Unpopular Opinions and Double Standards

It wouldn't surprise me if Donald Sterling was a rich, arrogant prick who holds unpopular views of people who are different from him. And it wouldn't surprise me if many of the people who came out in fits of righteous indignation after the exposure of some of those views, including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and others, were also rich arrogant pricks who hold unpopular views of people who are different from them. Arrogance is not a quality restricted to any particular race.

We all have the right to our own opinions, but evidently if those opinions aren't the "right" ones, watch your back. Sterling may or may not be a racist, and his views, no matter how wrong they may or may not be, should not be grounds for him to lose his business, at least in this context. Sterling didn't make these statements in public in the capacity as owner of a NBA franchise, he made them in private. In his capacity as an owner, Sterling's views didn't seem to stop him from hiring many minorities over the years, paying them millions upon millions of dollars to play basketball for him.

Let's contrast Sterling with Spike Lee. He condemned the comments Sterling made. Lee also made racist comments a couple months ago. Lee remains employed by the NBA at their Sirius/XM radio station. Why hasn't Lee been fined and banned?

Sterling was fined and banned because of two things -- media/public pressure and a brand new commissioner looking to make a splash. And the answer to that last question is easy -- if you're a minority, you can spew as much racist hate as you wish. If you're white and you even mention a person's skin color in virtually any way, they'll come after you and take what you have.