Privacy Turned Publicity

America is known as a country of freedom, but occasionally we run into conflicts of what freedoms we have and how they might infringe on others. Lately the NBA's owner of the Clippers, Mr. Sterling, has recently been accused of racism and may be forced to relinquish his team due to these instances. The details are relatively sketchy, but it is believed that Mr. Sterling was having a conversation over the phone with his lover when she began recording the phone call. Over the phone during what Sterling believed was a private phone call he made several racial comments about his employees and how he didn't appreciate the company of African-Americans. This has led to his ban from the NBA and a 2.5 million dollar fine. This week marks the start of the court cases that will more than likely advance all the way to the Supreme Court because it is a possible violation of the First Amendment for banning Sterling based on his private conversations. Others believe it is acceptable to ban him because of his racism.

There is a massive push expected from the NAACP in the coming weeks much like they had during the Treyvon Martin case. Other groups are expected to get involved as well as it is a serious matter of civil liberties and can become a precedent case if it makes it to the Supreme court due to all the back and forth that is expected to come.

I believe that although what Sterling did is wrong on a massive scale I don't believe that the fine or lawsuits are acceptable. He was privately making these comments over a phone call he believed would never be heard by another person. There are several issues with the lawsuit as well, this woman legally could be counter sued because the tape was captured without his consent. The other issue is does this violate his first and fourth amendment rights that give him freedom of speech and the right to privacy. Just some food for thought.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/01/us/nba-committee-meets-on-sterling/index.html?hpt=us_c2