Will Clippers play uninspired?

LOS ANGELES – With team owner Donald Sterling caught in the controversial swirl of racist remarks aired on TV, the Los Angeles Clippers play the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 at the Staples Center this morning (Manila time) unsure of the future of the franchise.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver is scheduled to announce today sanctions on Sterling for allegedly spewing venom on African-Americans in a telephone conversation with his mistress, V. Stiviano who is part Mexican and part African-American. The conversation was taped and aired on the celebrity gossip channel TMZ. 

Sterling, who turned 80 last weekend, has been the Clippers owner since acquiring the franchise, formerly based in San Diego, in 1981. He has a history of racial prejudice but it had not created widespread furor until the latest expose. Sterling is still married to his wife Rochelle even as he makes it no secret to flaunt his four-year-old affair with Stiviano who is in her 20s. 

Sterling has showered Stiviano with expensive gifts, including a 2012 Ferrari, two Bentleys and a 2013 Range Rover. When watching the Clippers play, Sterling sits beside Stiviano. It was reported that Sterling gave Stiviano $1.8 Million to buy a duplex and $240,000 for living expenses.

In the telephone conversation, Sterling told Stiviano to stay away from African-Americans and singled out Magic Johnson with whom she had a photograph posted on her instagram account. The expose came before Game 4 of the playoff series and it clearly unsettled the Clippers whose roster lists 12 players with African-American lineage and only two without, namely J. J. Redick and Hedo Turkoglu of Turkey.

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Clippers guard Chris Paul happens to be the president of the NBA Players Association and he was clearly miffed by Sterling’s remarks. Clippers center Blake Griffin’s father Tommy is African-American with Haitian descent and his mother Gail is Caucasian. Paul, Griffin and the rest of the Clippers refused to wear their team jerseys during the Game 4 warm-ups as a sign of protest. They wore red plain gear and black wristbands, socks and sleeves. The expression of resentment rang loud and clear in media. The players demonstrated against their owner in an unprecedented display of disgust and disrespect.

For the racial remarks, Sterling may be fined as much as $1 Million and suspended from attending Clippers games. There is a clamor to boot Sterling out of the league but that’s not easily done. Sterling has money invested in the franchise. If the Clippers are now worth $500 Million and Sterling is bought out, he’ll walk away with a hefty profit, certainly not the way a penalty is envisioned for a wrong-doer. 

Sterling has apologized for his remarks but his backers claim Stiviano leaked the tape to extort money from the billionaire. Whatever Stiviano’s motives were, they’re irrelevant. What appears conclusive is Sterling’s racial prejudice and for this reason, he doesn’t belong as an owner in the league where most of the players are African-American.

The outrage over Sterling’s remarks has brought out a clamor for his expulsion from NBA legends Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Kevin Johnson who is the Mayor of Sacramento. “He shouldn’t own a team anymore,” said Magic. Miami Heat star LeBron James said there is no room for Sterling in the NBA. 

Because of Sterling, sponsors are pulling out their money from the Clippers. This will likely force Sterling to step down as chairman but as the Clippers’ sole owner, divesting won’t be quite as easy. He’s the longest tenured owner in the NBA with 33 seasons under his belt and one of the few remaining sole owners in professional sports. 

Clippers coach Doc Rivers was just as outraged as Jordan, Magic and James. He called on his team to stick together and show its solidarity as a group. Rivers has rejected suggestions to boycott the playoffs and said the Clippers will go out to play despite Sterling. “We’re playing Golden State and Golden State is our enemy right now,” said Rivers. “This is a situation where we’re trying to go after something very important to us – something we’ve all dreamed about all of our childhoods. Donald or anyone else had nothing to do with that dream and we’re not going to let anything get in the way of those dreams.”

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The Clippers must uphold the integrity of the game regardless of how they feel about Sterling. They shouldn’t cop out even if their loyalty to Sterling has gone down the drain. The team must realize that more than Sterling, they owe their careers to the fans who pay good money to watch them play. It is for the fans that they must commit to playing hard the rest of the playoffs.

The Clippers have regained homecourt advantage by beating the Warriors, 98-96, in Game 3 on the road. Steph Curry attempted a last-second triple that missed but Paul could’ve fouled him in the act, throwing a forearm on the waist to throw off his aim. No call, however, was made. When all hell broke loose as a result of the TMZ expose, the Clippers were blown off the court, 118-97, in Game 4 on the Warriors homecourt.

The speculation is a lot of Los Angeles fans will boycott Game 5 to show their displeasure on Sterling. If that happens, the Clippers won’t enjoy what a homecourt advantage can provide. Game 5 is pivotal. If the Warriors win, they open a 3-2 lead and will try to close out in Game 6 at home. If the Clippers win, they can afford to lose Game 6 on the road and still get a chance to clinch in Game 7 at home.