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TMZ: L.A Clippers' Owner Donald Sterling Recorded Making Racist Remarks; Tornadoes Possible in Large Storm System; Flight 370 Disappeared Seven Weeks Ago; L.A. Clippers Owner Accused of Racist Remarks; Nevada Cattle Rancher Releases String of Insensitive, Racial Remarks; Ukraine Situation Continue to Unravel

Aired April 26, 2014 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: It is the top of the hour. I am Don Lemon. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We are following a developing story this hour that connects American sports, society and culture. The National Basketball Association, the NBA, says it is now investigating recorded remarks allegedly made by L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling. The remarks obtained by the website TMZ include a voice disparaging African-Americans and telling his girlfriend to stop bringing black people to Clippers' games.

Among the comments Sterling is allegedly heard telling his girlfriend, "It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you are associating with black people. Do you have to? Also, you can sleep with black people. You can bring them in. You can do whatever you want. The little I ask you is not to promote it on that, and not to bring them to my games." Also singles out the basketball hall of famer Los Angeles legend Magic Johnson as one person in particular he doesn't want to see.

Magic Johnson has responded on Twitter. A lot. He went there. And in his words he said, quote, "L.A. Clippers owners Donald Sterling's comments about African-Americans are a black eye for the NBA. I feel sorry for my friends, Coach Doc Rivers and Chris Paul that they have to work for a man that feels that way about African-Americans." And I would add to that, "It's a black mark for America as well." My quote, not his.

This is not the first time Sterling has found himself in the middle of a controversy, he's being sued by the federal government over his treatment of minorities who wanted to lease his rental properties, he was also sued by former NBA legend and Clippers' executive Elgin Baylor for discrimination.

I want to bring in now Marc Lamont Hill and get his reaction to all of this. He is a CNN commentator and associate professor at Columbia University. This guy is an idiot, Marc.

MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN COMMENTATOR (on the phone): He's a complete idiot and he's also a racist. And as much as we talk about race and have interesting and complicated conversations about race, I rarely call someone a racist. But I think given his history, the DOJ investigations housing discrimination, the words we allegedly have on tape saying, it is clear to me he is the one who simply doesn't like or care for black people unless, of course, they're dribbling a basketball or apparently sleeping with them and for me, it was very disturbing and I --

LEMON: Is that his girlfriend sitting next to him? I was just dumbfounded that he was saying this to someone who is part black, who he is obviously sleeping with. And it's just -- none of what he said made any sense. And in fact, it harkins to -- I felt like I was listening to someone from the 1930s, '40s or '50s. It's ridiculous.

HILL: Yes, look, it's not surprising. I mean, he is re-enacting a very ancient American ritual of white people hating and disparaging black bodies at the same time that they're making extraordinary wealth out of them. After slavery -- we call them racist, but we make them slaves, you know, we have sexual encounters with women, we exploit their bodies. You know, all this stuff is normal. And for him to have a black girlfriend, I'm not surprised for him to work around black players and use their labor for money, I'm not surprised.

LEMON: Listen, the guy can date whoever he wants, right? I mean, just to hear what he said -- no one is saying anything about, you know, interracial -- I don't want people to misconstrue what you're saying. You're not talking about he can date interracially. That's not the issue.

HILL: I'm telling you I'm not surprised. Some people would be surprised that he dates interracially and still doesn't want black people at the game.

LEMON: Oh, no, that doesn't make you any smarter or anymore immune to it just because you date someone who is not of your race. Right?

HILL: Exactly.

LEMON: Yes. People might think that. But I want you to listen to Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal responding to this earlier. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAQUILLE O'NEAL, FORMER NBA PLAYER: It's one thing to say something that's controversial but it's another thing to say something that's very repugnant. The question is now, should this guy continue being an owner?

CHARLES BARKLEY, FORMER NBA PLAYER: He has to be suspended. And the problem I have with it, if somebody wants to be a racist, that's all right. That's their thing. But when you're in a position of power and you can take jobs and economic opportunity from people, that's what crosses the line. But we cannot have an NBA owner discriminating against a league that -- we're a black league, Ernie. We are a black league. I don't know the number but I would probably tell you, 80 percent of our players are black.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: Charles Barkley is going to call me. I can't wait to talk to Charles on the air. He is going to call me just as soon as he gets a moment. This is going to be a big test. What Charles says is absolutely right, Marc. It is a black league.

