Rod 2.0:Beta #gay #news #lgbt #gaynews

REPORT: Donald Sterling Refuses NBA Sanctions

PHOTO: GETTY

Disgraced Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has refused the sanctions ordered by the National Basketball Association and has threatened litigation, reports Sports Illustrated legal analyst Michael McCann. The NBA slapped Sterling with a lifetime ban from the game, ordered a $2.5 million fine and the sale of the team in response to a series of racist and inflammatory remarks that were recorded.

Sterling has hired prominent antitrust litigator Maxwell Blecher, who has written a letter to NBA executive vice president and general counsel Rick Buchanan threatening to sue the NBA. The letter, sources tell SI.com, claims that Sterling has done nothing wrong and that "no punishment is warranted" for Sterling. Blecher also tells Buchanan that Sterling will not pay the $2.5 million fine, which is already past due. Blecher ends the letter by saying this controversy "will be adjudicated." ...

Any lawsuit by Sterling against the NBA would face a daunting task, as Sterling contractually agreed to follow the NBA's system of justice. Sterling's failure to pay the fine is additional evidence of his insubordination of league policies. His failure triggers other contractual provisions that can be used by the NBA under Article 13(d) to justify his ouster. It is also possible the NBA could deduct $2.5 million, plus interest, from proceeds the NBA would share with the Sterlings after the league sells the Clippers.

The NBA is well-poised to argue that Sterling's pending ouster is mainly due to the impact of his conduct -- which nearly triggered a player boycott, caused sponsors to drop the Clippers and led to critical words from President Obama -- rather than the conduct itself. 

TMZ released audio recording last month of a conversation between Sterling and former girlfriend V. Stiviano. Sterling can be heard criticizing Stiviano for bringing Black people to Clippers games and for uploading photos to Instagram and herself and African-Americans—including Los Angeles Lakers legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson. In an interview earlier this week with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Sterling harshly criticized Johnson for HIV positive serostatus. "He's not a role model," said Sterling. "He should be ashamed of himself."

Meanwhile: Sterling's estranged wife Rochelle Sterling has also indicated that she will sue to retain her 50 percent share in the team. She has also distanced herself from her husband's remarks and claimed that she "is not a racist." Court documents say otherwise. The Los Angeles Times has reported that Shelly Sterling "was accused of using racist language by multiple people during depositions conducted in 2009 as part of a housing discrimination lawsuit."

The apple doesn't fall from the tree, right?

In other news: Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder ended the Clippers' playoff run this week.  The Thunder advanced to the Western Conference finals with its 104-98 victory over the Clippers in Game 6 on Thursday night. The series against the Spurs begins Monday night in San Antonio.

You May Have Missed ...
NBA Bans Clippers Owner Donald Sterling for Life
L.A. NAACP President Resigns Over Sterling Award

LISTEN LIVE: Philadelphia's WURD Radio 5P/ET

Join me this afternoon on Philadelphia's WURD 900AM at 500ET on The Nick Taliafero Show. On the menu: The National Basketball Association's decision to ban Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling's from the league, Boko Haram's terrorist campaign in Nigeria and the St. Louis Rams' historic selection of openly gay defensive end Michael Sam in the NFL draft.

Listen live HERE. The call in number is 866-361-0900.

SPORNO: NBA Hotness Blake Griffin

PHOTOS: GETTY

In case you missed it: The Los Angeles Clippers' power forward and über-dunking hotness Blake Griffin was in "top" shape as he played against the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2014 NBA Playoffs. Griffin helped to lead the Clippers to win the series four games to three.

DeAndre Jordan and Griffin celebrate above.

The Clippers face Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals today. Should be an interesting series. Oklahoma City is Blake Griffin's birthplace and hometown.

The NBA superstar was last seen nude and sculpted to obscene perfection, shirtless on South Beach, being groped on the court by Kobe Bryant, bumping and grinding with John Wall and striking a pose with LeBron James. More images and watch Blake Griffin hit a crazy backflip after scoring  AFTER THE JUMP ...

Los Angeles NAACP President Resigns Over Sterling Award

The president of the NAACP's Los Angeles chapter has been forced to resign as a result of his decision to award Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling a “lifetime achievement award."

Leon Jenkins' decision to bestow the award had already drawn considerable criticism even before the billionaire's racist rants were publicized. This would have been Sterling's SECOND lifetime achievement award from the Los Angeles branch. The first award was given to the real estate mogul despite a well-documented history of racist business practices and fair housing violations, reports the New York Daily  News.

