The Warriors' Reported Sterling Protest Would Have Melted the Internet

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Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) celebrates after blocking a shot as Los Angeles Clippers' Blake Griffin (32) walks past during the second half in Game 4 of an opening-round NBA basketball playoff series on Sunday, April 27, 2014, in Oakland, Calif.

Image: Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

By Sam Laird2014-04-30 03:43:51 UTC

These things are so much easier to say after the fact, so take this with a grain of salt.

That being said: Daaaaaaaaaamn.

The Golden State Warriors reportedly had a powerful protest planned had they not been satisfied with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver's response to racist comments made by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. Something so powerful the Internet would have likely melted down upon itself, resulting in a pixelated pile of hysteria, admiration and live-tweeted shock.

See also: Will Donald Sterling Get a $1 Billion Payday for Being Racist?

Here, according to a Tuesday evening report from Bay Area News Group columnist and former Warriors beat writer Marcus Thompson II, is the gist of what Warriors players were prepared to do before their playoff game against the Clippers:

The Warriors were going to go through pre-game warm-ups and take part in the national anthem and starting line-up introductions. They were going to take the floor for the jump ball, dapping up the Clippers players as is customary before games.

Then once the ball was in the air, they were just going to walk off. All 15 of them.

That would have been one of the most striking political statements in American sports history. It's that simple.

“It would have been our only chance to make a statement in front of the biggest audience that we weren’t going to accept anything but the maximum punishment,” Warriors star Stephen Curry told Thompson. “We would deal with the consequences later but we were not going to play.”

The Warriors were going to stage their walkout, hoping Clippers players would join them and result in the game's opening jump-ball dramatically hitting the court, had Silver simply suspended Sterling indefinitely and levied a fine against him, Thompson reported.

Instead, Silver came out firing at his Tuesday afternoon press conference. He said Sterling had admitted to making the racist comments in a leaked audio recording that dominated the news cycle this past weekend. He banned Sterling from the NBA for life. He fined Sterling $2.5 million, the maximum allowed under the league's constitution. He also laid the groundwork to force Sterling into selling the Clippers.

And so the Warriors' reportedly planned protest was averted.

Now, when push comes to shove, would it have actually gone down the way players told Thompson after finding out no such action would be necessary? That's impossible to say.

But it's fascinating food for thought.

Fans at Tuesday's game, meanwhile, left no doubts about how they regard Sterling and his ownership of the Clippers. Here are several photos:

1. 'New owner wanted'

Fans hold up signs in support of the Los Angeles Clippers before Game 5 of an opening-round NBA basketball playoff series on Tuesday, April 29, 2014, in Los Angeles.

Image: AP Photo//Associated Press

2. 'A face in every race'

Image: Ringo H.W. Chiu/Associated Press

3. 'Rise above'

Fans hold up signs in support of the Los Angeles Clippers before Game 5 of an opening-round NBA basketball playoff series between the Clippers and the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, April 29, 2014, in Los Angeles.

Image: AP Photo/Associated Press

4. 'Do the right thing'

A fan holds up a sign about Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling before Game 5 of the Clippers' opening-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, April 29, 2014, in Los Angeles.

Image: AP Photo/Associated Press

5. 'We love our players'

Fans hold up signs in support of the Los Angeles Clippers before Game 5 of the Clippers' opening-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, April 29, 2014, in Los Angeles.

Image: AP Photo/Associated Press

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