Elgin Baylor Sues Clippers, Accuses Owner of Race-Based Discrimination

The odd divorce between the Clippers and long-time GM/NBA legend Elgin Baylor confused everyone -- not because we believed Baylor deserved to keep his job in perpetuity, but because of the timing and circumstances. A day after the world realized Mike Dunleavy and Andy Roeser had taken over his duties, Baylor discussed the possibility of a lawsuit owing to the conditions of his sacking.

That day has come, as the Los Angeles Daily News reports Baylor has sued the Clippers, with longtime boss Donald Sterling named in the complaint.

The central accusation -- the one that will sink Sterling if it catches some grit on the news cycle sandpaper -- is that Sterling discriminated against players, coaches and Baylor himself for race-based reasons. TMZ has the fullest account of the suit in this regard.

In the lawsuit, filed today in L.A. County Superior Court, Baylor ... claims the team has "egregious salary disparities" based on race. Baylor claims he was told to "induce African American players to join the Clippers, despite the Clippers' reputation of being unwilling to fairly treat and compensate African American players." Baylor says the owner, Donald Sterling, has a "pervasive and ongoing racist attitude."

Baylor cites the case of NBA player Danny Manning, where Sterling allegedly said, "I'm offering a lot of money for a poor Black kid." The suit claims Sterling repeatedly referred to the team as "poor Black kids" and "he wanted a White coach directing the Clippers."

For the record, Sterling has hired 13 head coaches since buying the Clippers in 1981. Three of those were black men: Don Chaney, Alvin Gentry and Dennis Johnson. (Sterling inherited Paul Silas, and Mack Calvin coached three games in 1992.)

The Daily News reports that the suit alleges Baylor was never paid more than $350,000 per year in his role as GM, a position he had held since 1986. Dunleavy, by comparison, makes more than $5 million per year in his coach/GM role.

Sterling isn't a stranger to allegations of race-based discrimination. In 2006 the U.S. Department of Justice sued Sterling for discriminating against blacks from the housing units he owns in L.A.; a year prior, a district judge ordered Sterling to pay plaintiffs $5 million following housing discrimination suits. It was said to be one of the largest fines for fair housing violations in U.S. history.

Sterling's record on these matters is not good. If Baylor's telling the truth (and there's no reason to believe he's not), I hope he breaks Donald's bank.