Does Donald Sterling have a right to his opinion?

Andrew Klaven:

L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling has a bad-hat history. He's been accused of housing discrimination, sexual harassment and failure to pay salaries. He's even donated money to Democrats, the party of slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, the abortion of millions of black babies, and the entitlement system that helped destroy the black family. To me, he sounds like the kind of guy you have to scrape off your shoe if you’re unlucky enough to step on him.

But as Ben Shapiro has pointed out in this space, he wasn't fined millions and banned from the NBA for any of that. He was fined and banned for his opinions.

He should not have been fined. He should not have been banned. He has the right to his opinion. Simple as that. Shame him? Why not? Boycott him? Okay. Hate him? Your call. But officially, he should not have been punished in any way.

His words were spoken privately and taped. Let me ask leftists and decent folks alike: whose reputation could survive if all his private words were made public? Not yours, believe me. Not even mine and I'm an absolutely great guy! More importantly, who wants to live in a world where that is the ultimate test of our morality?

Leftists are always calling for a “national conversation on race.” But you can’t have a conversation in which people aren’t allowed to speak their minds. That would be... well, it would be leftism! And we don’t want that. We really don’t.

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