New NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has a big problem, and it couldn't have come at a worse time.
Over the weekend, TMZ and Deadspin published audio tape of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling making racist remarks to his girlfriend. Sterling (still married) is allegedly speaking to V. Stiviano about her posting pictures with former LA Lakers star Magic Johnson.
"It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you're associating with black people. Do you have to?" the man believed to be Sterling says. He continues, "You can sleep with (black people). You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want. The little I ask you is not to promote it on (Instagram) ... and not to bring them to my games."
Ironically, Stiviano (against whom Sterling's wife recently filed a lawsuit) is of black and Mexican ancestry. Even more ironically, Sterling was supposed to receive a lifetime achievement award from the local NAACP before the scandal broke.
Silver, who became commissioner Feb. 1, said he will do a thorough investigation, but give Sterling the same due process he would give a player. He needs to take enough time to get his ducks in a row—and to prove that the voice on the tape is 100 percent Sterling's voice. Sterling has a past history of racial discrimination that has led to lawsuits—one suit by the U.S. Department of Justice found Sterling used race as a factor to not rent to minorities in his rental property.
Silver and other NBA owners could lean on Sterling heavily if they find he made the comments, but forcing Sterling to sell the Clippers would be unprecedented. The NBA couldn't even get former Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets owner George Shinn to sell after he was accused of kidnapping and raping a woman.
Even if Silver and the other NBA owners can't get Sterling to sell the team, they could use a precedent that Major League Baseball set. Marge Schott once owned the Cincinnati Reds until her racist remarks led to MLB suspending her from team operations in 1993 and again in 1996 until she sold the team in 1999.
Silver might not be able to make Sterling sell the Clippers, but he can force Sterling away from the team from now until the day he dies.
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