HILL: Yes.

LEMON: I mean, does this guy not look around and see who is in the stadium? For him to say I don't want you to bring any black people to the game, I don't want you to -- I mean -- OK. Anyway, this is going to be a good test for --

HILL: Black people at the game. He doesn't want black people near his girlfriend.

LEMON: He's wearing blinders in the stadium.

HILL: The deity woman, Latina/wife who is untainted by black people.

LEMON: Well, he said that. That's what he said.

HILL: Yes.

LEMON: That's who you're supposed to be. So, this is going to be a big test for the new commissioner.

HILL: Absolutely. The new commissioner has to make a decision here about what they want to do. I think we have to walk a fine line here because there will be people who will say that you all can't get rid of a guy simply because of what he believes or even what he says in a private conversation. He has the right to believe and say what he wants. And that's true. But Charles Barkley raised a powerful point here. Which is, it's not your beliefs it's how you make your beliefs policy. He has a history of discriminating. He had to settle almost $3 million because he discriminated people based on race and ethnicity. In the league, Elgin Baylor filed a complaint because he was the lowest pay GM in the league after working there for 19 years. Again, it's policy. So, for me, I don't care what Donald Sterling thinks. I care about how he acts.

LEMON: Right. And again, this is all according to TMZ and as soon as we get more information about this audio, we're trying to get it on so that you can hear it. Marc, can I read something to you? This is -- I'm sure you read it, this is Magic, who I mean, is revered by everyone, someone who helps out many communities, someone who is an icon when it comes to saving lives for HIV and AIDs. He was, you know, put his personal life and his reputation on the line to come out and get people to get tested. He didn't have to tell the world he was HIV positive. This guy is a trailblazer, an icon and an amazing person. And he doesn't want his girlfriend taking a picture with him.

So, Magic Johnson is upset, obviously, and went on Twitter and says, "TMZ reported this morning that Clippers' owner Donald Sterling doesn't want me or other African-Americans to come to the Clippers games." That was one tweet. Twitter feed right there. And then he says, his wife is cookie. And I will never go to a Clipper's game again as long as Donald Sterling is the owner. I feel sorry for my friends Coach Doc Rivers and Chris Paul that they have to work for a man that feels that way about African-Americans and then he says, L.A. Clippers' owners Donald Sterling's comments about African-Americans are a black eye for the NBA and then I went on and re-tweeted that and said, black eye really for America because it's just ridiculous. But what gets me is when someone like Magic Johnson says, Marc, Cookie and I will never go to a Clippers' game again as long as Donald Sterling is the owner, that speaks volumes. A lot of people will probably follow his lead. This guy is in trouble.

HILL: Absolutely. I mean, it's an interesting time because the Clippers are at their best state in terms of performance in record and talent. Probably in decades, for sure. So this is a time when lots of attention was being placed on the Clippers because Doc Rivers was there, because Chris Paul was there. The Clippers team might be good but I'm not giving another dollar to an organization that has these kinds of principles at the highest level. I hope fans don't go there. I hope free agents run from there. I hope players have the courage to stand up and say this is wrong and the league has to be responsible and not put individual players in a position where they have to make the tough decision.

Although, players should make that decision. Instead, the league has an owner who is not only racist but who have a history of doing things as a matter of policy that are discriminatory. And again, this was a private conversation. But if this is in fact him, and we'll get confirmation. But this was in fact him, and that's what he thinks and that's how he acts, fans, players, everyone should run from this team and from this guy.

