The Donald Sterling scandal in 2014 took place during the opening round of the NBA playoffs between the LA Clippers and Golden State Warriors. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Steph Curry revealed that one of his biggest regrets is not boycotting that game.
"One of my biggest regrets is not boycotting that game," Steph said. "That was a moment to leverage beyond anything we probably could have said."
According to Steph, he and Chris Paul spoke privately on two occasions about the possibility of a unified protest. Steph and the Warriors wanted to walk off the court after the jump ball, but the Clippers preferred to to instead wear their warmup shirts inside out, and play the game.
In a decision he now regrets, Steph and the Warriors deferred to the Clippers' preference, and played the game. During that time, nobody knew exactly what the right course of action was, but reflecting back on things, Steph wishes the game would have been boycotted.
The NBA acted quickly in issuing a lifetime ban to Donald Sterling, forcing him to sell the team. Steve Ballmer would ultimately make the purchase, and things have been much different for the Clippers since. With the benefit of hindsight, Steph wishes a greater statement was made from the players, but it was a near impossible situation to navigate at that time.
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