How the NBA takes a big step forward without Sterling
The NBA has always prided itself on being as progressive a major sports league there is - and there's a long history to support that reputation. But the presence of Donald Sterling, who had an equally long history of deplorable behavior, remained a dark cloud over the Association.
In April, that cloud reared its ugly head in the middle of one of the most exciting postseasons the league had ever seen, during a time when players, executives and fans alike should have been enjoying the breathtaking basketball in front of them. Sterling was at it again, this time caught making racist remarks in a recorded argument with V. Stiviano.
That sobering distraction, which snatched the attention from the on-court action, was a perfect example of the toxicity of having someone like Sterling in the midst. With the NBA announcing Tuesday that the sale of the Clippers to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has closed, Sterling's poisonous presence has finally been removed.
Sterling can sue the NBA, commissioner Adam Silver, Shelly Sterling, and whoever else he wants to, and the 80-year-old will surely pop up in legal news from time to time in the future. But his ownership, control and influence within the NBA mercifully came to an official end today, and that makes it a great day for everyone involved with the league.
Ballmer sale a step in the right direction
Whether David Stern, other owners and even players could have done something to remove Sterling years ago - when he was being sued by the federal government for allegedly refusing to rent apartments to African Americans, Hispanics and families with children, for example - will remain a relevant question. Today, both the league and the Clippers took another massive step towards a brighter future.
For the Clippers, an exuberant new owner takes control of a team that has already begun shedding its perception as a perennial laughingstock. With Ballmer and Doc Rivers - himself among the most respected coaches in the game - leading the way, and Chris Paul and Blake Griffin carrying the upstart franchise on the court, it's hard to envision any period in time when it was more exciting to be a Clippers fan or when the franchise was in better hands.
With Sterling and his bigoted ways out so soon after Silver and his fresh ways of thinking entered, you can say the same thing about the NBA.