What are the legal ramifications of Donald Sterling's alleged racist remarks?

Unless you’ve had your television and Internet turned off for the past few weeks, you’ve likely heard about Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s alleged racist remarks brought to light by TMZ.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver recently announced that Sterling is banned from NBA activities for life and has been fined $2.5 million for his remarks, but we’re going to examine if there will be any legal ramifications in the court of law.

Sterling’s reported comments were made on the phone with his girlfriend, which doesn’t violate any laws. However, if it is found that he made similar remarks in the workplace, this could be a violation. For example, the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

Sterling isn’t the only party that could be in the midst of a legal conundrum, as the NBA may have legal issues as well. Experts told the Los Angeles Times that the lifetime ban brought down by the league could lead to a lawsuit being filed by Sterling against the NBA. The biggest issue is that the comments were made in private.

“This is not a question about whether the comments are acceptable,” director of the Sports Law Program at Tulane University, told the LA Times. “I think we all agree they are unacceptable and abhorrent, but the issue becomes stickier because they were not made publicly. That does not excuse the comments, but it does raise the issue of whether owners have empowered the commissioner to punish an owner for comments made in private.”

WPIX11 New York, recently interviewed me and asked me to share my legal insight on the matter. “The NBA is a self governing privately held association as opposed to a governmental agency. Thus, a team owner like Sterling, would not have many available defenses to counter a proposed ouster vote by other team owners.”

There is no question this will remain a major topic of conversation in the foreseeable future, and it will be interesting to follow along and see how the legal side pans out now that Sterling has been banned from the NBA for life.

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If you have any questions please feel free to contact me, Anthony R. Caruso, Scarinci Hollenbeck Partner and Chair of the Sports, Media & Entertainment Law Group.