Give someone enough rope to hang him/herself.

It seemed like a long time coming.  Too long for most Clippers fans but they are finally under new ownership.  Former owner Donald Sterling had been linked to many race-related controversies and was the bane of the existence of the NBA for many years.  But taking away the ownership of a team however, is not an easy thing to do legally.  In fact the only basketball related discrimination case, which involved Elgin Baylor, a former Clippers executive, was unsuccessful in court.

So finally this summer Sterling was caught on tape asking a girl friend that black people not be brought to the basketball games.  After years of putting up with Sterling the NBA finally had it's smoking gun and they were in a position to force the issue.  Sterling was fined by commissioner Adam Silver the maximum amount of money, banned from all NBA activity for life and recommended to have ownership rights terminated.  Eventually a $2 billion dollar buyout by Steve Ballmer was orchestrated and after many court challenges he took over the team on August 18, 2014.

But some ask why it took so long.  It was well known that Sterling had been involved in racial business practices for years.  But what one knows and what can stand up in court are two very different things, particularly in matters unrelated to basketball.  Sometimes, as the old saying goes, you have to give a person enough rope to hang themselves.  Which is what I believe had to happen with Sterling.  But I also believe it is a Biblical principle as well.

In the parable of the fig tree in Luke 13 the owner calls for the barren tree in his vineyard to be cut down.  The gardener then requests that another year be given to see if a little more time and nurture will not revive the tree.  The owner relents but gives him only one year.  And the parable ends right there.  The fate of the tree is never told.  But that is not the point.  The point is everything must be done to save the tree and if it is not salvageable that must be abundantly clear to all.  To make a hasty judgement before everyone is convinced only leaves room for doubt.  As with the case with the NBA if a negative judgement is made, make sure it is beyond all doubt that the right judgement.  How we deal with others affects more than just them.  It affects everyone around us.  Be sure to give ample opportunity to others and grace sufficient so that everyone who see knows that everything that could have been done was done indeed.