Obama, Rihanna, Snoop Respond to Clippers Owner's Alleged Racist Rant

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In this photo taken in October 2013, Los Angeles Clippers Owner Donald Sterling, center, and V. Stiviano, right, watch the Clippers play the Sacramento Kings.

Image: Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

By Brian Anthony Hernandez2014-04-27 16:11:39 UTC

U.S. President Barack Obama, singer Rihanna and rapper Snoop Dogg are among the people who have passionately responded to a recently released audio recording filled with racist comments allegedly spoken by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

While the NBA is investigating whether Sterling is the male voice and whether his girlfriend, V. Stiviano, is the other voice on the recording, Obama took time to comment on the discriminatory statements Sunday during a press conference in Malaysia.

See also: NBA Investigating Whether Clippers Owner Made Racist Rant on Tape

"When ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance, you don’t have to do anything, you just let them talk,” he reportedly said. “The United States continues to wrestle with legacy of race and slavery and segregation. That’s still there. We’ve made enormous strides, but you’re going to continue to see this percolate up ... We have to continue denouncing it and teach our children differently.”

The male voice on the recording said, "It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people. Do you have to?" The female replied, “You associate with black people.” The man countered, “I’m not you, and you’re not me. You’re supposed to be a delicate white or a delicate Latina girl." That prompted the woman to assert, "I’m a mixed girl … And you’re in love with me. And I’m black and Mexican whether you like it or not."

The man on the recording, which was first published by TMZ , also said, "You can sleep with [black people]. You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want. The little I ask you is not to promote it on [Instagram] ... and not to bring them to my games."

Backlash to the remarks was significant on social media, with #boycottClippers trending on Twitter, and several celebrities expressing their anger on Instagram.

In an Instagram video, Snoop exclaimed, "A message to the motherf*cker who owns the Clippers: B*tch ass redneck white-bred chicken sh*t motherf*cker. F*ck you and your momma and everything connected to you, you racist piece of sh*t. F*ck you."

Meanwhile, Rihanna posted several meme-type Instagram photos about the recording:

Clippers President Andy Roeser also released the following statement on Saturday:

We have heard the tape on TMZ. We do not know if it is legitimate or it has been altered. We do know that the woman on the tape — who we believe released it to TMZ — is the defendant in a lawsuit brought by the Sterling family alleging that she embezzled more than $1.8 million, who told Mr. Sterling that she would “get even.” Mr. Sterling is emphatic that what is reflected on that recording is not consistent with, nor does it reflect his views, beliefs or feelings. It is the antithesis of who he is, what he believes and how he has lived his life. He feels terrible that such sentiments are being attributed to him, and apologizes to anyone who might have been hurt by them. He is also upset and apologizes for sentiments attributed to him about Earvin Johnson. He has long considered Magic a friend, and has only the utmost respect and admiration for him — both in terms of who he is and what he has achieved. We are investigating this matter.

Clippers head coach Doc Rivers also offered his thoughts in a lengthy public response after meeting with his players to discuss the firestorm:

I didn’t like the comments. I’m going to tell you now. I’m speaking on behalf of the team, so the players are not going to deal with this issue. We had a great team meeting this morning about it. A lot of guys voiced their opinions. None of them were happy about it. This is a situation where we are trying to go after something very important for us, something we’ve dreamed about all of our childhoods … We’re not going to let anyone get in the way of those dreams.

As far as the comments, we were not happy with any of them, but we’re going to let everything get handled and that situation will be dealt with later. Right now, our goals haven’t changed. Our focus is on Golden State, and it’s going to stay on Golden State.

It upsets all of us. There is not one guy who is happy with this situation. Do you think I want to be talking about this instead of trying to stop Steph Curry? I don’t. I don’t like all the phone calls I’ve been getting and all that stuff. We try to keep clutter, that’s the word all year, keeping clutter away from our team. And it’s been brought to our team, and it upsets me and it’s something that upsets our team. That said, we have something that we are playing for, and we’re going to deal with that now. The other stuff we are going to deal with later.

This is a distraction. I’m going to focus on my guys. I came here for them. They came here for each other. Our goals have not changed. Like one of the players said today, 'When I was a little kid and I had a goal to win a championship, it was to do that. It wasn’t to win a world championship for someone.'

As a group, we have to stay together. I think the biggest statement we can make as men, not as black men, but as men, is to stick together and show how strong we are as a group. Not splinter, not walk. It’s easy to protest. The protest will be in our play.

This isn't the first time Sterling has been embroiled in a race-related controversy.

As Mashable previously reported, in 2005, Sterling was ordered to pay $5 million to residents of an apartment complex he owned for discrimination. And in 2011, Sterling was sued by former Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor for age discrimination and harassment, although the jury sided with Sterling in this case.

Other well-known former and current NBA players have also chimed in:

Miami Heat all-star LeBron James contributed his thoughts before a playoff game on Saturday.

"Obviously, if the reports are true ... It's unacceptable. It's unacceptable in our league. It doesn't matter if you're white, black, Hispanic, whatever, all across the races. It's unacceptable," he said. "And for an owner to come out and say the things that he said, it's very disrespectful and very appalling"

"I hate the fact that something like this has to come out when the playoffs have been unbelievable, and the game has continued to grow," James continued. "But there's no room for Donald Sterling in our league. There's no room for him."

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Topics: Barack Obama, basketball, controversy, Entertainment, Los Angeles Clippers, racism, rihanna, snoop dogg, Sports, U.S.