Having a policy of refusing to rent properties to certain people based solely on race - agreed to pay fine of $2.73 million and $5 million in fees.

Underpayed black employees.

Would take women through changerooms and invite them to look at beautiful black bodies while players were showering, even when requested to stop.


Glad we agree!

Personally, I don't think there is any crusade. Bloke can't go to anymore NBA games, bloke will have to sell his team to someone else (for a profit of around $500 million if he does it before all the fans and players leave). Job done. It's not like anyone is sending tens of thousands of Christians to invade his house or anything :)

Yeah, he sounds like a horrible person but no more horrible than half the people I've met during my life.
There is a crusade against him. If you read some of the posts in this thread, there is a lot of extreme hatred towards this guy. And outside of this thread, there probably is a lot of extreme hate too. If he showed his face right now to certain groups of people, he'd probably get his ass kicked if not killed. In his shoes, I would put on a disguise every time I go out for at least a year. 5 years from now, if he writes a book and it gets published, people will probably spit on it and burn it. After he dies of old age, there is a good chance, someone will shit on his grave.

I agree there is a lot of hate. I support peoples' right to hate each other. I am not sure I completely agree with all of your predictions though :)

Also, that sounds like a pretty funny crusade. I have an image in my head of 10,000 Christians in the middle ages, invading the Holy Land, then going to a cemetery and all dropping their pants and poo-ing. Thanks for that !!

I dislike that pretty much no one is talking about this woman illegally taping him, surely for nefarious purposes.

That said he's a disgusting human being and I am glad he is being punished.

I find the hate excessive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbg6xoS3K3U

I´m not sure... Maybe this guy is a disgusting human being but it was a private conversation. Our society is becoming some sort of orwellian fantasy. 2,5 million dollars fine?, banned for life? Is this reasonable for a private statement? Really, guys???

Perfectly reasonable decision, if you ask me.

Yeah, if you hate the concept of privacy and you think only with your emotions. It seems, you are letting your hatred get the best of you.

No matter how much you hate this guy, is it fair that he was treated like this for saying racist things in a private conversation? Our society should be fair and respect people's privacy no matter what because once we stop being fair and care nothing for privacy, then the truly evil people will have too much power... Would you like to be spied on 24/7? Would you like to be fined, fired and banned for life for saying something that society finds despicable? I know right now, society does not find any of your beliefs despicable. But what if one day, society finds some of your beliefs despicable or one day you say something out of anger on the phone that society finds despicable? Things can change. Just 100 years ago, it was normal to be racist... What if in the future, society finds it despicable to be against racism? Well if that society believes in being fair...then you wont have anything to worry about but if that society thinks with it's emotions only...if that society doesn't respect privacy...then things wont be good.

He is an idiot, luckily his conversation was recorded, he got banned, i'm all happy about it. that's all that matters for me.

it got worse for him? GOOD!

It's not a court of law, it's a group of businessmen. I don't really get the argument, honestly. If the police were after him for some reason then yes, I would agree that would be crazy. He has the right to be a racist ass, and the NBA has a right to kick him out of their group.

Personally I think today's instances of people's private lives being exposed to the public is a scary trend. He may be a racist douche; another person making an off color joke who is normally a reasonable chap will suffer a similar fate. The greater public, oblivious to context and back story, will want anyone punished. And as Velvet said above, his devious mistress is scarcely better than him.

It's so unfortunate seeing so many not understanding the concept of freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is a guarantee that citizens are free to not be held to sanctions from their government for things they say or write or print. In the US, this is enshrined in the first amendment to our constitution, which begins "Congress shall pass no law." Meaning THE STATE.

THE STATE took ZERO ACTION in this instance. Neither the federal, state, city, county, or any other STATE ENTITY took any action against this asshole for anything he said. His freedom of speech remains 100% in tact, he suffered ZERO SANCTIONS from any government entity.

Freedom of speech DOES NOT, and NEVER HAS, meant one remains 100% free from responsibility for the things they say or write. If you were paying an employee, and he showed up for work everyday calling you AND YOUR FAMILY stupid, sub-human beings not worthy of the air you're allowed to breathe, you are free to fire him. And good for you. I'd fire his ass too. That has NOTHING TO DO with freedom of speech. No government sanctions (such as prison or government torture) occurred.

If one is the privacy of their own home and works for you and posts those same words about your family on Facebook, and you read them, again, YOU ARE FREE to fire him. And again, GOOD FOR YOU.

Freedom of speech means freedom from government sanctions for speech, it does NOT, and NEVER HAS, meant 100% freedom from responsibility for anything you say or write.

Why is this concept so difficult to understand? Do you really want a world where your coworker, sitting next to you 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, can sit there and constantly call you names, berate you for nothing but the color of your skin or the style of your hair or your sex, perhaps even make sexually suggestive speech at you, all free from responsibility??? Really???

Oh, and here's a news flash for you. Our "freedom of speech" is not deemed to be 100%. Hundreds of years of case law has resulted in there being some forms of speech regarded as worthy of regulation/retribution from government. Yelling "fire in a crowded theater" is, while perhaps the most famous example, but one of many.

Go over to your friends house tonight and tell them precisely how you're planning to assassinate the President of the United States, and then watch what happens if that friend happened to tape that "private conversation" and releases it. Maybe it will be just the lesson some need on the intricacies of "freedom of speech." It is not, nor should be, 100% universal. I'm rather fond of commercial speech being regulated and monitored. I don't think a company should have the right to advertise product A makes your penis larger for only $49.99 a month and then said product doesn't work. (For those unfamiliar, that's a real life example of a company that had it's assets seized and distributed to former customers because their "speech" wasn't true. And good for the government for doing jus that.)

Jessy has Weighed In on the story.

ooh that reminds me of one of my favourite WKUK Skits!