etsen3

He's not being charged with anything. The government and First Amendment are not involved. The NBA is punishing him because they have their own code that members must abide by. His comments damage their brand and cause them to lose money. As much as he has a legal right to say what he wants in his home, the NBA has a right to punish him for socially unacceptable, embarassing, and insulting comments. I'm all for free speech, however it goes both ways. Having the legal right to do something doesn't mean others can't denounce it. In the real world, things you say have social repercussions, even if you have the legal right to say them. You also make it sounds like he's just a normal person who happened to make an offhand racist comment one time. As has been repeated over and over ITT, Donald Sterling has a previous history of bullying and racism, including discriminating against black and latino renters. IMO they should have cracked down on him back then.

I suggest you research Sterling's past history if you think he's not a genuine racist. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/29/donald-sterling-racism-history_n_5228992.html Sterling has been accused of specifically envisioning "a team of poor black players with a white southern head coach". He was also sued for discriminating against black and latino renters for his housing developments (which is probably the worst thing he's done race-wise). I can't help but think that you have some racist feelings deep down inside. If he's allowed to speak his mind, others are allowed to criticize him for it and the NBA is allowed to take appropriate actions. His comments are offensive, it's not like he was joking and people took it the wrong way, his words are a direct insult. Put yourself in a black person's shoes and think about how you would feel if someone disrespected you in this manner. The vast majority of old people I know are not racist. Even though they were raised in a racist era, they were open-minded and intelligent enough to change their minds. There is no excuse for Donald Sterling's attitude in this day and age.

Well said. If any regular employee of a company were to behave the way Sterling has, they would be instantly fired for embarrassing the organization. This is a smart move by the NBA both morally and fiscally as it retains their image. It's not fair that one owner should cause the whole company to lose money.

I agree with the fine 1) Remember 2.5 million is a lot less money to him than it is to the average person 2) Donald Sterling has a pattern of poor conduct and racism, it's not just these comments. Even though they may not publicly admit it, I bet they have wanted to get rid of him for a long time and this was just the last straw. It's a little political but nobody wants to work with an asshole. 3) I agree that he has the right to say whatever he wants (First Amendment), but that's in the eyes of the government only. It's not just about the comments specifically, it's about the general attitudes that his comments reflect. Remember the NBA is a private entity so they have a right to regulate what their "employees" do and punish those that step out of line. Donald Sterling's comments damage the NBA's brand and can unfairly cause them to lose money, especially with such a large fanbase. The NBA must come down hard on Sterling to uphold their image as a progressive league. I fully applaud the NBA for making this move and consider it a smart business decision. There is no excuse for Sterling to still have these attitudes (there are plenty of old people that aren't racist) and both his recent comments and previous behaviour would reflect poorly on the NBA if they didn't send a strong message that this is intolerable.

I agree that this woman is a manipulative gold digger, but it's not about just the comments themselves. It's his whole attitude that is behind the comments. It's not like he said those things facetiously. Donald Sterling has a history of being a racist (attempting to drive out his non-Korean tenants and refusing to rent to black people or hispanics). The NBA isn't just punishing him for the comments. They are banning him because they can't be associated with the type of person he is, especially with so many black players and fans. It's not about the comments, it's about his character.

Exactly, my view is "who cares". Government services are all in English and French. "Native" Canadians are under no obligation to communicate with anyone in Chinese or whatever language. I also can't recall meting any minority in North America that expected me to communicate with them in their own language or any language other than English. There's no obligation to read this ad or buy their products. If someone chooses not to learn English, they are the ones that lose in the end.

I disagree with the last part. I understand the argument that this ad could be a symbol of a larger problem of immigrants not learning English, but I don't see the ad itself as a problem. They are just responding to the marketplace. One of the fundamentals of advertising is target marketing. With this ad, they are specifically targeting asian consumers. Every single company does it. I don't think that advertisers have an obligation to be accessible to all cultures. People from different cultures buy different products. If you don't buy Crest white strips because you can't read the ad, so what? The company is the one that loses profit in the end. If you want to tackle the problem of immigrants not learning English, why not actually focus on the issue rather than a bus stop ad that is merely a reflection of the issue. For example, making ESL classes more accessible or increasing immigration standards. Besides the vast majority of immigrants I know do make an effort to learn at least basic English. The ones that don't end up having a very difficult time in life because they can't function. It's their loss, not anyone else's.

Who cares. If Crest or whatever toothpaste company wants to exclude English speakers from reading the ad, then English speakers will be less likely to buy the product. People complain about ads all the time, now they complain when they can't read them? It's not like this is a government service, it's a voluntary private entity.

Whether it's a cop out or not, it's obviously true. Most of our best players are on the wrong side of 30 and their numbers are declining.. We've got a few good young players coming up but the new GM must make it a priority to bring in some good players under 25.

Sounds like Gillis can't make up his mind on an identity for the team. He's spent the last few years trying to get tougher and now he wants to go back to the 2011 style? The Canucks need to bring in someone who can make quick decisions to make big changes to this team. Someone who actually has a vision.

Most of the good things he's done were in the early part of his time here. Even the best GM's have to go someday when change needs to be made. It's not that he's not capable of doing a good job, but as our organization goes through a time of change, I think it would be best to move forward with a new strategy.

Correlation =/= causation

For anyone saying we had an easier time due to Backstrom, Henrik, and Zetterberg being out, Canada was missing Stamkos and Tavares. Two top 5 NHLers. Of course, we can afford to lose them more than Sweden can afford to lose their players. But that just shows our depth. Canada won because they appraoched the tournament like true professionals. Sure, they had a bit of trouble adjusting early, but as the tournament went on they executed the game plan and played extremely well as a team, which is a tough task for a group coming together at the last second. Holding two of the best team in the tournament to zero goals is a huge accomplishment. Hats off to the coaching staff and the players for making it look so easy, we really played textbook, clinical hockey.

Has anyone made the "loser keeps Bieber" joke yet? So fresh and original.

Great performance by the boys. The Canucks could learn a thing or two about how to hold a lead.

The fact that they have little competition just shows how good they are at hockey. Would rather win and celebrate excessively than not celebrate at all.

Such an unreal game and great heart from the team. Way to assert national dominance over them, girls. Time for the boys to do the same tomorrow. One Kessel down, one more to go.

In I disagree, very cliche and simplistic way of looking at it. I think the main factor will be if Canada can finally get some finish. Not to take away anything from the other teams goalies, but how many times has Canada had a great scoring chance and either missed the net, fanned on the shot, or hit the post? These are supposed to be NHL stars. I would imagine Canada will control puck possession, but if the US's solid defensive forwards step up and they get a great game from Miller, they can easily take it. It'll be a tough, close game for both teams.

No wonder Miley has daddy issues.

He's right that these aren't the "real Canucks". Obviously we will bust the slump and we won't normally be this bad. Thing is, I doubt the "real Canucks" are good enough either.

In other news: this year's Stanley Cup winning team will come from Canada or the United States (excluding the province of Alberta).

Too bad Bettman has no diques!

I think that was on the extended list, not in OP but in the link. The only one I disagreed with was throwing your hat, don't think everyone actually does it, more of an optional thing.

Home from uni for 1 weeks then out of town for another, nowhere to go to the gym (most places require membership and the community gym costs 35 bucks for a week and has highly limited equipment). Any ideas? Feel like I'm rotting.