Racially insensitive comments made by Atlanta Hawks majority owner, Bruce Levenson, pushed him to sell his stake in the Atlanta-based, NBA team.

Levenson self-reported to the NBA that he sent a racist e-mail in August 2012 and will sell his interest in the team.

The e-mail, to Hawks President Danny Ferry, details Levenson's belief that the Hawks' fan base was too heavily African-American.

"I wrote an e-mail two years ago that was inappropriate and offensive," Levenson said in a Hawks news release Sunday morning. "I trivialized our fans by making clichéd assumptions about their interests (i.e., hip hop vs. country, white vs. black cheerleaders, etc.) and by stereotyping their perceptions of one another (i.e., that white fans might be afraid of our black fans). By focusing on race, I also sent the unintentional and hurtful message that our white fans are more valuable than our black fans."

WATCH What's The 411Sports Team Talk About Bruce Levenson

 WATCH VIDEO: Cavaliers Waitng on Kevin Love

It's no secret that since the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired LeBron James from the Miami Heat that the team is looking to "conquer all" in the 2014-15 NBA season.

On the road to conquering all, the Cavaliers are trying to secure the services of Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In so doing, the Cavaliers will complete its power triangle of Love, James, and Kyrie Irving.

However, it might come at the expense of losing first round NBA Draft pick, Andrew Wiggins, in the trade.

The deal can't be sealed until Saturday, August 23, 2014, because of NBA rules about trading newly acquired rookies.

WATCH VIDEO: What's The 411Sports Discuss Chris Paul Boycott Strategy

The What's The 411Sports team discuss Chris Paul's position that he is prepared to boycott if Donald Sterling is still the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers when the 2014-15 NBA season starts.

What's The 411Sports host, Bianca Peart, thinks Chris Paul is full of hot air. Paul had his chance to boycott when it made better sense, but he didn't. Now, the Donald Sterling reign over the Los Angeles Clippers will be over using the Chris Paul time-frame. Consequently, there will be no need to boycott.

NBA Stars Making Moves

The Whats The 411Sports team is talking about the 2014 NBA Off-season, thus far.

Chris Graham wants to name this NBA off-season, as one of the greatest off-seasons ever!

Chris likes the breaking up of huge dynasties.

Mostly, Chris likes the talent disbursement; he thinks the stars are where they need to be.

Glenn Gilliam says, don't bet against the Miami Heat already.

With Chris Bosh still on the Miami Heat team and if Dwayne Wade gets healthy, Glenn thinks the Miami Heat could be a force to reckon with.

But, Greg Alcala feels the Heat will probably be like the Indiana Pacers, a team with lots of talent, but just can't win.

Your thoughts?

VIDEO: Join the conversation about the player moves during the 2014 NBA Off-season

In this video, Glenn Gilliam reports that the NBA hired Pamela El to be its Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.

Ms. El is responsible for the NBA's global marketing operation, directing brand development, overall marketing, and advertising for the NBA, WNBA, and NBA Development League.

Prior to the NBA, Pam served as Senior Vice President, Brand Marketing, for Nationwide Insurance where she was responsible for driving financial services marketing strategies and break through executions. She has over 30 years of related marketing and communications experience including 15 years with world class advertising agencies.

Prior to Nationwide, Pam led the State Farm marketing organization for over a decade where she was responsible for marketing and sales strategy, brand management, and all media and sponsorships.

Pam holds a degree in Mass Communications from Virginia Commonwealth University. She was named by Advertising Age as one of the Top Most Influential Marketers in 2012 and Top 50 Marketing Executives in 2010. Pam and her husband, Bill, are currently relocating from Columbus, Ohio to New York City.

Pamela El reports to Mark Tatum, Deputy Commissioner, National Basketball Association.

VIDEO: Pamela El the NBA's New Chief Marketing Officer

COMMENTARY

Now that some of the dust has settled following the NBA press conference and the Clippers victory, I'd like to offer a few thoughts on the recent revelations regarding the racist declarations and unfortunate history of discrimination by LA Clippers owner, Donald Sterling and the varied responses to them.

First, what is most important and unfortunately, always under-reported when these racially charged events arise, is the connection this particular revelation has to the broader cultural context of institutional racism and plutocrat entrenchment evidenced in the real time decision by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) last week that upheld the ban on affirmative action at the University of Michigan. The SCOTUS made this ruling while "legacy" for the rich and elite never gets touched and it also equated money to speech with the Citizens United decision.

Other issues with broader racial cultural context include: the vote on unionizing the student athletes at Northwestern University initiated by their black QB; the settlement paid by EA Sports to college football players after years of using their likeness for huge video game profits; recent election voter suppression efforts and the assault on the Voting Rights Act on its 50th anniversary; the difficulty in securing equal pay for women and by extension, blacks & Latinos; the obstacles to raising the minimum wage and fight against unions; the impediments to the President of the United States (POTUS) and Attorney General's efforts to roll back mandatory prison sentences against non-violent drug offenders; the NFL's effort to legislate the N-word out of pro football after the Incognito vs Martin texting/bullying scandal; Riley Cooper's N-word outburst; Clive Bundy's rants about blacks and slavery; Paula Deen's racist comments; the beliefs that Mitt Romney holds that corporations are people and that 47% of Americans are freeloading, non-taxpayers that don't assume responsibility for their lives and are dependent on the government; and the continuing persecution of our first black POTUS by the right and Republicans.

