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The eagerly awaited Clipped episode 4 dropped on Hulu on Tuesday, June 18, entertaining viewers with some never-before-seen perspectives surrounding the 2014 Donald Sterling scandal.
Now, more than halfway through the 6-episode mini-series about the former LA Clippers owner's downfall after his racist audio was exposed by his mistress. Episode 4, titled Winning Ugly, takes a different approach to what the viewers have been used to from the first three episodes of the show.
While it was anticipated to bring some drama and heated reactions following the TMZ clip released from the previous episode, it instead stepped away from the dramatics of the 2014 controversy to shed some light on the backstories of the people involved, directly and indirectly, in Sterling's scandal.
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But more importantly, Clipped episode 4 didn't miss out on Sterling's past records of racism and discrimination as it highlighted his housing discrimination lawsuit. The show's fourth episode also highlighted the brewing internal conflict in the team long before the 2014 scandal befalls the infamous former Clippers owner.
Disclaimer: Spoilers ahead for Clipped season 4. Reader's discretion is advised.
Clipped episode 4 featured Sterling's housing discrimination lawsuit
The fourth episode of the FX sports drama docu-series was mostly flashbacks of some of the show's key characters, including Donald Sterling's wife, Shelly Sterling. In her part of the episode, Shelly was brought back sometime in 2006 when Sterling, and her by association, were embroiled in a housing discrimination lawsuit from their tenants in Koreatown.
Clipped episode 4 also mentioned a previous elderly Black tenant of the Sterlings who allegedly died from the distress of the inhumane conditions of the apartment Sterling was managing.
Shelly also discovered that the usage of Korean flags in their ads had given the impression that they are favorite Korean tenants over those of different races. And while Shelly wanted to settle with the tenants suing them to avoid the scandal going out of hand in the media, Sterling, however, was quick to turn it down, essentially saying that no one would dare touch him.
The lawsuit was apart from Sterling's scandal where he tasked Shelly to file a lawsuit against what he claimed was a "pros**tute" and a "stalker." It turned out that the woman, Alexandra, was Sterling's girlfriend, whom he had made plans to have children with, much to Shelly's chagrin. But when they broke up, Sterling wanted to get back the gifts he had given the woman, including a house.
Clipped episode 4 also showed the peculiar dynamic of the Sterling marriage, with Shelly somehow getting tired of Sterling's antics as the episode progressed. And with the advice of her newly divorced friend, Justine, Shelly was somewhat considering separating from her husband.
Also read: Who is Austin Scott from Clipped? Everything to know about the Blake Griffin star
Was Doc Rivers a victim of Sterling's racism and discrimination?
For the unversed, Clipped episode 4 dropped a bomb that would somehow explain the animosity between coach Doc Rivers and Donald Sterling from the show's first earlier episodes. It was known that Rivers was once a pro basketball player, but that he played in the Sterling-owned Clippers team during his pro year was not something many viewers are privy to.
During the episode's Doc Rivers flashback in Clipped episode 4, he was brought to the year when he was a player under Donald Sterling. While it wasn't shown in the show if Rivers was directly a victim of Sterling's racism and discrimination, it was implied that the former Clippers owner is a known racist. It was for that reason that Rivers was feeling conflicted about playing in a basketball team he owned.
However, discouraged by his father to leave the team in Clipped episode 4, Rivers was somehow told to "Stay In the Game," the same decal seen on the fridge in the Brentwood deli scene. The slogan is an ad equivalent to the saying, "Shut Up and Dribble."
Rivers was told by his father that his success in the game was partly because he had made white people comfortable around him, and that there was no reason to shake up that dynamic. It was something that Doc Rivers didn't agree with, but perhaps, it inspired his decision to stop the Clippers from boycotting their game following Sterling's scandal in episode 3.
Not a fan of the boycott, he told the players to stay in the game and use the platform instead to make their words and opinions heard.
Why was Elgin Baylor planning to sue Sterling and the NBA in Clipped episode 4?
The last video-rewind as Clipped episode 4 wraps up is for Elgin Baylor, who is a key player in the Clippers' history under the Sterling ownership. The former GM was brought back to the Christmas Party in 2008 when Andy Roeser offered him a new contract, where he would remain at the front office but with reduced power, as if he had much to begin with.
In his conversation with Roeser in his office in Clipped episode 4, Baylor pointed out that he already has a reduced power within the Clippers, mentioning that Sterling had continuously rejected his proposition for trades and efforts to somehow bring the team back from ruin.
But when he realized he was not valued in the team and that he was toothless in the game, Baylor concluded that he could not tolerate the continued disrespect from Sterling, and Roeser as well, and so he decided to quit. But it wasn't before he said that he would sue Sterling, and the NBA as well, for discrimination. Admittedly humiliated to be called "the worst GM in basketball," he vows to expose the world to Sterling's racism and discriminatory behavior.
He also noted in Clipped episode 4 that Commissioner David Stern's policies that he claims to introduce "professionalism" in the NBA have poor racial implications and that Stern himself seems to have turned a blind eye to Sterling's racist behavior.
Also read: What is Cleopatra Coleman's ethnicity? Clipped actress' nationality and heritage explored
With Clipped episode 4 stepping away from the true story drama of Donald Sterling's racist scandal, the upcoming episodes are anticipated to cover the direct aftermath of Sterling's controversy and the consequences he has to face because of it.
Clipped is now streaming exclusively on Hulu. Stay tuned for more news and updates on the FX limited sports drama series as the year progresses.
