Sports

The NBA Community Reacts on Social to Donald Sterling’s Lifetime Ban

By Adam Flomenbaum 

121210092244-nba-logo-wordmark-275-wide.story-topThe NBA community – its players, former players, and fans – tuned in today to watch Commissioner Adam Silver’s press conference on the actions that the league would take against Los Angles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. An audio recording of Sterling telling his girlfriend that he did not want her bringing black people to games was first posted to TMZ late last week.

After the tape was released, LeBron James and Michael Jordan took hard stands against Sterling, and Clippers players have since been placed in a difficult position as they try to remain focused on a first-round playoff matchup with the Golden State Warriors. On Sunday, the Clippers turned their warmup gear inside out in protest, and the Miami Heat followed their lead before last night’s game against the Charlotte Bobcats.

With demonstrative protests from players a certainty should Silver’s response had not been forceful enough, Silver announced that he was issuing Sterling a lifetime ban. Silver followed this by saying that that he had the full support of other owners to force a sale of the team.

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According to Kontera, a company that measures internet content and social media impressions for brand marketers, there have already been 200,000 tweets about the announcement. 17,000 of those were sent at 1:20 PM EST alone. The most tweeted about issues were the $2.5 million dollar fine and the lifetime ban. People were generally satisfied with Silver’s decision, and “Good” and “Great Leadership” are among the top associations with the news in the last hour.

Here is some of the immediate social reaction from owners, players, and former players to what was surely one of the most watched league press conferences in sports history.

 

 

 

 

 

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