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Posts tagged as “Los Angeles Clippers”

Snoop Dogg, Bobby Wagner, Matt Barnes and Others Declare #ImUnloading Against Gun Violence with 401K Divestment Movement (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on March 9, 2015
Snoop Dogg, Matt Barnes
Snoop Dogg, NFL Star Bobby Wagner, NBA Star Matt Barnes and singer/songwriter Jhene Aiko support gun industry  divestment in #ImUnloading PSA

In a partnership between Unload Your 401k and anti-gun violence campaign, No Guns Allowed, entertainment icon Snoop Dogg and tech leader Ron Conway are joining forces to call for divestment from the gun industry. Through the surprising union, they are using #ImUnloading in a new Public Service Announcement to turn their pledge into reality, joined by athletes Bobby Wagner of the Seattle Seahawks and Matt Barnes of the Los Angeles Clippers; actress/singer Margot Bingham; singer/songwriter/producer Aloe Blacc; singer/songwriter Jhené Aiko; and League Of Young Voters’ Executive Director, Dr. Rob Biko Baker.

Gun Violence is an epidemic, with 20 children every day admitted to hospitals with gunshot wounds.  In an effort to create change, Conway is calling on the C-Suite of tech companies to offer socially-responsible, “no guns allowed” investment options, and Snoop Dogg is enlisting the support of the entertainment industry and his fans to declare #ImUnloading in the name of those touched by the tragedy of gun violence.

“I’m unloading for my loved ones that I’ve lost,” Snoop Dogg said. “I’m going all in for gun-free investing.”

The PSA, from Campaign to Unload and States United to Prevent Gun Violence, is the second installment of support for Unload Your 401k, a program designed to raise awareness of divestment as a unique and powerful strategy to help make a meaningful change in preventing gun violence.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5K-Ti6tQzA&w=560&h=315]

“There is a straight line from gun industry investment, to gun industry profits, to funding of the NRA. Half the value of these companies comes from mutual funds and most of the ‘investors’ in these funds have no idea they are inadvertently part of the problem. Now they can be part of the solution,” said Jennifer Fiore, executive director of Campaign to Unload.

“Greedy gun corporations are benefitting from the pain in our community,” said Baker. “It’s important that we vote with our money.”

UnloadYour401k.com offers visitors an easy way to look-up their 401k retirement plan to see if it is supporting the gun industry and its lobbying group, the National Rifle Association.  Employees now have the tools available to get their money out of gun investments.

“It is long past time for government to act to reduce the epidemic of gun violence in America, but it is also long past time when we can believe that they will,” said Julia Wyman, executive director of States United. “Americans want change and thanks to our partners in this effort, more Americans will be aware of their economic power to take power into their own hands.”

article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)

Kevin Garnett Buys 1,000 Tickets to Give Away to Minnesota Fans

By goodblacknews on March 1, 2015
Kevin Garnett (Getty Images)
Kevin Garnett (Getty Images)

Kevin Garnett has purchased 1,000 tickets that will be given to Timberwolves fans to show his appreciation for their warm welcome to his return to Minnesota.
The team announced Sunday morning that Garnett bought the tickets for Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers, reports NBA.com. Starting at 9AM Monday, the first 500 fans to claim tickets on http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/kg will receive a pair of tickets to the game.
“The response and support I’ve received from Wolves fans since my return to Minnesota has been nothing short of amazing. It’s been unbelievable,” Garnett said. “As a gesture of thanks, I would like to treat some fans to Monday night’s game against the Clippers. Love you all, and thanks for the love. Enjoy the game on me.”
article by Carrie Healey via thegrio.com

Hawks Owner Bruce Levenson To Sell Team After Telling NBA About Racially Charged 2012 Email

