Warriors coach Mark Jackson knows how he’d react to the racist comments allegedly made by Clippers owner Donald Sterling if he were a fan — he’d boycott Tuesday night’s Game 5 between Golden State and Los Angeles at Staples Center.
“If it was me, I wouldn’t come to the game,” Jackson told reporters Monday. “I believe as fans, the loudest statement they could make as far as fans is to not show up to the game.”
Jackson was quick to add, according to ESPN.com’s Ethan Strauss, that his belief applies to Warriors fans just as much as it applies to Clippers fans, as the issue transcends basketball.
“As an African-American man that’s a fan of the game of basketball and knows its history and knows what’s right and what’s wrong, I would not come to the game tomorrow, whether I was a Clipper fan or a Warrior fan,” he said.
Jackson said that even though he encouraged fans to stay away, the players still should show up and play, with the series tied at two games apiece after the Warriors routed the Clippers 118-97 on Sunday.
“Should the Clippers boycott? They’re getting paid to play,” Jackson said. “They’ve got families and bills. This is their job. This is their livelihood. They dreamt their whole life for it. Same thing with us.
“But it’s different for me to pay to come see it.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver will address the situation regarding Sterling’s purported racist remarks at a press conference Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET.
