Readers React: Donald Sterling and a bigger picture on race

To most of our letter writers, the NBA’s swift action against Donald Sterling after league officials concluded that the voice of a man on a recording uttering racially charged comments belonged to the Los Angeles Clippers owner represented a positive change in pro sports and, more broadly, the country.

Some readers, on the other hand, took cold comfort in Sterling’s punishment.

Among the hundreds of readers who sent us letters was a relatively small subset that took the opportunity to discuss the wider issue of racism in America. Some penned stinging, even uncomfortable, rebukes of a society that produces men of such great wealth as Sterling who have a history of questionable racial behavior. Others said this country has more pressing racial matters than the mumblings of an 80-year-old billionaire.

Here are some of those letters.

— Paul Thornton, letters editor

F. Daniel Gray of Los Angeles has little hope for progress:

The “mission accomplished” tone of some of the coverage is shameless posturing. If Sterling sells the team, it will be one more example of the contention that it’s all about the money, first and always. The profit Sterling would gain would likely exceed any other profit-making venture.

I seriously doubt that the volume of such “deeply offensive and harmful” comments, as the NBA commissioner called Sterling’s words, will diminish a single iota thanks to the racism that has pervaded American culture since its founding. We as a nation will be motivated to fortify the ramparts, hoping another “incident” does not soon occur.

History seems to indicate that, absent significant change, one will.

Samuel M. Rosen of Newbury Park directs his anger at something more consequential than Sterling:

I wish there was as much outrage concerning the Supreme Court’s recent decisions on affirmative action and voting rights as there has been in reaction to Sterling. The court’s decisions on these matters are far more important than Sterling’s remarks.

Los Angeles resident Lawrence M. Kates suspects too many people harbor views they are afraid to reveal publicly:

Sterling’s comments provide just the latest evidence that racism in America is far from dead. The impression they left on me is that what he said is what thousands of others like him think and talk about behind closed doors, but would never reveal in public.

Marina del Rey resident Sumner Schwartz says some self-reflection is warranted:

Sterling’s comments were racist, and yet he apparently believes he is not himself a racist.

This really shows just how opposed to racism everyone in this country is; even racists don’t like racism. They don’t want to be racists yet are unwilling to change their views or even admit that they are racist.