Growing up in Los Angeles, California, Murs had heard many “negative things” regarding Donald Sterling, the longtime owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. So when he heard Sterling’s racist remarks, which were recorded during a phone conversation and published online Friday (April 25), he says he was not surprised.
There is also another reason why Murs says he was not surprised to hear racist remarks being made by Sterling, who was banned from the National Basketball Association for life yesterday (April 29) due to his racist comments.
“A lot of people of color had trouble getting into ownership in professional sports,” Murs, who is gearing up to release his Strange Music debut album Mursday, says in an interview with XXL. “So I always assumed there ware some type of racism at that level in the game. It took Michael Jordan so long, it took Bob Johnson just to get involved, and there is nobody in the NFL or MLB [who is a franchise owner]. Older White men all come from a pre-Civil Rights America. I don’t think those teachings they learn as children or young adults just disappear when they get money. They probably get reinforced, more reassured and less cultured as they got older. I guess I wasn’t surprised…I’m not sure, but I’m pretty sure that he’s not the only one who feels that way; he’s just the only one who got caught.”
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Murs says he’s had his own encounters with racism. In New York City, New York, Murs says “you can’t get a cab.” Moreover, he says he was once stopped by a police officer while in Iowa, driving at 71 miles per hour in a zone with a speed limit of 70 miles per hour.
“The cop was chasing someone speeding, so I got out the way for him,” Murs says. “He saw I was Black and got behind me. This my wife’s first experience. I grew up with the [Los Angeles Police Department] so I’m really confrontational with the police and straightforward. So he said, ‘Do you know why I pulled you over?’ I said, ‘Yeah, because I’m Black.'”
The police officer asked Murs why he felt he was stopped because of his race.
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“I told him, ‘I’m going 71 in a 70 and I have to be five miles over the speed limit for you to even write a citation,'” Murs says. “I’m well-informed, and I know my rights. He made me sit in the front seat of his car and talked to me, saying, ‘You people need to get this chip off your shoulder.’ Us people? I think because I put it out there for him, there wasn’t too much he could do. But yeah, that’s just one incident of many. So I also think, probably a lot of players in the NBA, at this point, you’re used to it. You try to just support your family, move on and hope all these old racist motherfuckers die.”
Soon after NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced that Sterling had been banned for life from the National Basketball Association, several rappers responded to the punishment, as reported yesterday. Below are some of the rapper responses.
If u think banning an 80 yr old man for life is in some way a WIN for blacks people, 1. don’t speak on my behalf 2. kill ya self.
— Killer Mike (@KillerMikeGTO) April 29, 2014
If you think the comments that were made public so far are disgusting wait until you hear the rest. #DonaldSterling
— Willie D (@WillieDLIVE) April 29, 2014
When the owners vote on whether to force #DonaldSterling to sell I want the vote to be made public. We need to know how each owner feels.
— Willie D (@WillieDLIVE) April 29, 2014
I would say justice is somewhat served! #NBA#commisoner silver good job
— JADAKISS (@Therealkiss) April 29, 2014
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