LEMON: Oh, well, it's going to be a real test to see -- it's going to be really interesting to see what happens. Marc Lamont Hill, don't go anywhere. Viewers if you're just tuning in, there is a story that is shocking really the country and the world right now. The owner of the L.A. Clippers accused of making racist remarks allegedly on tape about not wanting black people to go to his games and not wanting his girlfriend to be with black people on social media, on Instagram. We're following this story for you. We're going to have much much more. I've been texting with Charles Barkley, who promises to call in just as soon as he gets off the air and he gets a minute. So, we will be listening and hearing from Charles Barkley this hour. Don't go anywhere, we have more on this story coming up right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It's going to be a rough weekend weather wise for most of the country east of the Rockies. Powerful storms are brewing in the plains right now all the way to Texas. Separate weather system sent tornados into North Carolina and Southern Virginia late yesterday. Several homes, churches and schools were damaged and a few people have minor injuries. National Weather Service confirms, multiple tornadoes touchdown in North Carolina. Jennifer Gray is watching this line of storms. Jennifer, the biggest risk right now, where?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, the biggest risk right now is basically Southern Oklahoma and North Texas. Doesn't look like a whole lot's going on right now, but I assure you, it has been heating up all day. We're finally starting to see some showers pop up. In just a matter of hours, these could be turning severe. And that's what we're going to be watching as we go forward over the next couple of days. We have all the ingredients in place to produce severe weather in these powerful storms will march across the country today, tomorrow, Monday, even into Tuesday.

And these are also going to be slow movers. So, we're going to talk about a possible flooding potential as well. The threat for today, anywhere from North Texas all the way up through Nebraska. We're talking about large hail and damaging winds. As we go into tomorrow, the severe threat ramps up quite a bit in the Ark-La-Tex area, including Shreveport, Little Rock, Memphis. We could see large tornadoes as we go through tomorrow into Monday, the severe weather threat will still remain for the Mississippi River Valley.

Still including Memphis, even Jackson, Mississippi, and then the heavy rain component, Don, as we go through the next two or three days. We could see two to four inches of rain up in the north, including the Ohio Valley and even for the southeast. Tuesday through Thursday timeframe. We are going to see quite a bit of rain as well. So, this is the time of year we start to see the tornado threat ramp up. Eighty normally in March. One hundred fifty five tornadoes normally in April. So, Don, this is that season. We've got to be on the lookout and be prepared for the next couple of days.

LEMON: Be prepared for the possibility of tornadoes and, for sure, you're going to get wet.

GRAY: Yes.

LEMON: Thank you, Jennifer Gray. We appreciate that. I want to check some news for you. Overseas now, President Barack Obama is in the capital of Malaysia right now, Kuala Lumpur, he arrives today. This is the third stop in a week-long swing through Asia, he's got trade and security issues to talk about. But there's also the work to find Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 that's been missing for seven weeks now.

Erin McPike at the White House. So, Erin, what's the President saying about the search?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, it has come up, certainly, in his travels in Malaysia. And he offered an interview to the Malaysian newspaper "The Star" yesterday and made some comments about that there, he offered his condolences, of course, to the Malaysian people for their loss but he also made some important point about the help that the U.S. has provided that country. I want to read some of those comments to you now. He says, he's a friend and partner of Malaysia, the United States was one of the first countries to join in the search for the missing plane.

U.S. Navy ships, aircraft and personnel remain on the scene assisting on the search. Our FBI is working closely with Malaysia on the investigation into what caused the aircraft to disappear. And we will continue to offer our support in assistance in the search and investigations continue. Now, that's of course is a very important point because officials overseas had began to suggests that this search could wind down. But President Obama has committed the support of the U.S. throughout this process. Now, there was a state dinner last night in Kuala Lumpur, and President Obama didn't mention the missing plane there. However, the Malaysian King did and he commended the U.S. for its assistance, I want to play parts of those comments to you now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING ABDUL HALIM, MALAYSIA: We wish to express our utmost gratitude for the U.S.'s unwavering support and cooperation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCPIKE: And he went on to say that that exemplifies the strong bond between the two countries -- Don.

LEMON: Erin McPike, I appreciate it, at the White House. Erin, we get back so we get more news the President travelling overseas.

The families of the missing passengers on flight 370 demanding answers from the Malaysian government. But the Malaysians have delayed releasing their preliminary report. What's the hold up? Our experts will discuss it, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Malaysia Airlines flight 370 disappeared seven weeks ago, triggering a massive hunt for any trace of the missing jet. The search has involved several countries, experts hunting for any clues by air and by sea even from space. And 51 days later, not a single shred of the plane or the debris has turned out. Families are trapped in an emotional limbo waiting for any word of their loved ones.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN (through a translator): We don't know at this point whether they're alive or dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: No rock solid tangible clues, no suspects. Families have slammed Malaysian's handling of the investigation.

