Donald Sterling banned from NBA for life...good news?

Yesterday the NBA and the rest of us breathed a collective sigh of relief. Adam Silver announced Donald Sterling was banned for life from all NBA operations, and he will be forced to sell his team if the other owners agree. Sterling is guilty of making racist remarks to his girlfriend. She taped the conversation and the tape was released to TMZ on Saturday. There is no debate that the comments attributed to Sterling were reprehensible, but does the fact that he made them to his girlfriend in a private conversation make you feel just a little uneasy? Does the fact that she was being sued by his family make any difference? Sterling has a history of racial issues in his past. He was forced to pay 2.7 million dollars to the government regarding housing discrimination, but this was not a part of the Silver decision. The Silver decision was based solely on that tape. A private conversation caused his public humiliation. What if someone was in your home or with you 24/7? What kind of things are you saying? No most of us don’t own a NBA franchise, but we do work. What would your boss say about you if he heard you talking to your friends, spouse or relatives? Would your conversation be deemed acceptable? Who could hold up to the scrutiny? Sterling was exposed, but many in the NBA circle knew who he was prior to the telephone revelations. The telephone scandal pushed them to take action that probably should have been taken long ago. Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, said the NBA was going down a slippery slope the other day, and his comment was met by jeers, but he had a point. Racism is universally reviled, but what other subjects could warrant this kind of action? At this point no one knows, but one thing the NBA owners know is think before you speak and make sure nothing you say can and will be used against you, and lastly if your sports story is on TMZ you will soon be a former owner.