The Donald Sterling Controversy - A Hustler's Perspective

First off, big thanks to EFX (check him out by the way) for bringing this to my attention.

If you’re not in the news loop like I’m usually not, let me quickly bring you up to speed.

Donald Sterling, the owner of the NBA team the Los Angeles Clippers, was recently “caught” in a recorded conversation with his girlfriend. He was highly upset that she was posting pictures of herself on Instagram with black men and also, allegedly, bringing black people to the basketball games with her.

Sterling didn’t seem to appreciate that very much, although she is mixed – both with Black and Mexican.

If you missed the drama, catch it below. Make sure you listen closely. Don’t worry, I’ll wait…

Now that the bombs have gone off and the smoke is clearing we can look at this situation from the perspective of the Game and without emotion.

So Donald Sterling has been banned from the NBA for life. A lot of you are screaming, “Victory!” But is it really? Let’s chop this Game up.

Alright, before I go here you need to understand something:

The Game is a structure of power (and I’m not talking about the NBA either). As far as the Game is concerned, Sterling is the “king” of his own kingdom. A kingdom cannot function without people under the “king”, working to support the structure; in this instance, his basketball team which is predominantly made up of “minorities”.

It doesn’t matter the race or color, what matters is they are upholding the structure. An owner doesn’t have to respect his employees. Sorry to disappoint you, that’s not a requirement of ownership.

Sterling, whose birth name is Donald Tokowitz is a Jew. Why the name change? Because he’s a business man – a very high level Hustler; he understands that he must “move and shake” through certain circles and the last name can be a hindrance in certain areas. The man’s not ignorant.

The last name Sterling is Scottish by the way and in Old English it means “little star”. Jews use the “Star of David” as their symbol – see the correlation?

Sterling/Tokowitz started out as an attorney and then transitioned over to real estate.

Now peep Game.

The conversation between Sterling and his girlfriend (which mysteriously leaked out during a good time in his team’s franchise history) is about his personal image, reputation and that of his kingdom. All that equals money, it’s all business.

Sterling is worth almost 2 billion dollars. Imagine the social circles and “sub-cultures” he runs in.

I’ve told you all this many times (well those that have been rolling with me over the years), “kings” hang with “kings” and any weakness that a “king” shows destroys his image and reputation to other “kings”. Again, this all equates to money.

His girlfriend’s actions are a violation of the Game Sterling is in. That Game is of course, big business. Listen closely to the conversation again.

While you all see this as a racial issue, (which it is and I'm not denying that) a Hustler sees this as a “king”, trying to hold onto what he’s built. Anything that may hurt the survival of your business is a serious business Game violation.

At his level, when the wolves smell weakness, they will attack and come in for the kill. Or they may back off and wait until he is so weak that they can just run him from his "kingdom". And they will do this all while pointing their fingers saying, “How dare you! You’re such a racist, how can we remain associated with you!” But behind closed doors they all think along the same lines.

The Game runs deep.

Now, while you all heard racism in that recording, us Hustlers heard, “Damn baby, you’re messing with my money! What are my business associates and contacts going to think?” (EFX nailed it – Game recognize Game).

At our everyday level, it’s like working years to build up your career and here comes your close friend telling your boss all the negative stuff you said about them behind their back. This would sabotage your career and be a violation of friendship, wouldn’t it? Disloyalty.

So as I predicted, Sterling has taken a loss. That’s just part of the Game, I’m sure he saw that coming. Advertisers pulled out left and right. People made statements, even President Obama made a statement. And despite everything that has gone down I just have one question.

Has Sterling lost his “throne”?

Check this. In case you weren’t paying attention, Sterling is worth nearly 2 billion. Yes that’s billion, with a “B”!

He is required to pay a fine to the NBA of 2.5 million. That’s like me giving you a paper-cut. Yeah it stings but it’s going to heal real fast.

Let’s keep it real. He’s going to be just fine. A Billion dollars speaks many languages. At that level people don’t care about your personal prejudices. In fact, Sterling can lose half his net worth and he is still doing better than 75% of the wealthiest Americans.

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But wait, there’s more. Let’s look at the weak display by his team.

In typical weak Square fashion (call it plantation or slave mentality, whatever makes you feel comfortable) – the only reaction was a silent protest.

A protest is defined as an expression – and expression is defined as: setting something forth in words.

“WORDS”!

So, according to the English dictionary – there is no such thing as a SILENT protest! Protests require words. Peep game.

Many of you would have flipped if the players didn’t have any reaction whatsoever – they had to do something to pacify YOU. Their protest did nothing to change anything.

I ask this question again. Has Sterling lost his “throne”?

You’re not going to hear very much, if anything, from the Clipper players. Why? Because they won’t violate the Game they’re in. They know their position. They aren’t going to do anything major – you can quote me on that.

The truth though, whether you want to hear it or not – financially, Sterling is going to be just fine. Why? Because that’s how the Game works. He has all the power, connections and wealth to establish another kingdom elsewhere, if he hasn’t already.

And here’s something you Squares don’t think about.

Sterling is being forced to sell his franchise team, The Clippers. Do you even know how much an NBA franchise sells for? Do you? Google it! Don’t worry, I’ll wait…

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So not only is Sterling going to get back his 2.5 million dollars he had to pay as a fine – he’s still going to get back a nice chunk of his investment. That's right, he's going to see a payday!

Don’t you all see the Game? Once again, has Sterling lost anything? Anything at all?

What, maybe his reputation? At his level you don’t need a reputation when you’re behind closed doors. Like I said, a billion dollars speaks many languages.

So where is the fallout going? To the girlfriend – not to anyone who really matters. The Game being played is cold, isn’t it?

And for you out there that disagree with me. Let me back this up with an article from another NBA owner, Mr. Mark Cuban himself, check it [HERE]. He made that statement and then Mr. Cuban turns around and tweets that he 100% agrees with the decision of Sterling being banned. Huh? Are you confused? Game recognize Game – do you see how these people move now… or no?

The Verdict: Sterling has lost nothing significant. Just one of his many investments. He is still king of his “throne”. Just not his NBA "throne".

So, where’s the justice in all this? You have to understand the Game. This is justice – but not by your weak definition. Most of you feel satisfied by these pathetic results anyway. In a week or two this will be old news and they will have another "controversy" for you to talk about.

And the Game rolls on.

What are your feelings and thoughts on the matter? Leave a comment below.

Until next time.

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