NAJIB RAZAK, MALAYSIA'S PRIME MINISTER: The things we did wrong, things that we didn't do too well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Malaysian's prime minister says, the country's preliminary report on flight 370 will be released next week. It won't answer the big question of what happened to the 239 people on board that flight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAZAK: The most important information that they want and sadly the one that we cannot provide is where is the plane.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: These are the faces of the people who were on flight 370. Husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, grandparents. And we are still wondering what happened to each and every one of them. We're going to dig a little deeper now into the mystery and the handling of this investigation.

I want to bring in my panel of experts, aviation analyst Michael Kay, former pilot with the British military. Aviation analyst Mary Schiavo, former inspector general for the Department of Transportation and National Security analyst Bob Baer. Bob, to you first, 51 days later, Malaysia has not ruled out any passengers or crew members from being involved in fight 370's disappearance. Do you find that odd?

BOB BAER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I find it odd. You would think by now they would have gone to the databases and identified potential suspects. And I don't think it's something that would be kept secret for long. So, you know, as far as I've seen, all these people are fairly clean. There's nobody obviously that would have taken that airplane, which I find extremely odd.

LEMON: Mary Schiavo, you know, what was Malaysia's biggest mistake in its handling of this flight 370 disappearance? You've been watching the story as closely as anyone.

MARY SCHIAVO, FORMER TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, INSPECTOR GENERAL: Well, I think the problems on the radar data and the repeated and widely variant altitude and heading data that they had at first and not really pinning down what happened to the flight in that first hour and a half, I think that was the biggest mistake because from then on, we couldn't really get a good heading except for the Inmarsat data.

LEMON: Yes. And Michael Kay, let's go, you know, back a few weeks, Malaysia took days to reveal flight 370 showed up on its radar. What does that tell you about Malaysia's military?

MICHAEL KAY, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Yes. I think this is a key conundrum for the Prime Minister, Don, in terms of -- the Prime Minister had two options in terms of revealing potential holes in his National Security defense. Does he go and tell the world that effectively he hasn't seen anything, an unidentified radar blip, no IR 5 flight plan, no part of routine airways traffic, does he tell the world that he hasn't seen something? Or does he tell the world that the ministry did see something however they deemed it not serious enough to go and investigate or deemed not hostile, as the prime minister said.

He clearly went for the latter. But in doing so, I think he has exposed a real weakness within his air defense. And I think, you know, that is telling the world there is a problem here with Malaysia. And that is sensitive. Malaysia is under the microscope at the moment. And he's trying to ameliorate all these perceptions just to avoid any future problems. LEMON: Yes. But then unwittingly, in some ways, maybe making it worse, by revealing as you said that there are some holes in their radar.

KAY: Well, yes, I mean, his options weren't great.

LEMON: Yes.

KAY: I mean, if he would have come out to the world and said that nothing was seen, that's an even bigger hole. So, it's kind of a lose/lose.

LEMON: Yes. Let's talk about the families, Mary Schiavo, flight 370. They're in pain. They're in agony. What would you recommend that Malaysia do first, going forward in this investigation, especially when it comes to the families?

SCHIAVO: Well, I think what they need to do, just to help these poor families get through all this, is they need to set up private, daily, if need be, but at least weekly briefings, they're going to have and set them up in several locations. But they cannot miss them anymore. They can't show up or rather not show up. They can't cancel them and just the constant briefing of these families. And if they do it in private, as the NTSB does, and they don't have to worry about -- I know they're managing their image but they don't have to worry about the media being there. But from here on out they have to be good stewards of information for those families. Because they've really been through the wringer. It's just unacceptable.

LEMON: Bob, what do you want to see in this report?

BAER: I would like to see what the radar images showed. I think by now the U.S. military has probably taken a look at them because, you know, after almost two months, it's clear that this plane went down in the ocean. You don't hide an airplane for all this time, hijack it or something. So, you know, that's the best evidence we have. And I hope the U.S. military is looking at this stuff and gets a better grasp of where that plane went.

LEMON: Michael Kay is sitting next to me, shaking his head. Not going to happen, Michael?

