LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling was fined and banned from the NBA for making racist comments about African Americans.

The lifetime ban and $2.5 million fine the NBA imposed on Los Angeles Clippers basketball team owner Donald Sterling for making racist comments are not enough, according to this Christian Science Monitor article.

Americans need to focus on societal structures that allow racism to continue, according to social workers and other experts who were interviewed for the article.

One of these experts was Gary Bailey, MSW, past president of the National Association of Social Workers, president of the International Federation of Social Workers, and a professor at Simmons College School of Social Work in Boston.

How do we “as a society effectively respond to and punish [such] billionaires in a country where wealth and gender dictates politics and repercussions of onerous behavior,” Bailey said.

Other experts said the Sterling incident shows the need to have more minorities in positions of authority such as owning professional sports teams. This would help expose and end a “plantation” mentality where whites are still seen as owners and bosses.

Retired basketball star Michael Jordan is the only African American to own one of the 30 NBA teams.

The National Association of Social Workers in this blog said the Donald Sterling incident underscores the need for end racism that is still deeply ingrained in American society. Social workers are committed to equal treatment for all. To learn more visit NASW’s Diversity and Equity webpage.