Pacers owner Herb Simon is calling alleged statements by Los Angeles Clippers owner "appalling."
An audio recording surfaced of a man identified as Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling telling his girlfriend not to bring black people to games. The NBA says it's investigating what was said. In the meantime, it's drawn reaction from many in the NBA, around the country and all the way up to the president of the United States. On Monday, Simon issued the following statement:
"I want our players, our coaches and everyone in our community to know that I believe statements attributed to Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling are appalling, offensive and totally contrary to my core beliefs and everyone in our entire organization. I am confident that Commissioner Adam Silver, who will speak tomorrow, and his staff will exercise due diligence on behalf of the National Basketball Association, its players and our fans and arrive at a solution that addresses the seriousness of this situation."
Although the Indiana Pacers are focusing on Game 5 against the Atlanta Hawks tonight, they also commented on a controversy brewing in the NBA.
"It's a really sick situation that the Clippers are in. I really feel for that team and it's all about basketball. To go through that right now is pretty tough because they have a really good team," said the Pacers' Roy Hibbert.
Hibbert said if he were on the Clippers and they voted not to play, he would have gone along with that plan. "If the majority of the guys said they would not have played you can't be a scab and cross the picket line," he said.
George Hill also said he wouldn't have played. "My season would have been over with personally. I think it's bigger than money. I think it's bigger than basketball. I think it was a great opportunity to take a stand and let people know we're not just athletes were human beings and we're just like you guys. The point is to get across it's not acceptable. I wouldn't want to be associated with anyone like that. I wouldn't want to work for anyone like that. Just like we said if this was our owner who done that, my season would be over."
Paul George, on the other hand, said he would continue to play.
"It's tough, it's tough for those guys, I feel for those guys I looked up to as well as the coach on that team. We kind of feel the same way. At this point in the year it's much bigger for us, it's about us and our legacy. A lot of us felt that it was only right to continue to go on through and finish the year of. I'd leave it up to the commissioner. I put so much into this year to even let a year like this slip away, I would play," he said.
"It's a tough situation the Doc is in, their whole team is in and I think they're handling it well and I wish them the best with it," said Coach Frank Vogel.
