Applying concepts/theories from philosophy and social science to ethical issues in interpersonal, group, organizational, intercultural, and media communication.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Organizational Response toward racism
Clipper owner banned for life...why do I feel like he is getting off easy?
I agree with you Wendy. I feel he is getting of easy as well. Even if they "push" to force Sterling to sell, he will still make a huge profit off the team. It makes me think that he clearly was not being very smart with his communication. Why he would want to own a basketball team where the majority of players are African American, not to mention date a woman who has black heritage...He hasn't thought through how he is profiting from his own association with African Americans. It's appalling when remarks like this are made from people in the public eye. Donald Sterling should read our textbook perhaps and brush up on his ethics. In this particular instance, Sterling violates the pragmatic of dialogue, which "unites learning, discernment, and difference, along with learning from the Other as well as the self." Donald Sterling is not interested in learning anything from his own team players. He made racist, bigoted comments which do not tolerate difference, and do not allow him to learn from the Other. He is also painfully unaware of the historical moment in which we live, an time which generally promotes equality. This is quite clear from the disgusted reactions of celebrities, sports reporters, team players, and the public. The world has changed, and Sterling comes across as an ignorant man, stuck in his outdated and incorrect ways. Although I do not think this punishment is really enough, I hope this serves as an embarrassing lesson for Sterling in what you can say out loud, and what is best left unsaid. I acknowledge that Sterling is entitled to his own beliefs (even if those beliefs are totally wrong in the majority opinion), but he should have had the common sense to realize that you cannot always express your personal beliefs when you are the face of an organization or company, especially when your beliefs are so hypocritical to the industry you represent.
Although I agree with this decision, I do find some flaws with it and he will certainly have valid grounds to sue the NBA for their decision. When they push him to sell, he will lose money, and lots of it. This is a huge debate of public versus private, and there is a good argument against the decision. Was he right to make these comments? Absolutely not. It's ignorant to make comments like that, especially when you're the owner of a team who is racially diverse. But, I do feel for him. He wasn't saying anything in regards to hate speech or even near it.
It reminds me of the Mozilla example in class. Had the owner donated to a gay organization versus an anti-gay organization, would he have been fired? Definitely not. He would have been praised for it. It is complete hypocritical. I feel like people really need to take a step back and look at ethics that aren't just based on popular beliefs of our time period. So, if someone is anti-gay or has obscure religious beliefs, people need to take a step back and understand why they said those things or where their beliefs came from. Was it how someone was raised or educated? Was it a bad experience that they had in their lives that made them see things a different, less popular way? Probably. Ethics isn't about judging others for their beliefs, no matter how wrong they may be, it's about understanding them. And that's what our argument in class was really lacking.
I watched commissioner Silvers address yesterday regarding this issue and in the question answer portion at the end he was asked if he felt that this punishment was a little over the top. Silver responded along the lines of saying that Sterling represents an organization within the league and that he exercised his opinions in a way that negatively reflects on both the organization and the league so no he does not think it is too over the top. His response was perfectly stated in the sense that I dont necessarily think that Sterling is getting off easy. He has helped build the NBA league since 1981 and to be shunned by the league has got to be devastating for him. Since the league is so culturally and racially diverse and the players are those who are immediately affected by these remarks made by Sterling if they are at peace and see the punishment fit I think that that's all that matters. The NBA has a very large fan base and Sterlings remarks have not been overlooked by those who follow the NBA closely and he has received a large amount of backlash for these comments by fans. Especially regarding Magic Johnson, one of the NBAs most respected and well-known players. His following is still enormously large for a retired player and the comment Sterling makes towards him has raised major heat. It is hard to punish someone for something like this because what is the right punishment? What Sterling did is obviously not ok and it has raised a lot of heat and discussion but there is no perfect punishment for something regarding racial comments. I feel in situations like these all we can do is counteract them with positives at this point and support those who are victimized by these types of comments. The Clippers response on their web page "We Are One" was in my opinion perfect, subtle but to the point in a very professional manner.
In some ways, feel like the “punishment” is easy but what else can the NBA do. He cannot go to NBA games, is forced to sell the Clippers, and fined 2.5 million dollars. Of course 2.5 million dollars is a lot of money but for a man who is worth 1.9 billion according to Forbes, it is not that much relatively. So in that regards, I think he is getting off easy.
But what else can the NBA do? They only have so much power over him and they exerted everything that they have. Forced him to sell his team, banned him for life, and fined him the maximum amount. I just don’t see how you can punish him more with the limited power that the NBA has.
The problem is that I doubt he is going to change his viewpoints over this situation he got himself into. A “good” punishment would be something that would help change him into a less racist person. I am not aware of any such punishment and I believe that if you want to change, you have to be willing to change. No one can force you to change. So what is a better “punishment” for Sterling?