Unfortunately, the list goes on and on. Occupy Wall Street, try Occupy NBA...NFL...MLB, you get the idea.
The thread that stitches all of these events together is the growing disparity between the 1% super affluent and the 99% middle and working class and poor and how race has historically been exploited to maintain the divide, increase power (economic & political) and a perpetual cheap labor underclass. Sterling represents all of these dynamics as Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor painstakingly recounted in his wrongful termination suit, "he wanted the Clippers team to be composed of poor black boys from the South, with a white head coach."

This is echoed in the comments Sterling made to his mistress, "I support them and give them food and clothes and cars and houses. Who gives it to them? As the New Yorker's Ben Greenman wrote on Twitter "It's not just Donald Sterling's ignorance that's the problem. It's the decades that ignorance has been tolerated because of wealth."

As far as what the NBA presented yesterday, while I don't share the euphoria that many expressed, including all past and present players, and Clipper fans, I'll credit the Commissioner with doing the minimum he had to do, given the global implications and urgency of enforcing some tangible punishment that would help stabilize the crisis and minimize advertiser and fan defections in the middle of their premier showcase, the PLAYOFFS. Timing is everything and I can only imagine if this recording showed up in July instead of April, during what most have observed as some of the best first round playoff basketball they can remember.

Crickets!

The massive assembled press, of at least 200 waited anxiously, leaning forward every time the podium door cracked open and after a prolonged delay, Silver emerged with all the stress of this first nightmare for his administration, etched on his bespectacled face. He expressed that he was outraged and distraught and said Donald Sterling is banned for life from the Clippers and the NBA. But he also curiously admitted during the Q&A, that Sterling's history of well documented bigotry had no influence in determining the lifetime ban but the owners will include his public record of lawsuits and shameful prejudicial behavior and comments as part of their review in casting their vote to force the sale of the Clippers. Silver must have gone to the Chris Christie School of Incredulous Press Conferences, please.

Silver said he was "shocked" when he first heard the audio file and wished the audio recording was not Sterling or had been doctored and I could only conclude, that again, he appears to want to protect Donald Sterling and would assume David Stern felt the same when earlier allegations and lawsuits were filed. For Silver to say he was shocked either makes him exceedingly naïve, incompetent, or a fantastic liar only interested in maintaining the status quo and all of these are unacceptable. As written in an article for CBS Sports, Gregg Doyle makes it plain, 'Sterling's awful statements made it clear he considers African Americans beneath him and it didn't surprise anybody." Maybe if there was a black Commissioner or at least some C-Suite level blacks at the NBA, maybe there would be more sensitivity to actual discrimination that could be checked at the source early on.

"There's plenty of blame to go around. It's not only the NBA that allowed Donald Sterling to be Donald Sterling though. We did it, we accepted him. Hell, we enabled him. Every ticket you bought put money in his pocket. Every jersey you paid for. Every game that came and went without a protest outside Staple Center, by fans of the NBA, of basketball, of simple human decency. You allowed this.
Every column we never wrote, begging the NBA to rid itself of the canker sore that owns the other franchise in LA. I accepted this. Every contract an NBA player and coach signed with Sterling, they enabled this."

Just as the Dow Jones winning corporations, media and by extension government lobbyist and the elected officials they control, didn't want to acknowledge or respond, except by police force, to Occupy Wall Street, so did the NBA wait until the last minute.

Going forward, fans, players, coaches, advertisers, sponsors, and guardians of the game at the Commissioner's level must not ignore the signals. We all must be well-informed, courageous, and vigilant about addressing all inequities when confronted or known. If necessary, we must protest, direct our dollars, support firms or organizations that value our community in order to make substantive progress. We draw the line in the sand here, no one-- owners, commissioners, or the so-called entitled is above scrutiny or sanctions.

Lastly (for now), I think Adam Silver owes Elgin Baylor a long overdue apology, just saying.

This commentary is the opinion of Glenn Gilliam and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of What's The 411 Networks

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @411SportsTV

Ahead of the NBA Commissioner Adam Silver's decision about Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, What's The 411SportsTV hosts Bianca Peart and Glenn Gilliam discuss the despicable and reprehensible comments made by Donald Sterling.

View Video: What's The 411SportsTV Discussion about Donald Sterling

Thank God, It's Friday, Right?

For the Brooklyn Nets this is game No.75, as they host the Detroit Pistons, and this final regular season series between both teams favored the Nets for the first time all-season, The Nets defeated the Pistons, 116-104.

After failing to extend their winning streak to four straight game after taking a trip across the river to face their brothers from another borough in the New York Knicks, the Nets returned home looking to avenge that 110-81 loss. Determined to right their wrongs and protect their home-court, the Nets did exactly that plugging the Pistons, 116-104.

