Magic Johnson: Donald Sterling won’t harm black-Jewish relations

[Mosby]

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Magic Johnson said Donald Sterling’s diminishing his charitable efforts in the African-American community would not harm relations between the Jewish and black communities.

“One thing great about the African-American and Jewish communities is that they have worked well together over years, and we will continue to work with the Jewish community,” Johnson, the former Los Angeles Lakers star, said in an interview Tuesday with TMZ, a gossip website.

The Hall of Famer spoke to TMZ in the wake of the latest controversial statements by Sterling, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers who was banned last month from the National Basketball Association following a racist rant captured on audio.

“I think his strategy is to attack me and then also pit both communities against each other, but it’s not going to work,” said Johnson, who is a co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.

Read more: http://www.jta.org/2014/05/15/arts-entertainment/magic-johnson-donald-sterling-wont-harm-black-jewish-relations#ixzz31nuyZBgz

[Behind the Aegis]

1. A very classy response from Magic.

Most people, at least the sane ones, understand that Sterling is not a representative of the Jewish people. The only ones who seem to be taking Sterling's racism to heart are racists and anti-Semites, and certain types of "critics" (wink, wink).

[MosheFeingold]

2. Good response

Sterling is such an idiot. If I was his lawyer, I would have released a statement to the effect of:

"Donald Sterling is very sorry for the things he said and hurting people with what he said. He was intoxicated, talking to a person for whom he had strong feelings, in what he thought was a private conversation. He was broken-hearted, feeling very vulnerable, and lashed out in a very inappropriate way. He does not normally talk that way, does not harbor feelings like that, and will not say things like that from this time forward. Again, he is very sorry to those that he hurt."

(Can you tell I worked for many a politician. Ha.)