Sterling was sued by the feds in 2006 for refusing to rent apartments to blacks and Hispanics. Three years later, he agreed to pay a $2.73 million settlement to make the housing discrimination charges go away. Despite that, Jenkins in 2009 presented Sterling with a first civil rights award for donating money to minority charities and giving Clippers tickets to inner-city kids.

Leon Jenkins has quite the colorful background. The former NAACP official was once a Detroit judge and removed after being accused of taking bribes, reports the New York Times.

Mr. Jenkins, who became a judge in a Detroit district court in 1983, was removed from the bench in 1991 and disbarred in Michigan in 1994 for soliciting or accepting bribes that included money and firearms to dismiss traffic citations, misstating his address to lower his insurance premiums, encouraging a person to commit perjury and other ethical violations, according to Michigan court records.

After a federal investigation led to an indictment, Mr. Jenkins was acquitted. But the Michigan Supreme Court, which oversaw Mr. Jenkins’s work, conducted its own investigation and concluded that from 1984 to 1987, he “systematically and routinely sold his office and his public trust.” The court removed him from the bench, and he was subsequently disbarred in the state.

Mr. Jenkins moved to California but was prevented from practicing law in the state in 2001 because of his problems in Michigan. The state bar has twice rejected his applications for reinstatement, most recently last year, on the grounds that he "failed to establish his rehabilitation from his past misconduct or that he presently possesses the necessary moral qualifications for reinstatement."

Sterling's foundations have donated at least $45,000 to the Los Angeles NAACP branch since 2007. Next question: How much of that personally went into Jenkins' pockets?

NBA Bans Clippers Owner Donald Sterling for Life

PHOTO: GETTY

Donald Sterling, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, is banned for life from the National Basketball Association and will be forced to pay a $2.5 million fine.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made the announcement this afternoon in response to a series of racist remarks attributed to Sterling. The remarks were recorded on audio tape and first reported by TMZ. Sterling can be heard telling his girlfriend V. Stiviano not to bring African-Americans to front rows at Clippers games. Sterling also warned her against posting photos of herself and any African-Americans to her Instagram account.

The NBA is expected to force the sale of Clippers and other sanctions. "It's also believed any suspension would include Sterling's removal from the NBA's Board of Governors, ensuring that he has no say in league matters during such a ban," reported ESPN.com in its analysis of the NBA's options to sanction Sterling.

Sterling is the personification of the pinstriped racist and would make an antebelleum plantation owner proud. Black men are human capital that should be exploited for profit—and are never welcome in the "Big House." Good riddance, bad trash, etc.

UMass' Derrick Gordon's Family Has "Mixed" Reaction to Coming Out

More on Derrick Gordon, the University of Massachusetts basketball phenom who became the first active and openly gay player in NCAA Division I history ...

The 22-year-old point guard spoke at length with reporters on his historic decision to come. "I was living life in shame," the UMass guard said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It took a toll on me. ... There was a time that I didn't want to play basketball anymore and that's the worst feeling ever. Right now I'm happy. I'm free just to live my life."

Unfortunately, not everyone is pleased with Gordon's coming out. The young man's immediate family has demonstrated a "mixed" reaction, according to a report from USA Today. The basketball player's mother and father initially expressed reluctance—although the mom always suspected he could have been gay. Gordon's twin brother has expressed hostility. 

"After we talked, I told him, 'I still love you.' I'm just happy he's relieved of years of pain," said Sandra [Gordon], who initially didn't want her son to go public because of the national spotlight and scope. ... It's just a blessing and I'm excited that he finally got this out. Because even when he was playing basketball, Derrick just wasn't Derrick. Something was off. Now he can be free."

And:  

The rest of Gordon's family had mixed reactions to Derrick's sexual orientation, his mother said. His father, Michael, was taken off-guard at first. ...  Gordon's oldest brother, Mike, said he "kind of knew," according to Sandra. Gordon's twin brother, Darryl, hasn't taken it well, Sandra said. "(Darryl) is taking it real hard. You know, he'll say he can't support gays," Sandra Gordon said. "And I'll just say, 'Support your brother.' It's not like he just woke up and said, 'I'm gay.' I told him, 'that could have been you.' " 

Sandra Gordon said their family has gay relatives so she wasn't that stunned by her son's revelation. "My niece is gay and my husband's cousin just got married," she said.

The twin brother's reaction is quote precious. Would he be more supportive if Derrick were a gangbanger instead of one of the leading collegiate ballers in the nation? Maybe. SMH. 

UMass exited from the NCAA Tournament on March 21. Gordon is "fourth on the Minutemen in scoring this season at 9.4 points per game. 

Gordon publicly came out on April 9, after breaking the news to his coaches, teammates and family. The young player says that Jason Collins' and Michael Sam's history-making announcements inspired him to do the same.

