A Non-Clippers Fan’s Review of FX’s “Clipped” Miniseries
There’s a cork board near my desk with an assortment of clippings, memories, and quotes tacked on, including a Clippers game ticket from April 12, 2022 at the Target Center in Minneapolis. This was a particularly memorable game for me because it clinched my Timberwolves in the playoffs that season. It was an electric game and marked their first playoff berth since 2018. We’ll ignore the fact that the Wolves were knocked out after Round 1 that year…
So with that said, I personally witnessed the LA Clippers very nearly keep the Wolves out of the postseason. Water under the bridge. All’s well that ends well.
That game is about as much as I have cared about the LA Clippers, until I came across FX’s compelling miniseries Clipped. Created by Gina Welch, Clipped follows the 2014 racism scandal surrounding the Clippers’ then-owner Donald Sterling (played with awesome assholery by Modern Family’s Ed O’Neill).
The real-life scandal involves an audio recording released by Sterling’s mistress-assistant “V.” Stiviano that included offensive dialogue surrounding the attendance of people of color at basketball games. What sparked was a media onslaught and the eventual dismissal of Sterling as owner. Today, it is considered a landmark event for the NBA.
Clipped is a compelling-enough series to watch, and its six-episode length makes it satisfyingly complete without the need for bloat. With that said, episode 4’s “Winning Ugly” consists of a series of flashbacks for different characters that may feel filler episode-y to some viewers. How that episode translated to me was not the narrative role it played in the show but, rather, its thematic role.
Given the source material, Clipped examines American racism and its deep, insidious ties to professional sports that have high percentages of players of color — a statement that’s especially pertinent to basketball, which has about 83% of POC players compared to around 60% in football and only about 40% in baseball.
Heavy as a topic as it is, I’m glad that Clipped expresses the NBA’s racism issues to go beyond Donald Sterling and therefore, this scandal. While again, it can’t be ignored that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s response to the Clippers scandal was profound, racism in professional basketball lies in power struggles, hidden attitudes, and the general American history towards the treatment of Black people. As it’s stated throughout the show, Sterling dismisses his comments as, to paraphrase, “the way things are” in the culture.
I do have to say that Clipped gets into a little bit of a slippery slope when it discloses Sterling’s possible Alzheimer’s diagnosis in the last episode, “Keep Smiling.” It almost — almost — comes off as a write-off for his behavior, as it’s the main argument that his semi-estranged wife Shelly (Jacki Weaver) uses to excuse his comments. “That’s not like him,” is her common refrain throughout the show. Well, Shelly, the audience will be the one to judge.
Yet while I do get that this is a retelling on real events, Clipped could have perhaps taken artistic liberties here to either minimize or dismiss the Alzheimer’s reveal altogether for the sake of staying on course with its themes and messages. Alzheimer’s disease is awful and can certainly cause personality changes, but it’s irrelevant in regards to the racist attitudes explored in Clipped. If nothing else, I think the show should have more strongly acknowledged the deflection that the potential diagnosis caused.
This wasn’t a flub from Donald Sterling, caused or not caused by other factors. Players were calling for a boycott. Fans were spreading it on social media. NBA veterans were recalling similar racist issues they faced in the sport and in life. This was Clipped’s focus. And rightfully so.
Closing Thoughts
The fact that Clipped is based on such a widespread and relatively recent scandal works in its favor because it garners attention from a general audience. It’s not the only miniseries to tackle modern-day stories — see the likes of Inventing Anna or The Dropout — but what does set Clipped apart is the fact that its issues don’t feel like ones that can be completely resolved. We can (softly) kick Donald Sterling out as the Clippers’ owner, much like we can catch Anna Sorokin’s scam or drive Elizabeth Holmes out of Theranos. But in Clipped’s case, racism is still here. This is driven home in its final scene — it’s not centered around Donald Sterling. It’s a conversation between Clippers coach Doc Rivers (Laurence Fishburne) and former Clippers GM Elgin Baylor (Clifton Davis).
Personally, I do wish that Clipped had a little more basketball and a little less rich people drama —as juicy as it can be, we have plenty of the latter in television. As it stands, the show’s focus on the players is serviceable enough to convey the story’s themes effectively. Still, Clipped could have used basketball to its advantage and make the show stand out more. It was, at worst, a missed opportunity.
However, Clipped hits all the beats that it needs to in a story that continues to reverberate in the NBA today. The performances are all well-done, the writing and pacing is engaging, and the show keeps people who otherwise couldn’t care less about the LA Clippers — like me —truly caring about this story.
