Opinion: Sterling-NAACP Ties Raise Bigger Questions on Giving

Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s longstanding relationship with the city’s NAACP chapter—which had planned to give him a lifetime achievement award until scandal broke over Mr. Sterling’s racist comments—point up “one of the central problems” with American philanthropy, according to Slate.

Mr. Sterling, while repeatedly facing accusations of bigotry, has made numerous donations to the civil rights group and area charities that serve the black and Latino communities, Slate business writer Alison Griswold notes. The NAACP, which honored Mr. Sterling in 2009, said Monday that it will return his past grants.

While major gifts often may be intended to burnish the reputations of individuals or companies, Ms. Griswold writes, “all of those donations, regardless of the motivations behind them, tend to be sorely needed by nonprofits. And so when the interests of the donor and recipient misalign, groups find themselves in murky ethical territory.”