People are waiting for the NBA to take some kind of action following the weekend release of a recording of LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling making horribly racist remarks. Sterling, 80, was caught on tape telling his 38 year-old mistress that she should delete all photos of black people from her Instagram and should not bring African American’s to Clippers games. The story gets more complicated; Sterling’s estranged wife is suing the mistress, V. Stiviano, for the $1.8 million she claims her husband spent on Stiviano over the four years that they were together. Stiviano has denied through her lawyers that she is the one who released the recordings.
The NBA has issued a measured response to this controversy. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said that “all members of the NBA family should be afforded due process and a fair opportunity to present their side of any controversy, which is why I’m not yet prepared to discuss any potential sanctions against Donald Sterling.” Meanwhile the sponsors aren’t waiting to decide what to do. At least seven companies have ended their relationship with the team and issued strong statements condemning Sterling’s racism. The Hollywood Reporter has a good account of all the sponsors who have pulled out. Also, if you’d like a bullet point breakdown of this scandal, ABC News has an overview. Here’s part of Hollywood Reporter’s coverage, and I’ve added bolding to the relevant companies.
CarMax was the first to pull out Monday morning.
“CarMax finds the statements attributed to the Clippers’ owner completely unacceptable,” said the company in a statement Monday. “These views directly conflict with CarMax’s culture of respect for all individuals. While we have been a proud Clippers sponsor for nine years and support the team, fans and community, these statements necessitate that CarMax end its sponsorship.”
Meanwhile, State Farm interim CEO Steve Stoute said Monday morning on ESPN’s The Herd With Colin Cowherd that he’s putting pressure on fellow sponsors to pull out of their sponsorships as long as the team is associated with Sterling.
“I’m telling the brands, ‘Let’s pull sponsorship,’ starting with State Farm,” he said, as quoted by the Washington Post. “When you have things like this taking place, somebody has to stand up.”
He added that “somebody has to force the sale of this team.” He later clarified: “Sponsoring the athletes is one thing, but not the team.”
The company also issued a statement: “The remarks attributed to the Clippers’ owner are offensive. While those involved sort out the facts, we will be taking a pause in our relationship with the organization. We are monitoring the situation and we’ll continually assess our options. We have a great relationship with Chris Paul and will continue supporting the Born to Assist advertising campaign involving Chris and now other NBA players.”
Red Bull is another big name to decline their support, according to a statement from the energy drink company. “We trust and respect the NBA’s process to formally investigate the matter, and in the interim, are suspending all team-related marketing activities.
“We will continue to support our Red Bull athlete, Blake Griffin, his teammates and coaching staff in their pursuit of an NBA title,” an e-mail to THR concluded.
Another sponsor, Anheuser-Busch, on Monday released a statement to ESPN’s Darren Rovell: “We fully support the NBA’s efforts to investigate quickly and trust that they will take appropriate action.”
Virgin America has also chosen to end its sponsorship of the team, as have Mercedes-Benz and Corona.
“While we continue to support the fans and the players, Virgin America has made the decision to end its sponsorship of the L.A. Clippers,” a spokesperson for the airline told THR.
Another sponsor, Kia Motors, released a statement condemning Sterling’s remarks and explaining that it was suspending sponsorship of the team.
“The comments allegedly made by Clippers owner, Donald Sterling, are offensive and reprehensible, and they are inconsistent with our views and values,” the statement read. “We are suspending our advertising and sponsorship activations with the Clippers. Meanwhile, as fans of the game of basketball, our support of the players and the sport is unwavering.”
AquaHydrate also issued a statement saying it’s suspending its sponsorship.
“In the wake of Donald Sterling’s alleged defamatory and intolerable comments we have decided to suspend our sponsorship with the L.A. Clippers until the NBA completes its investigation,” a rep for the company said Monday. “We fully support the players and fans of the L.A. Clippers and wish them the best in the remainder of the playoffs.”
Yokohama Tire Corporation announced they were also pulling out on Monday, stating: “Yokohama Tire Corporation does not tolerate discrimination in any fashion. The alleged remarks by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling are completely unacceptable and we find it necessary to immediately suspend our sponsorship of the organization as a result.
“We will continue to assess the situation and weigh our options. Meanwhile, we wish to express our continued support to the Clippers players and fans.”
Other sponsors who have yet to comment include Amtrak, Gatorade, and Taco Bell.
[From The Hollywood Reporter]
So, the sponsors to unequivocally pull out are: CarMax, State Farm, Red Bull, Virgin America, Kia, AquaHydrate and Yokohama Tire Corporation. Anheuser-Busch has issued a statement supporting the NBA and not saying much more, and Amtrak, Gatorade, and Taco Bell have yet to say anything. As an avid consumer of Taco Bell, I will refrain from eating there until they take action. I know that’s not going to do much, but I can live without bean burritos for a while.
The article goes on to report that Clippers players wore their practice jerseys inside out (with the logos not visible) in protest when they took the court on Sunday. The Clippers lost to the Golden State Warriors 97-118 Sunday in the playoffs. They are now tied 2-2 with the Warriors and are due to play them again tonight.
Sterling was caught by the paparazzi out with his supposedly estranged wife at dinner in LA Sunday night. His wife defended him to photographers despite issuing an earlier statement calling him “small minded” and “racist.” The mistress, V. Stiviano, was seen visiting the DA yesterday for some reason. “Sources” aka Stiviano, denied that the visit was related to this case. Stiviano had to be in court to prove that she completed community service stemming from a 2012 DUI arrest, so that may have been why she was seen outside the LA county DA’s office.
TMZ is reporting that the audio of Sterling has been authenticated by NBA lawyers, so the pressure is on for some kind of action against the racist octogenarian.
Photo credit: WENN.com, Instagram and FameFlynet
Special thanks Cele Bitch
