Adam Silver was appointed as the NBA Commissioner in February 2014 and within three months, was put in a position where the players threatened to boycott the league. A controversy had brewed over racist comments made by former Los Angeles Clippers owner – Donald Sterling. Recently, Sliver appeared in JJ Redick’s podcast – ‘The Old Man and the Three’, to talk about the decision and the influence players had in the same.
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The incident occurred in April 2014 when the NBA Playoffs had just begun. After the tapes involving racist comments to his girlfriend were leaked, the NBA players threatened a league-wide boycott of the Playoffs, if action wasn’t taken. When Silver was asked whether the players influenced his decision, he said: “Just as a reminder to people, how quickly it all unfolded – I heard the tape for the first time on Saturday morning (it was posted by TMZ in the middle of the night) and I banned Sterling for life by Tuesday.”
He further went on to say how it was more of a partnership with the players association rather than a decision taken under the gun. “I don’t remember ever feeling threatened in a way where, and that’s how some of the commentary reads now, that unless you do this, this is going to be the outcome.” He went on to talk about how he had taken advice from his peers and former commissioner on how to proceed but was not given any conclusive action. He finally took the decision himself.
Adam Silver ensured no harm came to the Clippers’ franchise
During the course of the incident involving Donald Sterling, there was growing concern about the future of the Los Angeles Clippers franchise and the long-term effect it could have. However, the NBA commissioner stepped in to ensure that the Clippers organization and the league would not face the repercussions of Sterling’s actions.
President of the NBA’s Player Association – Chris Paul, who was also playing for the Los Angeles Clippers at that time, expressed his views on the potential boycott. In an interview with ‘The Jump’ in 2020, the player said “We’ve heard all the stuff, the boycotts, and all the stuff, and all those things are things you could do, but we chose to play.”
Donald Sterling was handed a lifetime ban from the NBA and was asked to pay the maximum permissible fine of $2.5 million. Eventually, he was forced to sell his team to the current owner – Steve Ballmer, who has been doing a stellar job since he took the reins of the franchise.
