I truly hope the alleged comments attributed to Los Angeles Clippers owner, Donald Sterling, is false. Let this be one of those infamous "gotcha" moments that just went viral.
Tell me that the TMZ obtained tape that allegedly has Sterling saying to his African American-Mexican girlfriend "It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you're associating with black people. Do you have to?" is really impressionist Frank Caliendo's idea of a poorly crafted joke.
If it is true, I'm not sure if the preverbal "My comments were taken out context" alibi will suffice for this one.
The NBA is currently investigating whether comments in an audio recording were actually made by Sterling.
"The remarks heard on the recording are disturbing and offensive, but at this time we have no further information," NBA executive vice president of communication Mike Bass said. He also said the league is conducting a "full investigation."
It is truly a "say it ain't so" moment. Sterling already has a track record that suggest these latest allegations are quite possible. He allegedly told former NBA player Danny Manning during their contract negotiations "I'm offering a lot of money to a poor black kid."
Are we not living in the 21st century? Did Sterling not get the memo? Is he part of a clan who's DNA links him directly to troglodytes? Or is he falsely endowed with moral superiority and arrogance?
In a week when wild west hero, Clive Bundy, who for 20 years systematically mooched off federal land, wants to put on his Max Weber hat and offer ignorant analysis about the laziness of blacks and other people of color who are depended on government, the owner of a NBA franchise allegedly does him one better.
Even without these latest allegations, how long can Sterling continue to be part of the NBA brand? While I believe Sterling represents an aberration, his association with the league makes all concerned complicit with his toxic rhetoric.
The tragic irony is that Sterling can profit from the labor of African Americans without affirming their humanity. The last time this was a widely held view, 11 Southern states seceded from the Union and shots were fired on Fort Sumter.