By Rigas Dardalis/ dardalis@eurohoops.net
Donald Sterling is unwanted by the NBA and his racist comments have shocked not only the NBA, but basketball world globally. After all many African Americans are part of the game overseas and one of them, Mardy Collins who is a member of Euroleague powerhouse Olympiacos, wasn’t surprise at all.
Collins had played for Sterling from 2008 to 2010: “Definitely it wasn’t surprise. In 2009 when I played there, he had some issues with some of his tenants in his appeasement units (ed.note: Sterling was accused for racial discrimination). I always kind of knew that, wasn’t surprised about it, he often said things to Baron Davis and Ricky Davis, so it definitely wasn’t a surprise”.
Sterling didn’t hesitate to intervene also in coaching issues and that created also an issue between him and Collins: “Yes, but it was probably just a playing issue. Kim Hughes, the interim coach, wanted to play me and he came to me and told me that Sterling didn’t want me to play, but I don’t know if that had to do anything with racism. Maybe, he just didn’t like my game. So I don’t know with what that had to do. I just know he didn’t want me to play”.
Still, it’s more than shocking to hear an NBA owner talking like that: “Everybody is just disappointed. It makes the NBA look back, it’s a black eye on the NBA and there’s no place in the NBA for this. It’s 2014, you think that things have changed by now, but evidently they haven’t”.
Sterling’s antics were obvious and he didn’t hide them even from the stars of his team: “Baron was actually trying to chatter, get some time with him one on one, but he would never want to talk with Baron. It wasn’t like it is now, it wasn’t to this extent, we were able to be there, trying to play to the best of our abilities, but at the same time it was hard, because Baron had a hard time playing for that man, knowing what he do”.