The Best Course of Action

This weekend an audio recording surfaced that is "allegedly" Donald Sterling being, well, Donald Sterling.  I use quotes because the word allege has such an insulting meaning of its own in today's society, i.e. The Boston Marathon Bombing was carried out by alleged suspects, as was the Aurora movie theater shooting.  Don't insult the intelligence of humanity by making anyone think there was anyone else other than those in custody responsible.  And in this case, with voice recognition software available today, this IS Sterling's voice; not just allegedly.  

But back to the point: It's not news that the man is a racist bigot. He has a perfect history of discriminatory and racist behavior.  It's also not news that comments like those on the audiotape have no place in today's society, where we're finally perfecting the notion that no person is inherently better than another.

What is news is the vindictive and equally unforgiving actions that are being contemplated by the NBA, some of its most notable past players, current players, coaches, and fans everywhere.  I understand that freedom of speech is a foreign concept in a league where a player's estute understanding that the quality of officiating may have been compromised at a critical point in the game warrants a fine, but our society does value free speech.  Please do not confuse my condoning free speech with support for Mr. Sterling or his comments.

The appropriate course of action would be for the NBA's player contracts to include clauses that allow them out of deals where they have a genuine belief that they are being placed in a hostile work environment.  This would address such issues as racist owners, abusive coaches, or even cases of lockeroom bullying a-la Jonathan Martin.  Produce enough evidence that your concerns are genuine, and you're able to tear up your contract and enter free agency.

What this accomplishes is far more powerful than any sanction or fine that is currently being contemplated against Sterling and any future cases such as this.  Rather than forcing defensive behavior whereby the original offender now feels attacked for their views, why not allow the NBA community to simply abandon the asshole?  Wouldn't everyone walking away from the racist in the minority send a better message?  It's a much stronger statement to provide a silent "what are you going to do" response, and forces the offending individual to look within themselves to grow and find a solution, or forever be exiled from the community.  Instead of ganging up on the offender and making him feel attacked, leave him alone by himself, his investment hemmoraging cash due to decisions that keep quality labor away, and let him figure out where bigotry is going to get him in life.

Punitive sanctions against someone as "successful" as this will have no lasting effect, will cost the man less in the long run, and do not promote personal growth.  This course of action works for a player, who is fined from their primary income source, but not an owner, who has a much larger and tangible asset to work with.  The only way to get the point across is to compromise the asset; empowering the players with that ability will go a long way.