In winning, the Nets extended its franchise record of consecutive wins at home to 15 straight games.

This is a Pistons team that the Nets have struggled against all year in all three of their previous affairs, losing all three contests.

No motivation needed.

Message received.

Timing is of the essence and with a playoff berth guaranteed in the Eastern Conference, the Nets will look to use these last few games as tune-up sessions to further enhance their overall play and performance as they envision a deep playoff run.

For all intended purposes, its game night and for those who missed tonight's action, this is what followed:

In the first half, following a 22 all conclusion of the first half, the Nets orchestrated a three-point barrage that gave them a comfortable advantage, achieving their highest point differential of 20 points.

Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and reserves Marcus Thornton and Mirza Teletovic all connected from behind the arc shooting 70% from three point range, 7-10, over a plus 5 min stretch, which aided the Nets improving their overall lead to 51-31 with 5:12 remaining in the second quarter.

Basketball is a game of runs, and like any other NBA team that enjoys an early substantial lead, the Nets botched their lead within the second quarter surrendering a 14-6 run courtesy of the Pistons who cut the deficit to 12, as the Nets progressed into the intermission period ahead 57-45.

And now your second half.

The Nets picked up where they left off in the first half, resuming their offensive efficiency from the field translating it to the second half.

The Pistons made an attempt to close the gap coming to within 10 points on an Andre Drummond put-back lay-up, now trailing 61 to the Nets 71 with 5:36 remaining in the 3rd, but their inability to produce stops on the defensive end of the floor only gave the Nets the benefit of the doubt in maintaining their lead.

With 5:13 left in the third quarter, a Brandon Jennings turnover was retrieved by Williams who spearheaded a one man fast-break converting on the opposite end via a lay-up while absorbing a foul by Jennings.

A three-point play was rewarded as Williams sank his +1, and on the ensuing Nets possession, a Pistons turnover resulted in another three from "MT3" the nickname appointed to Teletovic by the Nets game announcer, draining his sixth three-pointer of the the night thus far, with both sequences extending the Nets lead to 17, 78-61 with 4:37 until the end of the 3rd quarter.

The Nets Public announcer addresses the crowd in attendance at every home game before the start of the 4th quarter advising the audience to help encourage the Nets to attain victory against all of their opponents, and in ending his address, commands the thousands in the stands to "Stand UP".

As the crowd stood, the Nets raised their efforts and gave the fans something to cheer about in the closing minutes of the final quarter.

The Pistons made their final attempt to bring drama to this game, slicing the deficit to single digits, down 9 points, 96-87 by a made free throw from Jonas Jerebko with 7:08 existing in the 4th quarter.

Despite the Pistons mission, it came to no avail as an alley-oop pass from reserve Andrei Kirilenko to Shaun Livingston converting with a one-arm slam while being fouled by Jerebko, gave livingston a shot at a three-point play which he completed, increasing the Nets back to double-digits, leading 99-87, 6:57 left in the 4th.

More of the same followed from Livingston who connected on a turn-around bank shot with a little over 5 min remaining and a lane driving dunk with emphasis by Paul Pierce with 1:29 left till the resolution spelled their fate in a positive fashion.

The player of the game is reserve Teletovic, better known as "MT3", who continued to display his exploits from behind the arc and his reliability, adding six threes of ten to the Nets cause, leading all bench scorers with 20 points.

Livingston led all Nets players with 23 points alongside Williams in the starting unit, showcasing his skills that warranted NBA recognition when he was selected 4th overall in the 2004 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers.

Immediately following the Nets win, Livingston shared his thoughts to media correspondents from the Nets locker-room regarding their performance at home.

"We've been playing well at this arena," says Livingston to media correspondents.

"I think it's a comfort zone and were just trying to build on the momentum that we have".

Like Livingston, Head Coach Jason Kidd also addressed his team's performance in his post-game press conference, which he commented on the success the Nets enjoyed from downtown.

"The one thing that leads to threes is everyone being unselfish," said Kidd to media correspondents.

"When you're unselfish like that, you get the looks that we're getting from behind the three," Kidd continued.

I'd say it's been a successful year for first year head coach Kidd, who's leading the same franchise that employed his services as a player and now as a coach to the playoffs in his initial head coaching gig.

The Nets stand motionless in seeding with the win, as they improve their overall regular season record to 41-34 currently cemented 5th in the eastern conference standings, looking up at the Chicago Bulls and ahead of the Washington Wizards.

Only seven games stand on the Nets schedule until the conclusion of their 2013-14 NBA campaign, embarking on a three-game road trip as they visit the likes of the Philadelphia 76ers tomorrow night, and back-to-back contest challenging the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic respectively.

The Nets have their postseason berth but the season isn't over.

These last few games feature what's wrong with the Eastern Conference and albeit a soft schedule ahead with the one exception in the Miami Heat, the Nets can utilize these games in integrating injured players like Kevin Garnett back into their rotations and fine tuning their overall team production.

With May in sight, it seems like everything is OK in Brooklyn, for now.