Clippers Broadcasters’ Ironic Suspension

The guys in charge of bringing Clippers basketball to the home viewer were suspended one game for making racially and culturally insensitive remarks on the air, and yet, their boss (Donald Sterling) continues to get away with much, much worse: “Clippers longtime play-by-play announcer Ralph Lawler and color analyst Michael Smith were suspended one game by the Fox Sports Prime Ticket cable network for their comments about Memphis center Hamed Haddadi. Lawler and Smith made their off-the-cuff comments about the Iranian-born center during Wednesday night’s telecast from Memphis. The on-air banter offended a viewer who e-mailed Fox to complain … Lawler: ‘Wow. Haddadi that’s H-A-D-D-A-D-I.’ Smith: ‘You’re sure it’s not Borat’s older brother?’ Smith: ‘If they ever make a movie about Haddadi, I’m going to get Sacha Baron Cohen to play the part.’ Lawler: ‘Here’s Haddadi. Nice little back-door pass. I guess those Iranians can pass the ball.'”