Matt Kemp says it would be tough for him to attend Los Angeles Clippers games in wake of Donald Sterling’s comments
By Hayden Kane
The story of the weekend has been the racist comments made by Los Angeles Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling. Among the people affected by his comments was Los Angeles Dodgers’ outfielder Matt Kemp.
As the baffling conversation between Sterling and his girlfriend unfolded, Kemp’s name was raised. From the transcript provided on Deadspin.com:
"V: Honey, if it makes you happy, I will remove all of the black people from my Instagram.DS: You said that before, you said, “I understand.”V: I DID remove the people that were independently on my Instagram that are black.DS: Then why did you start saying that you didn’t? You just said that you didn’t remove them. You didn’t remove every—V: I didn’t remove Matt Kemp and Magic Johnson, but I thought—DS: Why?V: I thought Matt Kemp is mixed, and he was OK, just like me.DS: OK.V: He’s lighter and whiter than me.DS: OK.V: I met his mother."
Kemp commented on the situation before the Dodgers took the field against the Colorado Rockies Sunday afternoon. As passed along by Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times:
Matt Kemp, who was dragged into the Sterling mess, said it would be "tough" for him to attend Clippers games.
— Dylan Hernández (@dylanohernandez) April 27, 2014
Kemp: "Racism is kind of old."
— Dylan Hernández (@dylanohernandez) April 27, 2014
Kemp said he feels bad for friends Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.
— Dylan Hernández (@dylanohernandez) April 27, 2014
Kemp recalls taking a picture with Sterling's mistress. Laughing, he said he never expected it would lead to this.
— Dylan Hernández (@dylanohernandez) April 27, 2014
This situation is very serious, of course, and the NBA and the Clippers will surely proceed accordingly. That said, if you were in Kemp’s position here, what could you do but take a moment to laugh at the absurdity of the situation and the way your name was brought up?