Former L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling has been banned for life from the NBA by Commissioner Adam Silver.

Few headlines in our nation have ever cut through the lines of racial relations. Commissioner Silver not only took a stand against Donald Sterling personally, he delivered a decision that put to rest some of our greatest fears.

Last weekend, the NBA Playoffs were brutally interrupted by a recording that surfaced on which former Clippers owner Donald Sterling made grotesquely racist comments and expressed sentiments not heard publicly in this nation since the 1860s.

Donald Sterling spoke about how he didn’t want his girlfriend going out into public with blacks and basically stated that he is a glorified plantation owner by having an NBA franchise.

When those comments became public they became the flashpoint of one of the most important racial moments this nation has seen in decades. Adam Silver’s decision to ban Donald Sterling and seek his removal as an NBA owner was not a foregone conclusion.

Over the course of last weekend many people feared that the NBA would do what it has always done and backpedal, gloss over and sugar coat the issue. I  was furious when I heard Adam Silver talk about due process, fact-finding and the like. I didn’t want any of that. I just wanted at Donald Sterling.

My fears were simple. It seemed that minorities who get in trouble very seldom have due process, particularly in the court of public opinion. The prevailing sentiment is that if a black person is in trouble, that trouble confirms they are the thug or scoundrel we stereotypically expected. But if a white person is in trouble, then perhaps they indeed are “troubled” and need help. They need counseling.  Above all else, they need due process to make totally sure the facts are right and it is indeed possible that they need “help.”

It is in that context that Desean Jackson was cut from the Philadelphia Eagles for being a “gangster,” even though he isn’t and never was. Meanwhile, Riley Cooper is still on the Eagles’ roster after threating to beat up a bunch of N-words.  Riley Cooper got due process, Desean Jackson didn’t.

This was meat of the context for the outrage against Sterling. People were sick of watching one group of people be afforded kid gloves while everyone else got the public shaft as soon as any allegations hit the airwaves. I say all of that to put into perspective the fury Adam Silver faced as he pondered his decision over the weekend.

For more than 10 years the NBA had known about Sterling’s racist ways and done nothing. Everyone was nervous that this new commissioner was going to give a bunch of double talk and drag this process out. Those fears, it turned out, were completely misplaced.

Adam Silver delivered one of the greatest single press conferences I have ever witnessed. He slammed home the emphasis on the words “for life” as he detailed the punishment Sterling faced. He banned Sterling from the NBA forever, called for the owners to vote on removing Sterling from NBA ownership and fined him $2.5 million.

It was a shot across the bow of racial relations because protests were being mobilized even as Silver sat down to speak. The players union had never been stronger on an issue. Players were planning on boycotting games, the Clippers were planning on suing in federal court in order to become free agents so they didn’t have to play for Sterling and nearly every corporate sponsor was pulling the plug on their association with the Clippers.

But Silver delivered. As an African-American man watching that press conference it was like a shot in the arm. It was vindication for all of the pain that is caused by people like Sterling.

It is unclear what the future holds for Sterling in terms of his ownership of the Clippers. It would appear that the other 29 NBA owners will vote to force him to sell the team.

The future of the NBA, however, has never been clearer. Adam Silver will lead the way.