Adam Silver, commissioner of the National Basketball Association, held a press conference Tuesday to announce the Los Angeles Clippers owner, Donald Sterling, is banned for life from the NBA. Silver also fined Sterling the maximum possible fine of $2.5 million. The ban and fine were in response to a recording of Sterling making racist remarks. 

Sterling was recorded telling his girlfriend, V. Stiviano, not to bring “blacks” to his games after viewing her Instagram. Sterling was critical of Stiviano, who is mixed race, for posing with black players, including former player, Ervin “Magic” Johnson. 

“Sterling got what he deserved,” said Jake Gregg, a junior business major. “I am glad Adam Silver quickly took a strong stance against Sterling in this matter and I believe that this is a great sign of promise for the future of the NBA.”

Silver mentioned that he would work hard to pressure Sterling to sell the Clippers. Silver intends to work with the NBA board of governors to force the sale of the team. He stated that he believes he can get the necessary three quarters of the league’s owners to back his efforts. In order to succeed in forcing the sale, Silver needs a minimum of 23 owners to support him. 

“It is one thing to suspend him, but it will be difficult to make him sell his team,” said Luke Warnken, a junior athletic training major. “It also puts other owners in an awkward situation. If they oust one owner, what will happen if something similar happens down the line?”

Under the lifetime ban, Sterling is not allowed to attend games or practices, set foot in any facility owned by the Clippers, have a role in league activities, or take part in personnel or business decisions for the Clippers. Critics argue that the ban and the fine are for publicity reasons and does nothing to eliminate racism in the NBA.

“I believe the entire scandal is a symptom of the inherent problems in the NBA,” said Kyle Blocker, a freshman biology major. “The league is disproportionately filled with “blacks” from low-income families that receive low quality educations and the owners benefit from these players in a form of net share cropping where the owners make billions from the hard work of the players, who make a fraction of what the owners make.”

The Clippers staged a silent protest of Sterling in their game against the Golden State Warriors Sunday. The team took to the stadium with their Clippers’ warm-up uniforms turned inside out to hide the Clippers logo. Many former players and other team owners have spoken out against Sterling and it is likely that the league will push for him to sell the team.