KAY: No. I mean, Don, look, the preliminary report is going to give you a few basic facts. I think we know there's a recommendation in there about real-time tracking of airplanes. Potentially, it's not going to give you conclusions, it's not going to give you analysis. It's not going to give you a probable cause. I would be very surprised if it contained anything on the Inmarsat data. I would be even more surprised that if they can say anything about the radar issues -- and everything else.

LEMON: You think it's fairly generic? Is this going to be sort of --

KAY: Well, I mean, let's say there was something in there about radar. I think we've learned to take it with a pinch of salt. Because it's been so much inconsistency within the data and the information that, again, you know, just -- it's not credible.

LEMON: Yes. All right. Thank you very much.

BAER: We're not getting the whole story. That's the problem.

LEMON: Right.

LEMON: Bob Baer, Michael Kay, Mary Schiavo, thank you. Appreciate all of you.

Up next, we're going to go back to our lead story this hour, the owner of the L.A. Clippers in hot water for allegedly making racist remarks. The comments have ignited a firestorm on social media and really around the world. Far beyond social media, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. So, we'll going to go there with our Rachel Nichols, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK. So, let's talk more about our developing story right now. The NBA says it is investigating recorded remarks allegedly made by L.A. Clippers owner, Donald Sterling. Remarks obtained by the website TMS include a voice disparaging African-Americans and telling his girlfriend to stop bringing black people to the games, stop bringing black people to the games. Among the comments, Sterling allegedly heard telling his girlfriend referring to her use of social media, "It bothers me that you're broadcasting that you're associating with black people. Do you have to? Also, you can sleep with black people. You can bring them in. You can do whatever you want. The little I ask you is not to promote it on that and not to bring them to my games."

It also singles out basketball Hall of Famer and Los Angles legend, Magic Johnson, as one person in particular that he does not want to see. Magic Johnson has responded on Twitter, in his words, quote, "L.A. Clippers Owner Donald Sterling's comments about African- Americans are a black eye for the NBA. I feel sorry for my friends, Coach Doc Rivers and Chris Paul, that they have to work for a man that feels that way about African-Americans."

Rachel Nichols is here from CNN Sports. Rachel has been doing some investigating. Also been talking about people in the league and at a game down in Atlanta.

What are people saying about Donald Sterling, Rachel?

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: A lot of people around the NBA are horrified. A lot of people around the NBA are unfortunately not surprised because we have seen a record in the past from Donald Sterling of racial discrimination, of racial comments. Remember, this is a guy who, two separate times, settled court cases with the U.S. Justice Department. They're not small settlements. I'm talking about huge, in one case, record settlements about racial discrimination. He was accused of discriminating against blacks. He was accused of discriminating against Hispanics, against Koreans. He is, unfortunately, an equal opportunity racist, it seems. Certainly from the fact that he has gone and settled these cases as opposed to fighting them all the way through in court. And there have been more lawsuits. Long-time general manager, Elgin Baylor, very respected around the league, sued Sterling and that suit was eventually rejected on some other reasons. But one of the things that came out during that lawsuit was that Baylor alleged that Sterling made the comment that, quote, "He had tried to discriminate against having black people in the apartments that he owned because" -- and I want to get this quote exactly right -- he goes because, quote, "black tenants smell and attract vermin." This was an allegation, but came from a respected long time G.M., Elgin Baylor.

So there is a long history here with Donald Sterling. He has so far has skated past it with the NBA. But you have to think that he is not going to skate this time. The new NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, who just took office this past February, is expected to speak later tonight at the Memphis Grizzlies basketball game. There will be a lot of people waiting to hear what he has to say.

LEMON: Oh, yeah. And we will be one of them.

Why is this guy still an owner now? Why hasn't he faced any sort of sanction or any sort of disciplining from the NBA?

NICHOLS: There's been a lot of questions about that for a long time. And, look, we know, across sports, that owners are treated differently than players and executives. If a player or executive or someone in a front office, a coach, had this kind of history and track record, you would imagine that they would have been disciplined or perhaps as the league. We know that owners in all sports get a little bit of a different pass.

