Nobody ever thought there would be a last straw for Donald Sterling, either. Just like nobody figured there would be one for Donald Trump.
The repulsive video and audio of Trump that went public Friday still might not sink Trump’s presidential campaign. Even going into Sunday night’s debate, he still had plenty of supporters, even with established party leaders jumping ship like crazy.
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But Trump — who apparently listens to no one and learns no lessons from anything — needs to look at how and why the reign of Sterling within the NBA came crashing down two years ago and recognize that he’s hurtling full-speed down that same path. He needs to recognize that he's deserving of everything he's getting and everything it's costing him.
Back in 2014, Sterling was brought down by a private conversation that he never dreamed would be broadcast to the world, in which he felt so safe and protected and privileged that he could cut loose with every sick, twisted, perverted view of humanity he'd ever cultivated.
For Sterling, of course, it was his opinions of black people, the very ones on whose backs he had built his twin pillars of wealth: his real estate empire and his membership in the NBA owners’ club. Those NBA players of whom he was so contemptuous led the movement that finally drove him out, nudged commissioner Adam Silver to strip him of ownership of the Clippers and ban him for life.
The reason Sterling had felt so safe up until then was a reason Trump can relate to. He lived his life inside the protected bubble of other rich, powerful, detached, almost exclusively white men, who never felt the urge to reject or denounce his views — until those views threatened their own positions and security.
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Substitute the Republican leadership — the party chairs, the senators, congressmen, power brokers, financiers and opinion-makers — for all the men who were also NBA owners for the 33 years Sterling owned the Clippers. (Of course, many of those owners — nearly all of whom were white men — also regularly financed Republican campaigns.)
Throw in the former commissioner, the rightly revered David Stern, and Silver, who was Stern’s long-time deputy. Silver’s apology for their role in giving aid and comfort to Sterling for so long had to include an army of former and current players. It happened under his watch, too.
Silver, Stern, the owners — they all enabled Sterling, kept their silences, kept his secrets, looked the other way as he was sued for discrimination, sued by his employees, caught being degrading, demeaning and dehumanizing to his players and insulting and patronizing to the team’s fans.
They may have looked at him as one of the unfortunate relations they have to put up with on holidays, but they made sure he was still one of them, sharing their power and wealth, joining up with him in their constant labor wars and circling the wagons with him against the players when necessary.
Yep, it should sound familiar.
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All these pull-outs by big-name Trump endorsers, all these sternly-wording statements registering their disapproval, were nowhere to be found when he was slandering Mexicans, Muslims, African Americans, women in general and even the family of a slain American soldier, to name a very few.
But "Access Hollywood" shook everybody up — almost the same way V. Stiviano did when she recorded Sterling’s racist ramblings back then.
(More similarities: the Donalds trying to deflect and misdirect. Trump’s post-video “apology” devoted a chunk of time to calling out ex-President Bill Clinton’s deeds; Sterling’s post-ban interview including a verbal attack against Magic Johnson. They share history of being sued for racial discrimination in their real estate businesses.)
The dominos started falling, as they are today for the Republican nominee. Eventually, the big-money sponsors and partners of the league and the Clippers weighed the risks and rewards and made a business decision. They couldn’t afford to be in the Sterling business anymore. Suddenly, the players and their fans were no longer commodities to exploit; they were humans who could pull the financial plug.
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The same signs are emerging on the political horizon. Just like Sterling went from comfortably inside to startlingly outside and alone, Trump is being deserted.
A little. For now. You never know what the tipping point will be, or when it will show itself.
If Trump has the sense to look back at his NBA counterpart, at least he won’t be surprised when it comes.