Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling is no stranger to the CSTB Cretin Blotter, be it for his racist practices as a landlord or presiding over a casting couch while seeking qualified “hostesses” to represent him. Reprehensible stuff, certainly, but until now, Sterling hasn’t resorted to publicly humiliating his players. Not counting making them listen to Mike Dunleavy, anyway. Yahoo Sports’ Marc J. Spears reports Sterling has been making like a less-funny Robin Ficker, with his crude rhetoric aimed at none other than the Clippers’ Baron Davis.
Sterling has expressed his displeasure about Davis’ play by taunting him from his courtside seat at Clippers’ home games, several sources told Yahoo! Sports. Among Sterling’s verbal barbs:
“Why are you in the game?”
“Why did you take that shot?”
“You’re out of shape!”
While Sterling has also taunted other Clippers players since the middle of last season, none have received it worse than Davis, the sources said. Davis has missed 14 of the team’s 25 games this season and is averaging 7.4 points while making a team-high $13 million. Including this season, Davis has three years and nearly $42 million left on his contract.
“There’s nothing I can say,” Davis said of Sterling’s taunts. “I have no comment on that. You just get to this point where it’s a fight every day. It’s a fight. You’re fighting unnecessary battles. I’m fighting unnecessary battles.”
“It’s frustrating because I know and my teammates know I’m capable of getting it done, even dudes on the other team. It’s frustrating.”
Sterling had little comment when asked about his behavior.
“When they make shots, it’s great,” Sterling said during halftime of the Clippers’ loss to the Orlando Magic on Sunday. “When they don’t, we’re all disappointed.”
For all his faults, I generally consider David Stern to be the most intelligent and progressive of the major sports commissioners, but he’s never been able to quite explain how Major League Baseball could distance itself from Marge Schott while he continues to turn a blind eye to the embarrassment that is Sterling’s ownership of the Clippers.
I think the lack of comments here speaks volumes about the level of ignominy that Sterling has taken this group of so-called “Clippers.” Frankly, most of the world does not know or believe there is a professional basketball franchise in Los Angeles not named Lakers. Until proven otherwise that such a ball club exists, the above allegations will remain aspersions cast on otherwise unknown personages.
….even more embarrassing is how unimaginative his taunts are. I thought a guy with such a long history of asshole antics would at least be good at it insulting people but apparently he can’t even win at that.