That being said, again, you have to wonder if that's going to happen this time. Adam Silver can't unilaterally remove Donald Sterling or separate him from his team. That will have to take some of the other NBA owners around the league also taking action. But there is a procedure for it. And while it is long and complicated, it is one that can happen. And there is already starting to be a bit of a push for that. We've seen different owners around the league make different comments today. On one hand, you've had Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, who has declined to talk about it, saying that during the playoffs is not the place or time to talk about something like this. That got a pretty negative reaction, as you would imagine. Then you had Miami Heat owner, Mickey Aronson, who went in the other direction. He said he wanted to be cautious as the league is still investigating whether or not, in fact, it is Sterling's voice on the tape. But if it is, he said the comments are disgusting and action needs to be taken.

LEMON: Did you -- the Players Association, do you have that statement from the players? I have it if you don't.

NICHOLS: I don't. Why don't you give it a read?

LEMON: It says, "On behalf of the Players National Basketball Association, this is a very serious issue which we will address aggressively." This is Chris Paul, point guard, and the president. He says, "We have asked Mayor Kevin Johnson to expand his responsibilities in the NBA to determine our response and next steps. As players, we owe it to our teams and our fans to keep our focus on our games, the playoffs, and the drive to the finals."

So, I want to talk about the impact on the Clippers. But obviously, it had a big impact on the league. This will be game changing. I didn't mean that as a pun but this will be game changing for the league.

NICHOLS: Yeah, It does have an impact on the Clippers. Chris Paul, who plays for the Clippers, and is also the president of the Players Association, puts him in an incredibly awkward position. Doc Rivers, one of the most respected coaches in the NBA, one of the smartest coaches in the NBA, puts him in an incredibly awkward position. These guys can't be happy having to play for an owner and coach for an owner who reportedly feels this way. They are now in the position of having to win a playoff game for him, but also the fans of L.A., the loyal people who have cheered for them, worked for them. There's been some conversation, should people boycott the Clippers?

Magic Johnson certainly has said, hey, I don't want to ever go to another Clippers game as long as Donald Sterling is an owner. Again, if it is Sterling's voice on that tape, you can certainly understand why he would feel that way. But if you're one of the players who needs that support from the fans, who says, hey, I don't necessarily like what this guy is -- more than you do, but I want to go out and succeed, to spite him. It puts everyone in a terrible position and you feel for them. You feel for Clippers fans, Chris Paul and Doc Rivers. Who wants to have to deal with this when you're trying to win a playoff game? And who wants to feel that the person you work for might feel this way about you? It's awful.

LEMON: It's ridiculous and it's really from a time gone by, it's really someone who is out of touch.

Thank you very much. We appreciate that, Rachel Nichols. We'll see you back here at CNN to discuss this.

Speaking of out of touch, I want to speak about a Nevada rancher's fight with the feds, gets picked up as a conservative cause and then turns into a political meltdown over race. The woman behind conservativeblackship.com joins me ahead to talk about why her colleagues on the right got it all wrong.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A cattle rancher in a remote region of Nevada has ignited the proverbial political firestorm, first, by attracting big-name conservatives to supporting his battle with the federal government over grazing rights, and then by unleashing a string of insensitive and racist remarks. In describing African-Americans to reporters, Cliven Bundy said this -- this is a quote -- "They abort their young children. They put their young men in jail because they never learned how to pick cotton. And I have often wondered are they better off as slaves picking cotton and having a family life and doing things or are they better off under government subsidy"? Really? OK. Bundy support evaporated with outspoken supporters like Senator Rand Paul, Texas Governor Rick Perry, and FOX News host, Sean Hannity, distancing themselves from his comments. But some see it as a bigger issue. Why were so many so eager to support a guy who was violating federal law, who had drawn the support of armed militiamen, and whose views on race were so repugnant? Why is that? Why were so many so quick to rally around him?

Crystal Wright joins me. She is a conservative writer and a blogger and owner of Baker Wright P.R. group.

Crystal, we talk about conservative things a lot on this show. I do have to say that, you know, I've been watching you from home over the past couple of days and you have been very transparent and very authentic in what you think and how poorly you think many conservatives, not all, some conservatives, I should say, handle this.

