Why Donald Sterling said it

You may have heard about Donald Sterling's non-apology apology on CNN — but I'm even more intrigued by a recording (purportedly of Sterling) released Friday by Radar Online.

According to that recording, Sterling's explanation for his alleged racist remarks to his girlfriend (which were caught on tape) goes like this:

Assuming this is legit, it makes Sterling sound pathetic — which may be precisely why this seems a somewhat plausible explanation.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

We know men lie about sex. But why lie about being a racist? Here's a theory: Evincing jealousy (being honest) would make Sterling appear weak to his girlfriend, while feigning racism merely implies that (Sterling thinks) he's superior — and that the other men are somehow inferior.

That's not to say this is rational or excusable. And the fact that Sterling seems to have a history of racial insensitivity makes one less inclined to cut him any slack. But maybe, in his warped mind, pretending to be a racist was better than admitting he was a cuckold?