The Golden State Warriors Planned To Boycott Tonight's Clippers Game in Awesome Fashion
The Golden State Warriors (like most of us) have made no secret of their feelings regarding Clippers owner Donald Sterling's racist remarks.
.The Golden State Warriors (like most of us) have made no secret of their feelings regarding Clippers owner Donald Sterling's racist remarks, with their coach Mark Jackson even urging fans to boycott tonight's Clippers-Warriors playoff game.
Apparently, Jackson's team was willing to go even further than that, pending the outcome of today's press conference with NBA commissioner Adam Silver: they were going to boycott the game themselves.
It's a moot point now, as Silver's response (banning Sterling for life and fining him $2.5 million) was deemed sufficient, but San Jose Mercury News' Marcus Thompson reports that the plan was:
- Go through pre-game warm-ups like normal
- Listen to national anthem like normal
- Jump ball starts game like normal
- Warriors just walk off the court
- Maybe even the Clippers do, too
- Game over, awesomely
Point guard Stephen Curry confirmed the story, saying that if Silver's punishment for Sterling wasn't severe enough, they were going to go through with it. The majority of the team's starters were on board with the plan. They were also hoping to reach out to the Clippers before the game and have them walk out with them.
It would've been a powerful statement (certainly more than Clipper's inside-out warm-up wear). As CBS Sports notes, a walk-off has never happened in an NBA game -- especially not a playoff game. Almost makes you wish Sterling's punishment had been lighter so we could've seen it. Almost.
In good news for the Clippers, some of the sponsors that dropped the team after Sterling's remarks were leaked are now signing back on -- though not soon enough for their ads to be returned to the arena for tonight's game.