CRYSTAL WRIGHT, CONSERVATIVE WRITER, BLOGGER & OWNER, BAKER WRIGHT P.R. GROUP: Yes. To me, the whole Cliven Bundy incident has shown the Republican Party for its biggest weakness, which is racial insensitivity, and the party is talking out of both sides of its mouth. It has a pattern of doing this. As you point out, and as I said yesterday on CNN, the party should have never embraced him to begin with. Cliven Bundy was breaking our laws. He wasn't abiding by the Constitution, and Republicans talk all the time, as well as conservatives, about how we should be a land of laws, when we talk about immigration, correct?

And then, to add insult to injury, you know, all the Republicans and conservatives now are telling me, Crystal, he didn't really mean that, you're misrepresenting it. When the party prominent conservatives and Republicans embraced him, it becomes a huge liability when Mr. Bundy is then revealed to be a raging racist at a time when many of those same Republicans are trying to build bridges to new voters.

As a black woman and a conservative, I am tired of being dismissed and I am tired and sick of the racial insensitivity my brethren show to black Americans.

LEMON: Yeah. Thank you. Very well said. As I said, you've been very authentic and transparent about it. And I like that.

My question is, as well, Crystal, I've been on the plane story. That's been my focus. I haven't had a chance to really delve into other stories. But I sat back and watched this Cliven Bundy story and I was really surprise by people who were supporting him because -- there isn't that support for someone who evades taxes --

WRIGHT: Right.

LEMON: -- people who don't pay their taxes.

WRIGHT: Right.

LEMON: And these are laws, federal and state laws. He hadn't paid. What happens if you don't pay your taxes? The government seizes your assets. If you don't pay your fees, the government will seize your assets. I didn't understand this story and I don't understand the support.

WRIGHT: Well, like you, I never understood it either because, if I don't pay my taxes, which I would love not to do, Don, as you point out, I'm going to have my wages garnished. I'm going to have serious consequences. What we need to remember is Cliven Bundy decided arbitrarily he didn't like the way the laws were being applied by the Bureau of Land Management with respect to his cattle and they wanted to limit the area where his cattle could graze, so he just said, in 1993, he wasn't going to pay his -- I think it's leasing fees, the fees associated with the grazing, and he owes over $1 million. I have no sympathy for him. You know I'm about limited government. But even more so than that, I talk a lot about the fact that we should find strength from our history in slavery. Conservatives always tell me, that I need to get over slavery.

Isn't it funny that the same conservatives telling me and other others to get over slavery are supporting a man who said black people would be better off cotton picking because their -- I can tell Mr. Bundy that there's no way, even for blacks who have been on welfare, they have their freedom and they can always get off welfare. You could never really free yourself of slavery.

LEMON: No.

WRIGHT: OK? Let's think about that.

LEMON: Crystal, I want you to come back and talk about this. Unfortunately, we have a lot of breaking news. But what I do want to say, I hope that conservatives and that people in the Republican Party will heed your words. Because you have been a staunch supporter and defender of the GOP on many occasions. But on this one, I think you have a unique perspective and I hope that they follow your lead.

OK, thank you.

WRIGHT: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: Thank you.

The situation in Ukraine now continues to unravel. And now international monitors, sent in to the country to uphold a peace deal of sorts, are being held captive. Next, the Ukrainian prime minister's strong words for Russia.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It's time now to introduce you to this week's "CNN Hero." Her name is Annette March-Grier, of Baltimore. She is doing her part to lessen the violence in her city. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Chicken nuggets, french fries, mustard and a milkshake. My daddy ordered the same thing as me. That is my daddy. UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: My son's father, he was murdered. Their bond was just a bond that a lot of kids don't have with their father.

ANNETTE MARCH-GRIER, CNN HERO: I love my city. I have lived here all of my life. But people here are having crisis after crisis.

I believe that the violence in this city and grief are directly connected.

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: I feel sad that somebody hurt my dad.

MARCH-GRIER: A child's grief can be very different from adults. They can easily lose their identity and their security. And that shift can be very dangerous.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There you go. Write your feelings. How are you feeling today?

MARCH-GRIER: Our program provides that safe place for a child to recover.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello. How are you doing?

MARCH-GRIER: Our volunteers help the children explore their feelings.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did you choose red?

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: I was angry when my dad passed away.

MARCH-GRIER: And talk about healthy ways of coping.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get that anger out!

MARCH-GRIER: We teach our children that it's OK to cry.

