Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander is disgusted by Donald Sterling’s racist remarks and wants to force him out of the NBA. Because the league’s bylaws do not allow the owners to get rid of Sterling, Alexander wants to take a drastic measure that he believes would drive the Clippers owner out.
“I thought that there’s got to be a way to disrupt him from owning the team,” said Alexander of a solution he suggested to commissioner Adam Silver. “I gave him the sword to deal with this. I said, ‘Let the players become free agents.’”
Alexander does not want to break up the Clippers but rather back Sterling into a corner where he’d be forced to sell the team. He apparently was the first person to suggest the idea to Silver, who said he was taking it under consideration.
Sterling has owned the Clippers since 1981, and his racist attitude has been known for years. What’s different is that this time instead of allegations of racism coming up in a court case, we have pretty concrete proof of his racist attitude via audio recordings.
“This kind of behavior can’t be allowed in the NBA by owners, players or anybody,” Alexander said via the Houston Chronicle. “This guy has no place in the family of the NBA. Whatever it takes, we have to make sure this kind of event never happens again.”
