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| One of the many, many, Instagram pics posted by Miss Stiviano |
Ironically Mr Sterling's basket ball team is composed mostly of black players and the "girlfriend" is mexican and african american. Mr Sterling's racist rant isn't what's interesting here, Mr Obama best characterized Mr Sterling as advertising his ignorance, noting that racism is still present in America and can percolate up every so often. Mr Sterling has since been banned from the NBA and pressured to sell the Clippers, the LA based basketball team he bought for $12 million and which is now worth half a billion. A sanction that at first may look harsh on the face of it (the conversation was private) but was justified given that it has since transpired that the Clippers owner had a long history of racist behaviour. For example, over the years, several lawsuits have accused Mr Sterling of racial discrimination toward prospective tenants. In one of them Mr Sterling is accused of refusing to rent to blacks because they "attract vermins".
As the media dissected the story, the public got a glimpse of Mr Sterling's private life and of the real estate business on which he built his fortune. The details get convoluted and leave the reader with an unflattering impression of the main protagonists. The girlfriend (officially a "personal assistant" of Mr Sterling) is being sued by Mr Sterling's wife for embezzling $1.8 million of the couple's estate. Miss V. Stiviano who Mrs Sterling has described as a goldigger, in fact uses several names. She received a Ferrari, two Bentley's and a Range Rover from Mr Sterling. Mr Sterling apparently also gifted $1.8 million to the young lady so she could buy a duplex in Los Angeles but more recently the billionaire had asked Miss Stiviano to return the property along with some of the $240,000 he gave her to cover her expenses . Upon which, Miss Stiviano had vowed to seek revenge, according to a source close to the couple. However, in a recent interview for ABC News Miss Stiviano told Barbara Walters that she was "Mr Sterling's best friend ", "his everything", and that she was paid "off the books" for her services.
As the LA Times reported, Mr Sterling's wife, Rochelle Sterling, has not escaped controversy either. In another lawsuit, the Sterlings couple and Mrs Sterling in particular are accused of discriminatory behavior against black and latino tenants. The federal lawsuit accused Mrs Sterling of saying "Who do you think you are, you black m-f-r ?!" when asked by a tenant if she would agree to reduce the rent. Mrs Sterling was also accused of frequently posing as a health inspector to gain access to her tenants' apartments whenever she wanted. The Sterlings did not like children in their apartment buildings either. In 2009, the Sterlings paid $2.765 million to settle without admitting any wrongdoing.
http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-80052584/
It's interesting to note that in Switzerland we would have never heard of a story like that, because the law prohibits the recording of private conversations and their use in a trial. The Federal Council amended the law in 2001 to allow the recording of conversations in business dealings but incredibly the spirit of the law was to allow mass recording by corporations for the purpose of conducting business efficiently. This is another piece of legislation that gives impunity to white-collar criminals in Switzerland.
As the LA Times reported, Mr Sterling's wife, Rochelle Sterling, has not escaped controversy either. In another lawsuit, the Sterlings couple and Mrs Sterling in particular are accused of discriminatory behavior against black and latino tenants. The federal lawsuit accused Mrs Sterling of saying "Who do you think you are, you black m-f-r ?!" when asked by a tenant if she would agree to reduce the rent. Mrs Sterling was also accused of frequently posing as a health inspector to gain access to her tenants' apartments whenever she wanted. The Sterlings did not like children in their apartment buildings either. In 2009, the Sterlings paid $2.765 million to settle without admitting any wrongdoing.
http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-80052584/
It's interesting to note that in Switzerland we would have never heard of a story like that, because the law prohibits the recording of private conversations and their use in a trial. The Federal Council amended the law in 2001 to allow the recording of conversations in business dealings but incredibly the spirit of the law was to allow mass recording by corporations for the purpose of conducting business efficiently. This is another piece of legislation that gives impunity to white-collar criminals in Switzerland.
