Amidst the controversy surrounding Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s racist remarks, MSNBC’s Toure used the opportunity to conflate these comments with NBA owners who support conservative causes.
Appearing on The Cycle on Monday, April 28, Toure argued that “Some of them are not the most savory folks. Some of them are bank rolling anti-gay marriage initiatives. Some of them got rich off of fracking.” [See video below.]
The MSNBC host continued his rant against the rest of the NBA owners:
Some of them are Russian olagarchs. Some of them were part of passing on the sub-prime loan debacle. So there’s any number of folks could say the tide could turn against me. And you know what, this NBA owners group didn't do anything when the DOJ suit came down that Donald Sterling lost discriminating against black and brown people in his homes that -- in the apartments that he owned. So they didn't do anything then. Why do they feel like they have to do something now?
It seems that only a left-wing MSNBC host would compare racist comments made by an NBA owner to the millions of Americans who support fracking and traditional marriage as well as other conservative causes. Toure then asserted that NBA commissioner Adam Silver would allow such racist comments to persist to protect the other owners:
Adam Silver was hired by the owners, right? He is going to be figuring out what happens here. So he is going to do what is best for the NBA ownership group. Now, when he speaks tomorrow and in the coming days, he will be speaking for the aggregate opinion of the NBA owners.
Are they going to say he is bad for our business and our brand? Let's get rid of him? Or are they going to say, wait a minute now, we don't want Adam to be deciding what comments we may or may not make that will get us kicked out.
See relevant transcript below.
MSNBC
The Cycle
April 28, 2014
3:119 p.m. Eastern
ABBY HUNTSMAN: To your point, though, the writing very much seemed to be on the wall here. They will make a decision in the next 24 hours. Probably sometime tomorrow around this time about his fate, and I don't see them doing anything other than dumping this guy. This is not just about him. This is about the entire Clippers community. Right? This is about the players. It's about the sponsors. It's about the fans. I can't imagine any player would want to play for this guy. I can’t imagine anyone would want to be a sponsor for him or actually go to these games. So I don't see a scenario in which they can make this work other than just getting rid of him altogether. And there is precedent for this. If you remember Marge Schott, who was a principal owner of the Cincinnati Reds. And she made some anti-semitic, racist comments that forced her to sell her interest. So we've seen this happen before. I don't see any reason why they can't do the very same thing with him.
TOURE: You know, Abby, I hope that you're right. I would like to see. I think most people would like to see Donald Sterling removed from the NBA community the NBA family. But Adam Silver was hired by the owners, right? He is going to be figuring out what happens here. So he is going to do what is best for the NBA ownership group. Now, when he speaks tomorrow and in the coming days, he will be speaking for the aggregate opinion of the NBA owners. Are they going to say he is bad for our business and our brand? Let's get rid of him? Or are they going to say, wait a minute now, we don't want Adam to be deciding what comments we may or may not make that will get us kicked out. Because some of these folks who own these NBA teams, and this is breaking news Ari, some of them are not the most savory folks. Some of them are bank rolling anti-gay marriage initiatives. Some of them got rich off of fracking. Some of them are Russian olagarchs. Some of them were part of passing on the sub-prime loan debacle. So there’s any number of folks could say the tide could turn against me. And you know what, this NBA owners group didn't do anything when the DOJ suit came down that Donald Sterling lost discriminating against black and brown people in his homes that -- in the apartments that he owned. So they didn't do anything then. Why do they feel like they have to do something now? Krystal, what has significantly changed this time?
