Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban doesn't believe that Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling should be a part of the NBA in the midst of racial comments that have been attributed to him, but he also feels that booting him from the league would be a "slippery slope."
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According to ESPN, Cuban was one of many owners to publicly bash Sterling for his comments, but he also feared that forcing him to sell the team would set a precedent that the NBA might lose control of as the world awaits commissioner Adam Silver to decide the fate of Sterling in the wake of this controversy.
"I think there's a constitution for a reason, right? Because this is a very slippery slope," Cuban told ESPN before the Mavericks dropped Game 4 of their Round 1 series to the San Antonio Spurs 93-89 at home to even the series at two games apiece. "What Donald said was wrong. It was abhorrent. There's no place for racism in the NBA, any business I'm associated with, and I don't want to be associated with people who have that position."
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He added: "But at the same time, that's a decision I make. I think you've got to be very, very careful when you start making blanket statements about what people say and think, as opposed to what they do. It's a very, very slippery slope. Again, there's no excuse for his positions. There's no excuse for what he said. There's no excuse for anybody to support racism. There's no place for it in our league, but there's a very, very, very slippery slope."
The general consensus around owners from the league has led to strong opinion that Sterling should be ousted. According to multiple sources around the country, owners such as Leslie Alexander (Rockets), Jeanie Buss (Lakers), Dan Gilbert (Cavaliers), Tom Gores (Pistons) and Paul Allen (Trail Blazers) each expressed disgust with Sterling and had faith that Silver will make a swift and righteous decision.
While Cuban was disgusted with Sterling's racist words that his girlfriend caught on audio tape, he remains fearful that setting a precedent on removing an owner from the league could harm the NBA in the future.
"In this country, people are allowed to be morons," Cuban said per ESPN. "They're allowed to be stupid. They're allowed to think idiotic thoughts."
There is no disputing that as far as Sterling's actions are concerned, the Clippers owner undoubtedly thinks idiotic thoughts, but it's up to Silver whether or not he wants to set a precedent and remove him from the NBA.
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