Centel Media Refuses to Aid Sterling In Massive Scandal

NEW YORK - April 30, 2014 - PRLog -- Donald Sterling, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, has been under heavy attack recently because of an alleged recording of him spouting racially charged comments with an ex-girlfriend. Literally everyone from Laker legend Magic Johnson to current Clippers head coach Doc Rivers and even the entire Clippers team has protested against his remarks in various ways. Other names include NBA superstar Lebron James, OWN's Oprah Winfrey, President Barack Obama (a notably huge NBA fan), fellow team owner Mark Cuban, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. The latter has even recently banned Sterling for life from the NBA, which will in effect force Sterling to sell the Clippers to another potential owner, fined several million dollars, barred from attending games, and won't be able to make decisions regarding his team for the foreseeable future. While this negative attention and punishment may seem excessive to some, what Sterling said in that recording makes this truly outrageous and beyond reputation repair.

Historically, Sterling has been known for taking an anti-minority stance, especially in regards to his real-estate mogul past, where he has offended Latinos, African Americans, and Koreans. People have been overlooking his history due to how good the Clippers have been recently as a team (and how irrelevant they have been leading up to a few years ago), but now that this recording has surfaced, the backlash has been tremendous. Not only has famous celebrities stood up against him, but large corporations and organizations such as Red Bull, CarMax, Virgin America, State Farm, and the NAACP have all dropped their endorsements and support for the Clippers and specifically Donald Sterling.

In the recording given to TMZ, Sterling takes a very racist stance against African Americans, stating that he is upset by his ex-girlfriend's decision to pose with Magic Johnson in a Twitter photo and that she "admire" him privately, remarking that he disliked her association with him and African Americans in general. In the recent extended Deadspin recording, he ranted against African Americans, stating that he was a provider for them and a benefactor; eliciting thoughts from a time of plantations and slave ownership.

Centel Media was called by Donald Sterling in an attempt by him to repair his reputation, but the company refused his offer, standing by their ethical commitment. This declaration states that the ORM firm would never support someone who is a legitimate threat to society. With the statements Sterling has made showing the true side of himself, Centel Media cannot support someone who is so against society's way of life.

When supporting an ethical battle against slander, Centel Media does have the ability to deal with negative attention like this by utilizing its online reputation management services, such as Negative Article and Image Suppression, and to try to mitigate the damage from these attacks using Press Releases and search engine optimization methods. These tools just won't be used for Donald Sterling, who is not deserving of such help.

About Centel Media:

Centel Media is widely known as the leading online reputation management company. Originally established in 1980 as a public relations firm, Centel Media now provides tools and strategies for those aspiring to gain control of their online reputation. Recently, with new management, the company expanded their entire approach and mission, now offering a vast list of online reputation monitoring and defense services to individuals and brands alike.

Jonathan Wong,

Editor-In-Chief,

Centel Media