Racism and bigotry certainly exist in many areas of our society and when it impacts or alters behavior, decisions and human interactions it can rise to the level of despicable. From what has been reported this characterized and described Donald Sterling, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers national basketball team.
There is no defense for actions that have been discriminatory toward those of other racial or ethnic groups. It has been questioned why the NBA did not take action against Sterling on the basis of his unfitness to be an owner of a professional sports team. Action had not been taken and that was wrong.
The action that was taken on Wednesday, April 30th, raises serious concerns. Perhaps, the action that was taken to ban Sterling from any affiliation with the NBA for the rest of his life was wrongly influenced by the public outcry that reached the NBA Commissioner. When a decision of this magnitude is based on private conversations that were somehow leaked to the public, there is a potential problem. It can be argued that the rant by Sterling, while inflammatory, was nothing more than the whining of a scorned lover. If there is no sanctity in the private conversation between two people then we as a society have a much larger problem.
If the decision of the Commissioner was based on the culmination of many incidents of discriminatory behavior, language or decisions then that should have been stated as the reason for the decision. If it was based on a single leaked private phone message, then the protection of freedom of speech that is guaranteed by the First Amendment of the US Constitution is, markedly, compromised.