“Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure.”
– Bill Rechin, Buffalo, NY born cartoonist (1930-2011)
At least Donald Sterling didn’t try to say he’d been taken “out of context.”
Looking back over the events of the past week or so, I have a hard time feeling good about much going on in this story — where, in case you’ve been in outer space and missed it — the owner of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers said some horrible things about African-Americans.
Had he simply used a racial slur, it would have been bad enough, especially for a guy who stands to make almost a billion dollars, all in, from his ownership and the pending forced sale of the team. By the way, that would be a team that primarily employs African-American men — the ones who have earned him all that dough. But he didn’t. He went on and on, in a voice-mail to his 50+ years younger mixed-race “girlfriend,” pleading with her not to associate with Blacks, or to bring them to games.
Substitute whatever group you want to there, and see how it feels. Don’t associate with “children.” Don’t associate with “women.” Men. Teachers. It’s just reprehensible.
And, while it’s not about the money, I’d like to think there could be some way that one could prevent an 80-year-old bigot from making $600 or $700 million off his racist hatred. There is? Oh, that’s not legal? Never mind. I wonder if the NBA could, in addition to the lifetime ban and the $2.5 million fine, suspend the sale of the team until after he dies? Or, just take back the franchise and say, “You lose everything because you’re stupid.”
Probably not.
So, what lessons can a difference maker find in this mess?
1) The human beings around us matter — much more than anything else. And respect — showing it and giving it, ought to be table stakes to any relationship.
2) How much better would the world be if every time we spoke, we did so with the belief that a tape of what we said and how we said it was gonna get played on the newscast that night? Would we think more and speak less? Would we craft our words in a more productive fashion?
3) Life is too short to ever work for an a**hole. I often say, “I need A job, not THIS job.” I can’t imagine ever working for a jerk again, and I am blessed not to these days, but if everyone who worked for a colossal jerk just all got up and walked out — would the jerks ultimately get kicked to the curb? Maybe that’s just naive.
4) Speak up when we see an injustice. The NBA has done that, and so have influential people on all sides of the issue, including sponsors of the Clippers who spoke with their wallets as well as their public statements. I am reminded of the dialogue near the end of the 1992 classic movie, “A Few Good Men.” Private Dawson says, “What did we do wrong? We did nothing wrong!” and in reply, Lance Corporal Dawson says, “Yeah we did. We were supposed to fight for people who couldn’t fight for themselves. We were supposed to fight for Willy.”
I wonder if that’s not the best difference we can hope to make…
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