After 14 long years as the Chief Executive Office
of Microsoft from January 2000 to February of 2014, businessman Steve Ballmer
is about to show everybody that he’s still got game. From being the head of
arguably one of the biggest technology companies, he is now the owner of a very
competitive basketball team in the NBA, the Los Angeles Clippers. The
opinionated leader used to give jabs against his competitors, Apple Inc.,
Linux, and Google, which he bowed to “kill”. Will he also have that same
ideology in leading the Clippers though?
Leading Microsoft for A Decade and A Half
In 1980, Ballmer became Microsoft’s 30th
employee. As the years have passed, he has been a part of the software giant’s
growth and domination of personal computing. When he was elected Chief
Executive Officer in January 2000, Ballmer has dramatically shifted the
company’s vision into directions other than software development. He was at the
helm when Microsoft started their cloud computing strategy and the acquisitions
of various companies, one of the more popular, was Skype. He was also able to
boost the sales of Microsoft from $25 billion to $70 billion. He was also able
to put in a lot of innovations for Microsoft, which led to the development and
launch of the Xbox gaming console, Microsoft Exchange, Windows Server, SQL
Server, SharePoint, System Center, Dynamics CRM, and most recently, the Windows
phone operating system, and the Surface tablet device. After facing a series of
problems, Ballmer eventually retired and vacated his post as the company’s
Chief Executive. After his stint at Microsoft, Ballmer has then tried to buy a
couple of NBA teams until his recent victory with his acquisition of the Los
Angeles Clippers.
The Clippers’ Ownership Saga/Racism in the Modern Times
The Clippers have been in the spotlight recently
after its longtime owner, Donald Sterling has been involved in a controversy. In
April 25, 2014, entertainment news organization TMZ has released an alleged
audio recording of Sterling that contained disturbing and racist statements. The
players feared being subjected to acts of race and color discrimination and
later on mounted their silent protest for it. This is a great proof that famous
people like Chris Paul and the team’s African-American players are still
vulnerable to various acts
of discrimination in the workplace. Fortunately, after a series
of investigations were done by the NBA, Commissioner Adam Silver has banned Sterling
for life in the league, paving the way for the search of a new owner.
For a time, the future of the Los Angeles Clippers
team was left in limbo as Donald Sterling contested the NBA’s decision about
him, blocking the sale and transfer of the team to a new owner. This seemed
like a bad time to happen as this was the Clippers’ most successful seasons as
of late.
Ballmer and the Future of the Clippers
While the past year has been a rollercoaster ride
for the team, the Clippers might probably be in for an exciting future as they
can put the Donald Sterling issue to rest. There might be issues about
Ballmer’s leadership/ownership style. However, it is undeniable that the
Clippers are definitely one of the teams to look out for this coming season.
Hopefully, with more focus and the newfound leadership with Ballmer, the
Clippers will be ready to compete this coming season.
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