- Ancient Klingon Saying
And because I like contrarians:
Whitlock, penning a commentary for ESPN, hit hard from the very first words of the column he posted Tuesday following NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s ban on Sterling: “In our zeal to appear righteous or courageous or free of bigotry, a ratings-pleasing mob hell-bent on revenge turned Donald T. Sterling — a victim of privacy invasion and white supremacy — from villain to martyr.”
Whitlock further calls Silver “a rookie commissioner” who penalized Sterling, whom Whitlock characterizes as “a flawed man whose rights were violated.”
More from Whitlock:
Mob rule is dangerous. Well-intentioned, TV-baited mobs are the most dangerous. They do not consider the consequences of their actions, and they’re prone to take a simple-minded, instant-gratification approach to justice rather than a strategic one.
Removing Donald Sterling from the NBA solves nothing. It sets a precedent that will likely boomerang and harm the black players and coaches who are shocked and outraged that an 80-year-old man with a documented history of bigoted actions also has bigoted private thoughts.
Whitlock also taps into larger issues regarding freedom of speech and invasion of privacy:
A right to privacy is at the very foundation of American freedoms. It’s a core value. It’s a mistake to undermine a core value because we don’t like the way a billionaire exercises it. What happens when a disgruntled lover gives TMZ a tape of a millionaire athlete expressing a homophobic or anti-Semitic or anti-white perspective?
Mark Shea often cites the "Nancy Kerrigan Rule" - "even victims can be jerks." Sterling is a typical over-privileged rich guy who has earned his downfall, and yet there is something very wrong in this day and age of constant surveillance and micro-recordings about invasions of privacy being the basis of social and contractual sanctions.
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