It’s no question that Sterling is indeed a racist. But he’s not the only one in the world. If every old, white bigot in the world got fined $2.5 million for harboring negative thoughts towards minorities, there would probably be a lot of bankrupt Americans. 

 

Something that isn’t getting nearly as much attention as it deserves is the fact that this was a private conversation. Do the First and Fourth Amendment not exist anymore? Sterling has the right to say whatever he likes, whether it’s racist or not. He should feel secure when talking on the phone with his girlfriend unless otherwise stated that it was being recorded and would be broadcasted to the news. 

 

He didn’t even want to talk about it. He preferred to keep his prejudice thoughts to himself, but his gold digger girlfriend, Stiviano, kept pressing him for a reaction and he gave it to her. If you listen to the whole conversation, it’s pretty apparent that Stiviano had the intention of selling the audio recording from the very start. The way she repeats questions and her choice of words is an instant giveaway. Not to mention how she instigates outrageous claims over and over again to get Sterling worked up. Of course he doesn’t expect you to remove the part of your skin that’s black. That’s kind of physically impossible. 

 

Another point brought up by popular news outlets is how Sterling insulted Magic Johnson. That’s not true. It’s quite the opposite, really. Stiviano is the first to mention Johnson’s name, accusing Sterling of being angry that she Instagrammed a picture with him. 

 

“I’ve known him well, and he should be admired.” 

 

All of these media sites are rallying up a mob to lynch Sterling over a false rumor of him bashing Magic Johnson. He clearly states his admiration for the Hall of Famer, and approves of his girlfriend’s admiration for him too. He’s still racist, but not so much when it comes to a legend like Magic. 

 

What it comes down to is this: Is Donald Sterling really a racist? The answer is yes. That’s not a hard one. What it really comes down to is: Does he deserve to be fired, banned, and fined $2.5 million? Over what? Prejudice thoughts that were forcibly manifested into spoken words over a phone call that, whether he knew it was being recorded or not, was meant to be kept private between the two involved in it? That’s not very fair. 

 

I’m not trying to defend Sterling for his actions because he is indeed a scumbag and has had multiple issues in the past dealing with his racism. I just feel as though his punishment was kind of overkill. He probably already gets hundreds upon thousands of death threats every day for being a bigot. On top of that, being banned from anything involving the NBA and being forced to sell his team. 

 

Sterling is not a good guy. Far from it. But he’s also not the reincarnation of Hitler. If you’re going to hate him, know what you’re hating him for. Form your own opinion off of facts, rather than hopping on the hate bandwagon.