The photo on Twitter that started the feud.

Racism. Apparently even in our enlightened society today it still exists in many shapes and forms. This was most recently put on display by (now former) Los Angeles Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling.

Mr. Sterling, who celebrated his 80th birthday on April 26th, apparently still had the racist mentality of the “old generation” ingrained in the marrow of his bones when he allegedly (then admitted having) told his much-younger girlfriend, ironically of Latina/Mexican origin, to not bring black people to basketball games, which included the legendary Magic Johnson.

When Donald Sterling confronted his girlfriend about this, it was audio-recorded in a 9 minute argument. His issue was with fraternizing with black people and minorities when ironically his girlfriend was a minority as well. Here is the discussion:

When NBA commissioner Adam Silver found out about this, he unequivocally banned Mr. Sterling for life.

What most impressed me was how fast the Social Media world brought out this issue of racism and how quickly it was resolved. Social Media as we currently know it has acted as a wonderful catalyst in bringing fruition to what Martin Luther King Jr. and other Civil Rights leaders worked so hard for. In very little time, the issue was brought about on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Google+ among other channels, with people sharing this piece of news with their friends, those friends with their friends, along with a myriad of discussions calling for his banishment from the National Basketball Association (NBA). In one extreme yet humorous example, “Grandmama” Larry Johnson suggested the creation of an all-black basketball league with black owners. That of course would render the NBA as a joke with the lack of black talent to define the game as we currently know it.

I am finishing this post with one question: If Donald Sterling is such a racist, what on earth was he doing owning a franchise where his best employees are “minorities?”

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