Twelve-year NBA veteran Collins publicly came out in April 2013  in a self-written article published in Sports Illustrated.  Collins made history as the first openly gay player in the rarefied "Big Four"—the National Football League, National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball or the National Hockey League—when he was signed by the Brooklyn Nets in late February.

Meanwhile: The University of Missouri's star defense player Michael Sam is preparing to enter the NFL draft as pro football’s first openly gay player. The 2014 NFL Draft begins on Thursday, May 8. Sam made history to become the first Division I college football player to come out as gay. Sam is the 2013 SEC Defensive Player of the Year and was voted Missouri's most valuable player.

You May Have Missed:
Derrick Gordon is the 1st Openly Gay Div 1 Player
Jason Collins Signs with Nets 
Nets Sign Jason Collins for the Remaining Season
Jason Collins Has 'Reframed the Conversation'" [EBONY]
Michael Sam 1st Openly Gay Div I Football Player
A$AP Rocky Intros Jason Collins' "Homosexuality"
Roy Hibbert Fined $75K for Postgame Gay Slur
LISTEN: Voice of Russia on Robbie Rogers, Jason Collins
LeRoy Butler Provides Details on Anti-Gay Pastor
NBA's Jason Collins Comes Out: "I'm Black and I'm Gay"
VIDEO: Charles Barkley, Shaq Interview Jason Collins

VIDEO: UMass' Derrick Gordon is the 1st Openly Gay Div 1 Player

Catching up with the latest on Derrick Gordon, the 22-year-old University of Massachusetts basketball phenom who became the first active and openly gay player in NCAA Division I history ...

Gordon spoke with Outsports' Cyd Zeigler about coming out. Watch the interview AFTER THE JUMP ...

University of Massachusetts basketball coach Derek Kellogg shared Gordon's coming out story with the Boston Globe.

After Gordon told him, Kellogg paused for only a second before expressing his support. Kellogg showed that support April 2 when it came time to tell the team. With the other players waiting in the locker room, Kellogg could sense Gordon’s nerves starting to build as they approached. That’s when Kellogg decided he would break the ice. Kellogg told the team Gordon was gay, before Gordon quickly jumped in.

"It made things a lot easier," Gordon said. "I was able to tell my story more and express myself a lot more, which was good. They all accepted me. You could see it throughout when I was telling my story, you could some teammates getting a little emotional or whatever because I was speaking from my heart and that they really care about me besides the basketball aspect."

The young player says that Jason Collins' and Michael Sam's history-making announcements inspired him to do the same.

UMass exited from the NCAA Tournament on March 21. Gordon is "fourth on the Minutemen in scoring this season at 9.4 points per game," according to the Globe. Watch the interview AFTER THE JUMP ...

SPORNO: MSU's Denzel Valentine

PHOTOS: GETTY

Michigan State University point guard Denzel Valentine had plenty to celebrate last night. The Spartans slammed the Michigan Wolverines 69-55 for their fourth Big Ten Basketball Tournament win.

The six-foot-five sophomore was voted MLive's MVP. Valentine averages 14 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists per game.

Another reason why Valentine is a fan favorite: His skills are beyond tight. Valentine served behind-the-back and between-the-leg passes during Friday's 67-51 win over Northwestern. More images, video of the Valentine's on-the-court skills and a slightly shirtless Valentine speaks with reporters last night AFTER THE JUMP ...

Brooklyn Nets Sign Jason Collins for the Remaining Season

PHOTO: GETTY North America

Brilliant! The Brooklyn Nets have signed Jason Collins for the remainder of the season, reports ESPN.com.

Sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday that the Nets, who feel they're getting everything they expected from Collins when they signed him for frontcourt depth Feb. 23, are already operating under the premise that the 34-year-old will finish the season with them even though his second 10-day deal doesn't expire until after Friday. Sources say that the internal expectation all along was that Collins would be a Net for the rest of the season, from the moment he signed his first 10-day deal, as long he proved that he could still be an effective defender, which he did immediately.

The 7-foot and 35-year-old Collins is averaging about ten minutes playing time per game in eight appearances since his groundbreaking debut against the Los Angeles Lakers on February 24. That's when he made history as the first openly gay player in the rarefied "Big Four"—the National Football League, National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball or the National Hockey League. 

The twelve-year NBA veteran publicly came out in April 2013  in a self-written article published in Sports Illustrated. The first sentence was: “I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.”Collins had been playing with the Washington Wizards. Since the article's publication, he had not been resigned or invited to training camp by any of the league's 30 teams ... until the Nets signed him for his first ten-day contract in late February. Collins made his first appearance with the Houston Rockets in 2001. Collins averaged 3.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in a 12-year NBA career.

