Deviant Behaviors
Social controls played a very significant role in the loss of the Sterling being the sole owner of Los Angeles Clippers. Being a racist is one of the most dangerous behaviors in the world. Sterling did not consider his words when he was addressing the issue of having a black member of the team. Donald Sterling altered some words which are against the norms of the society through being racist. It is physically and emotionally inappropriate for a man who is at that age to talk about the black community as a rejected race (Fenno et al., 2014). The laws prevent people from being racist in whatever manner and especially in the public. His actions display an act of not being sensitive to other communities which have given him support through his Clippers team and also in the real estate business. At his age, it can be attributed to the fact that he has grown old to an age that is not able to continue playing part in crucial matters. The basketball team now requires vibrant people who have regards of making other races part of the team and not discriminating them on the basis of their skin color (Fenno et al., 2014). Requesting his personal assistant not to bring in black Americans to his game or even associate with the black community is wrong and against the norms of the community.
Men of the age of Sterling are not supposed to talk in a derogatory manner as this influences the thinking and poor methods of parenting. Respect should start at the top which involves people of a tender age since the more a person ages the more people are likely to listen to them keenly. According to the social norms of the society, people of old age acts as the advisers and also the directors of the younger ones and if such words can be spoken by Sterling, then the social controls are not involved (Clinard & Meier, 2015). In any case, men of the age of Sterling also forbid such utterances which bring no good to the society but hatred and lack of concern for the feelings of the involved party. Accordingly, social norms indicate that men of above 80 years are supposed to be busy assisting in building the nation and the society at large and not breaking it into pieces like Sterling is doing. The social norms of people above the age of 80 years are correct since they tend to bring together a society that can be wrecked by being racist (Fenno et al., 2014). Sterling seems to be a destroyer of peace and this can cause chaos since the black Americans feel it as a threat to their skin color.
Informal suctions can actually be used to bring back the social norms to a person who seems to have diverted from them. In many cases, using peers to solve a particular problem is effective and more preferred than having a court action. People tend to listen and associate with their peers and also regard their words more than the laws since they feel as part of the bigger society and recognized (Fenno et al., 2014). In our case, Sterling an old man who has pride for what he making him at times loses focus and do the wrong thing. This can be attributed to the fact that he is aging but still wants to feel like a young person. Sterling seems to be content in his own world of making things happen according to his will and therefore informal suctions would not have worked every time (Goode, 2015). In many occasions, Sterling is presented as a person who disregards the ideas of other people and therefore calling for his peer's advice might not deter him to change immediately but would help in controlling some of his behaviors like partying half-naked with girls of tender age. Staring at his assistant can also be corrected through the informal sanctions to bring him back to reality. People affected by his comments can also use informal sanctions from peers to help them understand that the old man has less to think of about his life and what he says might be out of anger and frustrations about his career (Henry, 2015). Many times the old successful people tend to be so insecure and serious with their investments and alter some harsh words out of anger due to their deteriorating age but not having any idea what they are talking about. Therefore, informal sanctions can be used in this case.
The fine imposed on Sterling was a good idea in ensuring that the league still survives. In many cases where leagues have been involved in bad habits especially being racist, the general world regards the whole group as being part of the bad behavior and therefore tarnishes the name. If the fine would not have been imposed, the league would have been left in a position of being implicated of supporting racism in the society and therefore lose market with time (Clinard & Meier, 2015). After the fine was imposed court actions brought it to it that Sterling is no longer fit to be the head of the Clippers and this caused him the league. Having now been told to sell out the league the players are protected from having a new, capable and one who is not racist in any manner to head the league.
References
Clinard, M. B., & Meier, R. F. (2015). Sociology of deviant behavior. Nelson Education.
Fenno, N., Christensen, K., and Rainey, J. (2014). Donald Sterling built an empire and an image; words were his undoing. Retrieved from: http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-donald-sterling-20140803-story.html
Goode, E. (2015). Deviant behavior. Routledge.
Henry, S. (2015). Private justice: towards integrated theorising in the sociology of law. Routledge.