By goodblacknews on September 9, 2014

Screen Shot 2014-09-09 at 6.44.19 PM ATLANTA (AP) — Less than one month after the Clippers’ sale ended Donald Sterling’s ugly downfall, another NBA team is on the market following a racially charged disclosure from its owner.
Atlanta Hawks co-owner Bruce Levenson said Sunday he is selling his controlling interest in the team, thanks in part to an inflammatory email he wrote two years ago.
Levenson said he wrote the email in an attempt “to bridge Atlanta’s racial sports divide.” Instead, he offered his divisive comments, including his theory that Hawks black fans kept white fans away.
Levenson said he regrets the email sent to the team’s co-owners and general manager Danny Ferry in 2012 as “inappropriate and offensive.” In a statement released by the team, Levenson said he sent the email due to his concerns about low attendance and a need to attract suburban whites.
He says he later realized the email made it seem white fans were more important. He voluntarily reported the email to the NBA.
“I have said repeatedly that the NBA should have zero tolerance for racism, and I strongly believe that to be true,” Levenson said in the statement. “That is why I voluntarily reported my inappropriate email to the NBA.
“After much long and difficult contemplation, I have decided that it is in the best interests of the team, the Atlanta community, and the NBA to sell my controlling interest in the Hawks franchise.”
Screen Shot 2014-09-09 at 6.44.30 PMNBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Sunday the league will work with the Hawks’ ownership group and CEO Steve Koonin, who now will oversee all team operations.
Silver said the league’s independent investigation “regarding the circumstances of Mr. Levenson’s comments” in the email was ongoing when he was told Saturday night of Levenson’s plan to sell his share of the team.
Silver said he supported Levenson’s decision.
“As Mr. Levenson acknowledged, the views he expressed are entirely unacceptable and are in stark contrast to the core principles of the National Basketball Association,” Silver said. “He shared with me how truly remorseful he is for using those hurtful words and how apologetic he is to the entire NBA family — fans, players, team employees, business partners and fellow team owners — for having diverted attention away from our game.
“I commend Mr. Levenson for self-reporting to the league office, for being fully cooperative with the league and its independent investigator, and for putting the best interests of the Hawks, the Atlanta community, and the NBA first.”
Sterling was forced to sell the Los Angeles Clippers after a recording surfaced in April of the owner scolding his girlfriend for bringing black men to Clippers games. Steve Ballmer officially became the team’s new owner on Aug. 12.

Lamar Odom Making Basketball Comeback in Spain After Signing With Laboral Kutxa

By goodblacknews on February 18, 2014

Lamar Odom
AP Photo/Lori Shepler

Lamar Odom is no longer a free agent.  Seven months after the Los Angeles Clippers released the athlete, Odom signed a two-month contract with Spanish club team Laboral Kutxa for the rest of the 2013–14 season, with the option to play for one more year. Laboral Kutxa is ninth in the 18-team Spanish league and last in its Euroleague group.
“We’re very happy to have signed a very important player who has had a long and fruitful career in the NBA,” Josean Querejeta, president of Laboral Kutxa, says in a statement. “We’ve worked very hard over the last couple of days to make this happen. We felt we needed a boost and had to break the collective cloud that has been hanging over us over the last while so we could get back to winning.”
Odom, 34, could make his debut as early as Saturday when Laboral Kutxa plays Valladolid. The native New Yorker previously played for the Miami Heat, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks.
In August, Odom was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. In December, he pleaded no contest and was sentenced to three years’ probation and three months of alcohol abuse treatment. That same month, Khloé Kardashian filed for divorce from Odom after four years of marriage.
article by Zach Johnson via eonline.com

Chris Paul Elected President of NBA Players Union

By goodblacknews on August 22, 2013
NBA player Chris Paul attends Movie Premiere 'Let Me Explain' with Kevin Hart during the 2013 BET Experience at Regal Cinemas L.A. Live on June 27, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for BET)
NBA player Chris Paul attends Movie Premiere ‘Let Me Explain’ with Kevin Hart during the 2013 BET Experience at Regal Cinemas L.A. Live on June 27, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for BET)

The vote by NBA player representatives came six months after the union fired Billy Hunter as executive director, a position that remains vacant and follows about 18 months of in-fighting and drama that occurred during the negotiations for the latest collective bargaining agreement. Hunter countered with a wrongful-termination lawsuit in May, accusing Fisher of conspiring with NBA officials during the 2011 lockout.
“It’s not about me as president or the first vice president, it’s about the players as a whole,” Paul said in a conference call Wednesday night.  One of Paul’s greatest gifts on the court is an ability to get everyone involved and make his teammates better. Now he’ll try to do the same thing with the union. After the lockout ended and the lawsuits started to take hold, there was a feeling among many players and observers that putting a big name in the big chair would help galvanize the group and get star players interested in participating again.