Meanwhile: The University of Missouri's star defense player Michael Sam is preparing to enter the NFL draft as pro football’s first openly gay player. The 2014 NFL Draft begins on Thursday, May 8 and ends on Saturday, May 10. Bravo and many congratulations to these incredible men. It's amazing to witness these brothas making history.

You May Have Missed:
Jason Collins Signs with Nets
Jason Collins Has 'Reframed the Conversation'"[EBONY]
Michael Sam 1st Openly Gay Div I Football Player
A$AP Rocky Intros Jason Collins' "Homosexuality"
Roy Hibbert Fined $75K for Postgame Gay Slur
LISTEN: Voice of Russia on Robbie Rogers, Jason Collins
LeRoy Butler Provides Details on Anti-Gay Pastor
NBA's Jason Collins Comes Out: "I'm Black and I'm Gay"
VIDEO: Charles Barkley, Shaq Interview Jason Collins

Jason Collins Signs with Nets to Become 1st Openly Gay NBA Player

Jason Collins is expected to suit up with the Brooklyn Nets tonight to play against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center, reports ESPN. Collins reportedly signed a 10-day contract with the Nets.

Collins came out as openly gay last year. Collins will make history as the first openly gay player in the rarefied "Big Four"—the NFL, National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball or the National Hockey League.

The Nets moved quickly to make the historic signing of the 35-year-old free agent center to have another big body available against the Lakers. Brooklyn had been contemplating signing Collins for the past week and the need for Collins became greater after the Nets dealt rebounding specialist Reggie Evans to theSacramento Kings last week. 

ESPN.com reported that the Nets quietly auditioned Collins last week in Los Angeles, paving the way from him to rejoin the franchise he spent his first six-plus seasons in the league. ... The Nets are an organization filled with Collins supporters and experienced players less likely to be fazed by the likely media blitz that the signing will inevitably spark. Over the last couple of days, several Nets players have publicly voiced their support for signing Collins.

The free agent and twelve-year NBA veteran came out in April 2013  in self-written article published in Sports Illustrated. The first sentence was: “I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.”Collins had been playing with the Washington Wizards. Since then, he had not been resigned or invited to training camp by any of the league's 30 teams. Collins averaged 3.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in a 12-year NBA career.

The 7-foot and 35-year-old Collins was born in Los Angeles and attended Stanford with his twin brother. Collins has been to the playoffs in nine of his 12 seasons with the NBA. He has played for the New Jersey Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics and was positioned at center for the Washington Wizards.

John Amaechi, who was the first former NBA player to come out as gay, told me last spring that  he was not surprised the first out, active male player would be from the NBA. "I expect that the next three or four" professional sports players to come out could also be Black players,  Amaechi told me in "Jason Collins Has “Reframed the Conversation” Around Sports, Blacks and Homophobia" for EBONY.

"The media incorrectly assumed that ‘the first’ player would be White and probably from hockey or baseball," author and activist Darnell L. Moore told EBONY. Moore and former NFL player Wade Davis have co-founded You Belong, a sports leadership initiative for LGBT youth. "The majority of the NBA and the NFL’s players are Black, so, to me it came as no surprise."

This news comes only weeks after University of Missouri's star player and defensive end Michael Sam announced that he is gay. Sam is currently at the NFL Combine and is not expected to make his official NFL debut until the fall. The 6-foot-2, 260-pound Mizzou senior is considered a top NFL draft pick. He is the 2013 SEC Defensive Player of the Year, was named a first-team all-American and was voted Missouri's most valuable player. Missouri finished its season 12-2 and Sam helped lead the team to its Cotton Bowl victory.

Wade Davis, former Division I basketball player Will Sheridan and former American Basketball Association player DeMarco Majors discussed the landscape for professional Black gay athletes with me in the award-winning and critically-acclaimed 2012 anthology For Colored Boys Who Have Considered  Suicide When the Rainbow is Not Enough. The book was edited by television commentator Keith Boykin.

You May Have Missed:
Jason Collins Has 'Reframed the Conversation'"[EBONY]
Michael Sam 1st Openly Gay Div I Football Player
A$AP Rocky Intros Jason Collins' "Homosexuality"

Roy Hibbert Fined $75K for Postgame Gay Slur
LISTEN: Voice of Russia on Robbie Rogers, Jason Collins
LeRoy Butler Provides Details on Anti-Gay Pastor
NBA's Jason Collins Comes Out: "I'm Black and I'm Gay"
VIDEO: Charles Barkley, Shaq Interview Jason Collins