sales might drop as higher-profile fans might not want to be seen at the Clip Joint. The team would be worth more under new ownership, and Sterling the businessman would be well served to sell to less-tainted owners.
Thus, a sale should be forthcoming anyway, and forcing it would cost time and money that may not be needed.
That assumes that Sterling is rational, however. Not every billionaire is going to fit a Homo Economus profit-maximizing mold, especially when divorce can see a lot of irrational behavior designed to spite the ex. LA has seen this script once before, as the Dodgers were part of a messy divorce case not that long ago.
There's a 2PM press conference on the issue forthcoming. I'd expect it not to make anyone happy, since making him persona non grata in perpetuity would set a rather harsh standard and anything less will have the usual suspects crying foul.
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