The First Amendment says that “Congress shall make no law…” (my emphasis added, obviously). The NBA is private organization with its own
constitution and governance. The punishment delivered was within the terms of
that league constitution which all members, including players, owners, and
employees of the organization must abide. There is not going to be an FBI
investigation and a federal criminal trial over this issue, because the
Department of Justice does not care.
There are anti-discrimination laws on the books, which do
grant rights in certain activities of private organizations (e.g. employment
law) and therefore come somewhere near this issue. However, the freedom to say
racist things is not a protected trait, unlike ethnicity, age, sex, religion, etc.
For those (Libertarians?) saying “I thought this was America?” and “What happened to free
speech?” they are just conveying how little they know about the law and the US
Constitution (or being a Libertarian for that matter).
Ultimately, Mr. Sterling’s comments were an expression of opinion,
a form of protected speech, which on its own, I don’t believe teeters into the realm of hate
speech. But while speech like Mr. Sterling’s is not illegal, it can certainly get
you into trouble. It’s the same reason that a country club can kick you out if
you don’t wear white clothes, or the Boy Scouts of American can kick you out if
you’re gay. In the NBA, you can be kicked out for being racist, especially in
2014.
