After the best start in franchise history, you would think everything would be great within the Warriors organization, but that’s simply not the truth. The Dubs had somewhat of an ugly divorce with Mark Jackson. The players wanted him back and even after taking this team to the post-season, he was let go. Since the Warriors have been winning a lot lately, nobody was really talking about Mark Jackson, until Joe Lacob criticized his former head coach.
Lacob’s comments were unnecessary and unfair to Jackson, especially since it happened several months ago. Lacob apologized for his comments yesterday in an emailed statement. According to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle, Lacob used poor judgment:
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Mark Jackson and what he accomplished as our head coach. He did a terrific job. I’ve said that many times over the last several months and in recent days, including at this week’s event. I was asked to draw comparisons earlier this week between building businesses in the tech world and the sports world and, unfortunately, I used some poor judgment. That’s my mistake. I did attempt to reach out to Mark on Friday, and I certainly apologize for my comments and any unintended harm. I know that Mark will succeed again in this business.”
It was important for Lacob to come out and publicly apologize for his comments, it was the right thing to do. Steph Curry, who was one of Mark Jackson’s biggest supporters was appreciative of the apology after initially being bothered by Lacob’s comments. According to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle, Curry recognizes the big gesture:
“For him to apologize, it’s a big gesture,” the point guard said. “My whole thing is not to discredit anything Coach Jackson did, because he was such a great coach for us and elevated a lot of our individual games. I’m proud of that and appreciate that. Obviously, it’s a new era and a new experience that we’re in right now and that we’re enjoying.”
The Warriors are on a historic roll and they don’t need any distractions that could derail them from this hot start. It’s time to put everything in the past and focus on the future.