The worst media disaster of May 2014

The month’s biggest mishap is related to a to an ongoing media catastrophe from April. The second verse is very similar to the first.

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This was the worst media apology I’ve ever seen. L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling—who was caught on tape telling his girlfriend not to be photographed or attend basketball games with black people—attempted to apologize during an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper. Sterling did apologize. But he also took the opportunity to attack Magic Johnson for getting “those AIDS” and made new racist remarks by claiming that wealthy African-Americans “don’t want” to help their own communities as Jews do. I already deconstructed Sterling’s pathetic interview a few weeks ago, but as I’ve continued to think about this case, one additional point is worth making. It’s important to remember that the comments that originally got Sterling into trouble were covertly recorded during a private conversation. Many public figures spanning the full ideological spectrum—though disgusted by his comments—were deeply concerned about the privacy issues in this case. Basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote:

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