Now the comments he made to his girlfriend (she herself half black and ex now) about black people however offensive were done in private, according to Donald himself in a letter he wrote, to the NBA, he says ” it was the rant of a jealous lover”- well it has been made public by no other than his girlfriend herself.
President obama in a press conference in kuala Lumpur when asked about the comments said “When ignorant people talk you just got to let them speak ” .
The NBA after his outburst proceeded to issue what has now become the most severe punishment ever on an NBA owner – A life ban and a record fine of 2.5 million dollars ( a paltry sum for a billionaire). Sterling himself appeared on CNN talking to apologizing saying he was sorry he had used those words.
Well we can take his apology and move on and pretend all is well, or we can take a deeper look into the American society to begin to understand that race in America goes beyond the rantings of an ignorant man, it is deeply entrenched with the scar of slavery , immigration and the feeling by some quarters that The United states should remain white, not just politically but also economically- This belief sometimes openly supported by neo nazi groups , militias and covertly by some politicians in Washington.
Although the election of Barrack Obama as president did bring down some barriers, but not all of it , racism is still an every day occurrence for many minorities in America today
