Power and Process: The Long Term Implications of the NBA disciplining Donald Sterling

Hope you have a chance to pick up this week's issue of Sports Illustrated magazine (May 12th issue). My essay titled "Power and Process" appears on pages 16 to 18, and it centers on the long term implications for the NBA in disciplining Donald Sterling. I'll share the link to the essay when it's put online in the next week or two. Here are a couple of excerpts:

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Silver asserts that Sterling's troubled history can help to justify his ouster.  Should it? Until last week, the NBA had practiced a hear-no-evil, see-no-evil approach to Sterling's prior bad acts and broken promises . . . Silver stressed that the league could not act in those instances because were either settled or won by Sterling.  But now Sterling faces banishment for words that can't even give rise to a lawsuit?

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In the future, should owners who draw the wrath and outrage of the public be subject to the loss of their franchises?  Regardless of how you feel about Sterling's behavior, a precedent has now been established.  Maybe it shouldn't have been.

Update: Ryan Rodernberg has co-authored an outstanding article on New Jersey's sports betting case on page 52 of this same issue, and Andrew Brandt has a great article on the NFL needing a D League on page 20. This is the issue of sports law!