They’re a Sterling Bunch, Indeed, but Who’s to Blame for It All?

Among the many disgraceful participants in athletics, Donald T. Sterling should be recognized as the most contemptible of all. Why? Because no other individual has ever done more to methodically suppress the spirit of team competition. Sterling owns a team with no regard for winning or improving. For him, the Clippers are clearly a source of capital appreciation and nothing more.

He has ridden NBA league success to a 2,000% return on his investment, while contributing nothing to the welfare of the league, team or its fans. No other professional sports ownership can remotely match his record for futility and failure. High draft choices (every year) give fans false hope and provide him a cover for an agenda that is purely financial.

The NBA and all leagues would be wise to strip any entity of its ownership rights if it can’t produce a winning team more than three out of 15 years. Frankly, as much as I loathe government intervention in anything, the public good would benefit from laws that prevent people like Sterling from making such a mockery of competition and sport. Fans deserve better.

RICK WALLACE, Malibu

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According to all reports, Chris Ford had quit on a team of players who had already quit on him. Mark Heisler deftly describes how Sterling “quit on them all long ago.”

This raises the question: When will the few remaining fans quit on the Clipper franchise? Because as long as Sterling owns it, nothing will ever change.

As much as I love pro basketball, I would never support this team under Sterling. Won’t even watch telecasts of their sorry games on the most sports-bereft evenings. Sterling does not deserve support in this town, because he couldn’t care less whether he receives any.

CHIMYERE LOVE, Los Angeles

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Why do The Times and the L.A. media continue to blame Donald Sterling for the demise of the Clippers? I don’t see Don lacing up his sneakers and throwing the ball out of bounds or to the opponent, or stepping out of bounds (Lamar Odom’s favorite thing to do), or playing defense like a matador when an opponent drives in for a layup, or not calling a timeout even after an opponent has reeled off 15 or 20 straight points.

What about the players themselves? They have to take responsibility for the losses instead of blaming the coach or the owner or the water boy. Olowacan’t has been the biggest waste of a draft pick in Clipper history. “The Don” has shown that he was justified in not signing Taylor to the maximum contract. He is good but does not deserve the max.

Come on, Odom, wake up and show some pride. Don’t start pouting yet.

GARY PINSON, Sylmar

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Last week’s headline “Clippers Junk Their Ford” has to rank with the cruelest ever in sports journalism. Just what exactly did Chris Ford do to deserve that type of implied condemnation? He did the best job possible with a very young team that occasionally showed flashes of brilliance. They are only a good center away from playoff contention.

Here’s my headline for that story: “Coaches 11, Sterling 0, Fans 0.”

YOSSIE KRAM, Los Angeles

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I tend to agree with Randy Harvey’s column about the Clippers being “frugal,” if you will, when paying their coaches. The proof is in the picture montage on the cover of the sports page on Feb. 4. Out of the five pictures you used of a dejected-looking Ford, four show him with the same tie.

JOSEPH ORTH, Los Angeles