His brother died so he's feeling very, very sad.

Grief is truly a public health problem. We've got to address it.

Coping is how we deal with our feelings.

We're giving families a sense of hope.

(SINGING)

MARCH-GRIER: We are helping to heal wounds and bring families back together again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Let me go to Ukraine now where a chaotic situation continues to unfold. In a phone call today between Russia's foreign minister and Secretary of State John Kerry, Russia stressed that Ukraine must cease military operations against pro-Russian separatists in the eastern part of the country. Those groups have seized land and government buildings and they refuse to leave.

Let's go to our panel now, Michael Kay, aviation analyst and retired lieutenant colonel of the British military; and Bob Baer, CNN intelligence and security analyst.

Bob, to you first. These are observers, the whole function, is to hammer out this peace deal, and they get captured. How should the international community respond to this?

BOB BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE & SECURITY ANALYST: I can see the hand in Russia in all of this. Remember, Don, that the Ukraine was never given up by Russia in 1991. The security service, the KNV was continued close relations with the Russians. I think you have an eastern part of the country almost definitely spetznots (ph), various KGB agents there, so I think the Russians are not playing a fair hand here. So I think they were probably behind this and it's hard to pin down. And until Putin comes around and gives up eastern Ukraine, we are going to have problems for a very long time.

LEMON: We could see more sanctions as early as Monday. President Obama just said that he's, quote, "keeping some arrows in his quiver," in the event we see further deteriorations.

Are there any sanctions that will really sting at this point? What is left, Michael Kay?

LT. COL. MICHAEL KAY, CNN ANALYST: I think economic sanctions have always been a long-term peace. I think that is where they should be directed. I think what we are seeing at the moment with this posturing by Putin is a symptom of a broader problem. And that problem that is polarization within the country. You got half the country that wants to get closer to the E.U. and half the country that wants to remain close to Putin. I think what Putin's big worry is here that if a government that comes in is Western facing and accepts an IMF troika aid package with the IMF, the ICB and the E.U., with will come austerity measures. But the next natural progression from that will be discussions on NATO. And I think that's what is really worrying Putin. The other bit as well, as along with the aid package from the E.U. becomes -- comes austerity.

And I think what you're going to see is what we have to take a step back in the West and look at is how is that going to play out in the long-term in terms of the internal instability of the civil population within the country? Because you're going to get this see-sawing affect. Let's go back to Greece and the aid package that was given to Greece that came with serious amounts of austerity. There was huge popular unrest. And almost the political management when it cane be changed on a monthly basis.

LEMON: Yeah.

I have to ask you a similar question, Bob. Are there any sanctions or anything that Putin will be afraid of that will make him reconsider anything?

BAER: Well, I think Russia is already suffering from sanctions. Interest rates have gone up. There is capital flight. He doesn't seem to care at this point. He is driven by Russian nationalism, which is very strong and it has never gone away. He is getting a lot of popular support in Russia. I think he is prepared to suffer the economic consequences in order to keep NATO out of the Ukraine or a U.S.-dictated solution.

LEMON: There is some strange timing to, you know, that the Ukraine prime minister met with the pope. Should we read anything into this timing, Michael?

KAY: Look, I think the government in Ukraine, at the moment, it's an interim government. So whatever the interim government does is going to be replaced by something. And I go back to my original point, is that, you know, the west really needs to have a bigger strategic plan on how it aids Ukraine in getting over that potential instability between the Western side and the eastern side, because I think the last thing we would want to anticipate is a splitting of the country. I think that could be a real nightmare for a whole plethora of reasons. So I think, yes, the interim government can pursue conversations with the pope, but the real thing is getting fair and democratic elections on the table. Getting a government that is instilled through the acquiescence of the whole population of the country without too much intervention from Putin and the West, and going forward from there.

LEMON: All right, Michael Kay, Bob Baer, thank you. I appreciate your expertise on this subject.

So the owner of the Clippers in trouble. Accused of making racist remarks allegedly caught on audiotape in a voice recording. Now there are calls for him to step down and there are calls for boycotting the Clippers. The league is responding. They say they are investigating. What happens next? This is a big concern that goes far beyond the NBA, and we are discussing it at the top of the hour, a few minutes away. Don't go anywhere.

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