On May 15th, L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling was scheduled to receive a lifetime achievement award from the NAACP (The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). That award has now been retracted after TMZ released audio of an alleged conversation between Sterling and his current girlfriend, which includes racist remarks from Sterling. Whether the audio has been altered or not is still unknown.
In response, NAACP Interim President and CEO Lorraine C. Miller, said, “Let me make it clear, the NAACP will not be honoring Mr. Sterling at the upcoming Los Angeles branch event and we have strongly urged our Los Angeles unit to take the necessary steps to rescind the previous award they bestowed on him.”
Miller continued, “The remarks attributed to Mr. Sterling are outrageous and remind us that racism is alive and well at every socioeconomic level.” She added, “We must stand up, speak out and call attention to a real problem.”
Sterling’s remarks involved an issue he had with his girlfriend taking Instagram photos with ‘certain types’ of people. Andy Roeser, president of the L.A. Clippers issued the following statement, “We have heard the tape on TMZ. We do not know if it is legitimate or it has been altered. We do know that the woman on the tape — who we believe released it to TMZ — is the defendant in a lawsuit brought by the Sterling family alleging that she embezzled more than $1.8 million, who told Mr. Sterling that she would “get even.” Mr. Sterling is emphatic that what is reflected on that recording is not consistent with, nor does it reflect his views, beliefs or feelings. It is the antithesis of who he is, what he believes and how he has lived his life. He feels terrible that such sentiments are being attributed to him and apologizes to anyone who might have been hurt by them. He is also upset and apologizes for sentiments attributed to him about Earvin Johnson. He has long considered Magic a friend and has only the utmost respect and admiration for him–both in terms of who he is and what he has achieved. We are investigating this matter.”
