Don't care so much for basketball either.. Never really developed an interest in the game.
The players are definitely the draw, but someone has to put up the cash and also guarantee the capital (salaries, rent, etc)... Can't have one without the other.
regardless, my initial reaction to this was more in line with the Freedom of Speech issue... Buddy may be a bigot, but that isn't against the law.
I suspect that the Clippers were 'sold' at such a premium because of the threat of long and expensive legal action.. It's the league and fan base that will be shouldering that burden
No it's not against the law but then the league isn't really concerned with things like integrity either, not really. They'll say it's for that reason but the reality is given the option between someone putting up the cash that makes negative headlines or someone putting up the cash that makes no headlines, they're going to go with the second option.
It's no different than when the CEO of Mozilla was "resigned". It's a bottom line thing. Whether it's right or wrong on a matter of principle is another matter entirely. I don't disagree that it was/is a free speech issue and I do think the most unpopular speech needs to be the most protected but it's hard to argue with other people's right to associate how they wish too. Where it gets murky, I think, is when revenue is involved. For instance, should a representative of a company espouse his personal views and were I not to agree with them, and
if I felt that his views did actually represent the company, then I have every right in the world not to do business with that company. In no way am I silencing an individual's right to free speech. But from the company's point of view, their revenue potential becomes threatened.
Now speaking personally, I do look at things like whether or not what has been expressed is so egregious as to completely negate any useful purpose of a company's product or service. And I don't like making mountains out of molehills, so there are many occasions where this has happened and I will continue to patronize as a customer.
And I do think that there are very polarized individuals out there though that will whip up a frenzy over things that probably don't need to be so worked up over. But again, that's the reality of today's world which is not aided by the most used method of conveying information being a medium that's restricted to 140 characters or less. Makes it difficult to ascertain any context that way.
