Corporate America Takes A Commendable Stand Against NBA L.A. Clippers Franchise Owner Donald Sterling

Donald Sterling, 1989

At this point, unless you've been hiding under a rock for the past week, we all have been exposed to L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling's racist rant to his mistress.  Sterling's vitriol racist tirade showed his ignorance and narrow-mindedness.  New NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was commendably decisive and swift in meting out his punishment to Sterling-a $2.5 million fine and lifetime ban from virtually all NBA-related activities. 

The unified statements of current and former NBA players helped galvanize Commissioner Silver's decision to act on the matter with dispatch.  I also think that economic pressure from corporate sponsors, who started to pull or suspend their corporate sponsorship of the Clippers, was instrumental in forcing the league and other owners to see the need to harshly punish Sterling for his behavior, and preserve the economic integrity and viability of the NBA.  In the past, on this particular blog, I've tended to come down hard on corporations for failure to demonstrate a measure of corporate social responsibility.  This time around, I must say, I'm very proud of the corporations that early on, without hesitation or blinking, pulled or suspended their sponsorship of the L.A. Clippers.  Corporate condemnation, coupled with current and former NBA player's statements and protest actions, have helped push forward the change needed in this situation-Sterling's exposure as a bigot and thankfully his eventual exist as an NBA franchise owner. 

My hat goes off to the following corporations who responded to Donald Sterling's bigotry, by pulling or suspending their L.A. Clippers sponsorships:

• State Farm
• Red Bull
• CarMax
• Kia
• Amtrak
• Virgin America
• Sprint
• Mercedes Benz  

Thank you to the corporations listed above that did the right thing!  What are your thoughts?


*photo courtesy of cliffwildes/wikimedia commons