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| Golden State Warriors |
Golden State Warriors Rumors - The Golden State Warriors have been an institution in the NBA for quite some time. But for about a decade a long time ago, they were the San Francisco Warriors.
Via ESPN.com:
The franchise will keep the Warriors moniker they've used since they were founded in Philadelphia in 1946 but could readopt the name for which they were known when they played in San Francisco from 1962-71 — the San Francisco Warriors.
“We're very curious what our fans think of that,” Warriors president and CEO Rick Welts told ESPN.com. The team has been playing in Oakland for that time, so with moving back to San Francisco, if there was a time to switch back, this would be it.
I went to center Jermaine O'Neal to find out, because he's the oldest, proudest and most eloquent Warriors player; and his words rose to the moment.
The demoralizing distraction: TMZ's released recording of what the agency says is Clipper owner Donald Sterling making racially offensive remarks.
Simple question: Jermaine, would you ever want to play for a man like Sterling?
"It's just strange that he would say those things and feel that way when you have a team that is predominantly African-American, a coach who's African-American, a staff that's African-American, basically."
Maybe the Clippers will bond over this -- against their owner, for themselves -- and play furious basketball on Sunday and beyond.
When I asked O'Neal about the consequences of this, O'Neal stood on the Warriors practice court, shook his head, and spoke sadly.
The Warriors are not playing for the cause of racial equality in this series; they're well-compensated athletes playing for themselves, their organization and their fans.
"It's Adam Silver's first real, real task," O'Neal said. Meanwhile, the Clippers and Warriors have a series to resume, and decide, over the next few days.
This isn't a morality play, because if the tape is authentic, Donald Sterling just showed how little morality you need to display to be an NBA owner, anyway.