I agree with you Wendy. I feel he is getting of easy as well. Even if they "push" to force Sterling to sell, he will still make a huge profit off the team. It makes me think that he clearly was not being very smart with his communication. Why he would want to own a basketball team where the majority of players are African American, not to mention date a woman who has black heritage...He hasn't thought through how he is profiting from his own association with African Americans. It's appalling when remarks like this are made from people in the public eye. Donald Sterling should read our textbook perhaps and brush up on his ethics. In this particular instance, Sterling violates the pragmatic of dialogue, which "unites learning, discernment, and difference, along with learning from the Other as well as the self." Donald Sterling is not interested in learning anything from his own team players. He made racist, bigoted comments which do not tolerate difference, and do not allow him to learn from the Other. He is also painfully unaware of the historical moment in which we live, an time which generally promotes equality. This is quite clear from the disgusted reactions of celebrities, sports reporters, team players, and the public. The world has changed, and Sterling comes across as an ignorant man, stuck in his outdated and incorrect ways. Although I do not think this punishment is really enough, I hope this serves as an embarrassing lesson for Sterling in what you can say out loud, and what is best left unsaid. I acknowledge that Sterling is entitled to his own beliefs (even if those beliefs are totally wrong in the majority opinion), but he should have had the common sense to realize that you cannot always express your personal beliefs when you are the face of an organization or company, especially when your beliefs are so hypocritical to the industry you represent.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree with this decision, I do find some flaws with it and he will certainly have valid grounds to sue the NBA for their decision. When they push him to sell, he will lose money, and lots of it. This is a huge debate of public versus private, and there is a good argument against the decision. Was he right to make these comments? Absolutely not. It's ignorant to make comments like that, especially when you're the owner of a team who is racially diverse. But, I do feel for him. He wasn't saying anything in regards to hate speech or even near it.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of the Mozilla example in class. Had the owner donated to a gay organization versus an anti-gay organization, would he have been fired? Definitely not. He would have been praised for it. It is complete hypocritical. I feel like people really need to take a step back and look at ethics that aren't just based on popular beliefs of our time period. So, if someone is anti-gay or has obscure religious beliefs, people need to take a step back and understand why they said those things or where their beliefs came from. Was it how someone was raised or educated? Was it a bad experience that they had in their lives that made them see things a different, less popular way? Probably. Ethics isn't about judging others for their beliefs, no matter how wrong they may be, it's about understanding them. And that's what our argument in class was really lacking.
I watched commissioner Silvers address yesterday regarding this issue and in the question answer portion at the end he was asked if he felt that this punishment was a little over the top. Silver responded along the lines of saying that Sterling represents an organization within the league and that he exercised his opinions in a way that negatively reflects on both the organization and the league so no he does not think it is too over the top. His response was perfectly stated in the sense that I dont necessarily think that Sterling is getting off easy. He has helped build the NBA league since 1981 and to be shunned by the league has got to be devastating for him. Since the league is so culturally and racially diverse and the players are those who are immediately affected by these remarks made by Sterling if they are at peace and see the punishment fit I think that that's all that matters. The NBA has a very large fan base and Sterlings remarks have not been overlooked by those who follow the NBA closely and he has received a large amount of backlash for these comments by fans. Especially regarding Magic Johnson, one of the NBAs most respected and well-known players. His following is still enormously large for a retired player and the comment Sterling makes towards him has raised major heat. It is hard to punish someone for something like this because what is the right punishment? What Sterling did is obviously not ok and it has raised a lot of heat and discussion but there is no perfect punishment for something regarding racial comments. I feel in situations like these all we can do is counteract them with positives at this point and support those who are victimized by these types of comments. The Clippers response on their web page "We Are One" was in my opinion perfect, subtle but to the point in a very professional manner.
ReplyDeleteIn some ways, feel like the “punishment” is easy but what else can the NBA do. He cannot go to NBA games, is forced to sell the Clippers, and fined 2.5 million dollars. Of course 2.5 million dollars is a lot of money but for a man who is worth 1.9 billion according to Forbes, it is not that much relatively. So in that regards, I think he is getting off easy.
ReplyDeleteBut what else can the NBA do? They only have so much power over him and they exerted everything that they have. Forced him to sell his team, banned him for life, and fined him the maximum amount. I just don’t see how you can punish him more with the limited power that the NBA has.
The problem is that I doubt he is going to change his viewpoints over this situation he got himself into. A “good” punishment would be something that would help change him into a less racist person. I am not aware of any such punishment and I believe that if you want to change, you have to be willing to change. No one can force you to change. So what is a better “punishment” for Sterling?