I knew Monta Ellis was (and still is, apparently) a very popular figure in the Bay Area. I didn’t know he was so popular that fans would put a damper on Warrior legend Chris Mullin’s jersey retirement ceremony over his departure.
In a surprising turn of events, Warriors majority owner Joe Lacob was mercilessly booed as he took the microphone to say a few words just before Mullin’s banner was to be revealed. Oh, and when I say mercilessly, I mean mercilessly. Lacob tried to wait it out, but the 19,596 in attendance did not let up. When it seemed impossible for the situation to become any more awkward, the booing continued even after Chris Mullin himself picked up a mic and tried to put an end to it. Rick Barry proceeded to take a more aggressive crack at it, demanding that everyone show some respect to the man who spent his money to make the whole night possible. That didn’t work either.
I feel bad for Lacob, obviously (especially because his wife was probably leading the chorus of boos), but I feel worse for Chris Mullin. This ceremony was supposed to be about reflecting on his great career, not about discontentment over the trade of Monta Ellis. Fans gave Ellis an extremely warm welcome when he made his return to Oracle Arena just days ago, and now they need to accept that he’s a Milwaukee Buck and move the hell on.
I’m not typically one to get all uptight over issues of class, but this ordeal really rubbed me the wrong way. Lacob receives a smattering of boos for moment? Yeah, okay, whatever. The way the booing went on, though… that was just unnecessary, and completely disrespectful to not only Lacob, but Chris Mullin. I’m sure he didn’t want this kind of negativity to surround his special night. To his credit, he handled it really well.
As far as Lacob is concerned… well, I suppose the joke is on all those booing fans. After all, they paid him to get in.
you’d have to be a real fan to understand.
It’s about the disrespect to Chris Mullin on his night. That’s absolutely not the time to express discontent with the owner.
Yeah, a real stupid fan that’s content with mediocrity.
Mullin looks like somebody from WWE…
Undercelebrated player, I think. And I thought they would have already retired his jersey by now for sure…