Christ, what an a...

I remember reading the net outrage following Tim Armstrong's recent "gaffe" I started wondering just where his endgame was currently placed.

Apparently not far past 'net outrage.'

Then professional sports' favorite racist grandpa spouted off again.  He has a long history of saying terrible things and doing even worse; but by the next sunday's dinner it's generally been forgotten.

While the net outrage swirled with hypothetical responses (censure, fines, boycotts), I expected another round to eventually be won by the untouchably wealthy.

Then came the surprise ban-for-life, sell-your-team "sentence."

There's a strong last-straw argument here; Sterling has been infamous forever.  He could and should have been penalized for bad behavior long before now; on its own this is not even close to beyond the pale of his track record.

Now, my knowledge of the league by-laws is a bit thin, but I'm shocked that forcibly selling a team is even seriously on the table for any transgression, but particularly for speech.  A Black Sox/Spygate situation for a championship series could get a ban-for-life.   Something quantifiably worse than what Pete Rose did.

The penalty sets quite a legal precedent if it stands, and Sterling is forced to sell.  And maybe there's enough in the NBA rules that can enforce the penalty.

I doubt it, though.