Basketball Player Lamar Odom Departs the New York State Supreme Court After a Child Custody Hearing with His ex-Girlfriend, Liza Morales, in Manhattan
IN PHOTO: Basketball player Lamar Odom departs the New York state Supreme Court after a child custody hearing with his ex-girlfriend, Liza Morales, in Manhattan, March 5, 2013. Reuters

Even in sports, racial hatred seems to be increasing. A photo of Lamar Odom shaking hands, wearing a pair of gloves, with Los Angeles Clippers' owner Donald Sterling made its way online in the popular social networking Web site Twitter.

On April 26, a Twitter user posted a photo of Odom with Sterling.

The said photo came after TMZ released an audio tape of Sterling having an argument with his girlfriend on the topic of racism. However, it is unclear whether or not Sterling allegedly asked Odom to put on gloves before shaking his hand as the photo's caption details.

According to Hollywoodlife.com, Odom was surprised to hear Sterling's racist rant. The 34-year-old basketball athlete now plays for the New York Knicks, but he once played for the Clippers - from 1999 until 2003. A source close to Odom told the Web site that he just wondered in disbelief how such people with great power can speak something so discriminatory and prejudiced. "Lamar was shocked, in complete shock when he heard what Donald said," revealed the source. "He couldn't believe it," the source added.

The source revealed that it would be uncertain if Sterling gets reprimanded for his racist comments. "No matter who shameful or harmful it is, you will skate by," the source said. "It's the rules of the game and nothing will happen to him."

Meanwhile, the Clippers players have staged their silent protest during their game against the Golden State Warriors, CNN reported. During the team's warm-up practice ahead of the game, they wore red T-shirts inside out, hiding the Clippers logo. However, Sterling wasn't around to witness the protest. The Clippers lost to the Warriors in a 21 point-deficit, 118-97.

The National Basketball Players Association reportedly wants Sterling to be banned from watching all the playoff games of the current basketball season. Moreover, the basketball players also want to find out if there were any incidence of racism against Sterling in the past. If such racist comments were discovered, it will merit a proper investigation to determine the kind of penalties and magnitudes for the Clippers' owner.

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