Why care about the Donald Sterling case? Let us count the ways

[Geee]

Christian Science Monitor:

LOS ANGELES — As the case of Sterling v. Sterling enters its third day in a Los Angeles courtroom, the crossfire charges of fraud and bad faith rival anything a Hollywood screenwriter might dream up between a feuding couple.

 

But as much as this latest phase of the Sterling-NBA saga may seem like soap opera, it contains issues more important than whether Rochelle Sterling can sell the Los Angeles Clippers over the objections of her estranged husband, Donald Sterling.

 

For one, the case raises questions such as who gets to decide a person's mental incompetence. And through the larger public discourse, it also touches on whether someone's private communications and comments about public figures – even if they are racially inflammatory – are constitutionally protected speech.