In light of the comments that went viral in a short time and the manner in which the NBA acted to hold Donald Sterling accountable, it was with great respect that the teams, players and mostly the fans applaud the end result handed down by Commissioner Adam Silver.
NBA first VP Roger Mason stated “I heard from our players and all of our players felt like boycotting the games tonight and we’re talking about all NBA players. We’re talking about the playoff games tonight.”
Mason continued that he spoke to player representatives from every team and they were on board with the decision to boycott Tuesday’s games if they weren’t satisfied with the commissioner’s decision.
The decision would have affected Tuesday’s Game 5s between the Clippers and Golden State Warriors, the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards, and the Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Mason told the media “the players did not want to boycott games until they heard from the league but were prepared to take that drastic step if Sterling’s punishment did not meet their demands.”
The press conference was attended by current and former Lakers such as Nash, Abdul-Jabbar, Green and Luke Walton, prompting Garcetti to say, “When you get this many Lakers to stand up for the Clippers, you know something big is happening in L.A.”
Canadian NBA player Steve Nash stated “This is an astonishing situation and after initial outrage, disappointment and sadness, I think today is a proud moment, not only for the players association but for the NBA.”
Abdul-Jabbar said he and the other assembled players at City Hall clapped when they heard Silver’s announcement.
Now if other leagues would understand how important this was to settle so as not to lose the fans throughout the world!
Great job Adam Silver