WASHINGTON -- The NAACP's Los Angeles chapter has apparently reconsidered plans to give Don Sterling an award in the wake of the Clippers owner's racist rant.
"He is not receiving a lifetime achievement award from the NAACP," Lorraine Miller, NAACP interim vice president, said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Miller's comment came after host David Gregory had pressed Miller on the award. She first condemned Sterling's remarks, saying, "If you're silent about this, then you're accepting this, and people have got to say that this is not good and do something about it."
As of Sunday morning, the Los Angeles NAACP's website still says Sterling will receive a "lifetime achievement award" at a May event commemorating the organization's 100th anniversary. Awkward!
In audio obtained by gossip site TMZ, Sterling whined to his girlfriend about her posing for pictures with African-Americans.
"It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people," Sterling says in the recording. His comments have drawn widespread condemnation.
Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) joined the chorus of boos toward Sterling on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.
“It’s just outrageous in 2014 that comments like these are being made,” Corker said.
UPDATE: 2:58 p.m. ET -- Later Sunday, the NAACP released the following statement from Miller on Sterling:
“Let me make it clear, the NAACP will not be honoring Mr. Sterling at the upcoming Los Angeles branch event and we have strongly urged our Los Angeles unit to take the necessary steps to rescind the previous award they bestowed on him.”
Miller continued, “The remarks attributed to Mr. Sterling are outrageous and remind us that racism is alive and well at every socioeconomic level. With the election of President Obama, many were sold the idea that the United States would be instantly transformed into a post racial society and racism would be eviscerated. People who bought that idea were sold wolf tickets.
As a nation, we must ask ourselves if we are living up to the obligations of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Constitutional that require equality in opportunity for all people regardless of the color of their skin. If we cannot answer in the affirmative, we must redouble our efforts to ensure this goal is reached.
If the adage that silence means acceptance, the worst thing our country can do in the face of bigotry is remain quiet. We must stand up, speak out and call attention to a real problem.