Councilman drafts resolution against Sterling’s alleged remarks
Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard C. Parks and his staff are drafting an official city resolution to condemn racist remarks attributed to Clippers owner Donald Sterling and push the NBA to make “appropriate sanctions.”
Parks said such sanctions would be similar to those used against former Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott, who was repeatedly suspended from managing the baseball team in the ‘90s.
The resolution, still being drafted Sunday afternoon, will also demand an apology to Magic Johnson and “the entire Los Angeles community,” back the decision by the Los Angeles chapter of the NAACP to drop plans to honor Sterling, and ask local newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, to stop running ads for Sterling “that display his commercial real estate empire and his alleged civic activities.”
“Sterling’s actions are inconsistent with the United States human rights laws, the long-standing positions of the L.A. City Council, the diversity of the community, the fan base of the Clippers and the very high percentage of minorities who worked for and are working for the NBA,” Parks said in a statement Sunday. “Sterling’s actions and statements have no place in today’s society.”
A Sunday statement from his office noted that the remarks “have raised particular concern for Parks, who joined the LAPD shortly after patrol cars were integrated and withstood years of racism in the department before eventually becoming chief in 1997.”
Parks plans to introduce the resolution Tuesday before the City Council. His staff urged Clippers fans to call the team office to express their concerns about the comments attributed to Sterling.
Angelenos upset about the remarks are planning a rally: A Facebook group called “Los Angeles is Better Than Donald Sterling” is planning a gathering Tuesday starting at 5:30 p.m. near the Staples Center.
“Join us in sending a message that on the 22nd anniversary of the 1992 Civil Unrest that Los Angeles is Better Than Donald Sterling,” the Facebook page for the event says. “Bring your signs and your collective voices.”
TMZ posted an audio recording Friday that it said captured Sterling, telling a woman identified as V. Stiviano that, “It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people.” In the recording, the people identified as Stiviano and Sterling argued over the woman posting a photo of herself on Instagram alongside Magic Johnson.
An attorney for V. Stiviano told the Los Angeles Times that the recording was authentic. Clippers President Andy Roeser said in a statement Saturday that the team did not know if the man recorded was Sterling, but that the comments didn’t reflect Sterling’s “views, beliefs or feelings.”
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
