By James Mendez

University of North Texas

Mayborn School of Journalism

Over this past semester I have blogged about PR cases where fantastic decisions were made, such as how the “Justin Bieber baby momma” case was handled by Mattherw Hiltzik of Hiltzik Strategies. I have also discussed PR cases where terrible decisions were made like in the Carnival Triumph case where Carnival allowed a ship that was unsafe to set sail, leave port.  I have also discussed a few instances where celebrities have made statements that have gotten them into some trouble, and I would like to discuss one more.

Photo Via Mashable

Recently billionaire and owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, Donald Sterling, made some very “off color” remarks that have gotten him into some VERY hot water (I would say boiling).

Donald Tokowitz, who is now known as Donald Sterling, is the son of Jewish immigrants who fled Eastern Europe. In 1936 Sterling’s parents moved to Los Angeles where he attended Theodore Roosevelt High Schoodl. Sterling began his way to the top of the Forbes list as a divorce lawyer. He then went on to become a real estate mogul and eventually the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers in 1981.

When Sterling first purchased the struggling Clippers team, he paid a mere $12 million, a very modest price when you consider that the franchise is now worth over $575 million (or was). Sterling himself is worth an estimated $1.9 billion with a B, and is ranked as the 974^th richest person in the world according to Forbes.

Photo Via Sports Grid.com

The thing that makes this unique, in my opinion, is that the remarks were made in private, apparently between Sterling and his girlfriend V. Stiviano. Should the NBA be allowed to ban Sterling for life based on “racist” comments made in a private phone conversation?

I will admit that what Sterling said was unacceptable, but they are his personal opinions. He didn’t make these comments in a public place or in an interview; he said them in a private phone conversation.

While I agree that what he said is disgusting, I think the nba over reacted. I think they should have fined him more money, but allowed him to decide rather to leave the NBA or not. The repercussions from his comments are enough already without a lifetime ban from an organization he has been involved with for over 30 years.