Following several days of national outrage, new NBA commissioner Adam Silver has finally responded to the atrocious, racist statements made by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. Calling the comments, “deeply offensive and harmful” and saying Sterling had personally confirmed that the voice on the recorded tape was his own, Silver leveled some pretty harsh penalties against Sterling. First of all, Sterling is banned from any association with the team and the NBA in general for life, and he’s also been fined 2.5 million dollars, which is the maximum fine allowed under NBA rules.
Perhaps most interestingly, Silver said that he would do “everything in his power” to force Sterling’s sale of the team, though how much power that actually is remains an open question …
