Was Mark Jackson fired because of his religious beliefs?
By Wes Goldberg
One of the most mysterious questions regarding the NBA’s offseason is why the Golden State Warriors– after almost-unprecedented success–fired Mark Jackson just days after their season ended.
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Sure, his coaching decisions could be frustrating at times. His offense mostly revolved around Stephen Curry doing stuff and his lineups often left the team in precarious positions during the season, but none seemed to warrant his firing.
It is widely thought that Jackson simply did not get along with Warriors management. But why? CSN Bay Area’s Monte Poole has a theory, and it has to do with the team’s wishes to build a stadium in San Francisco.
"For an ownership committed to spending the next several years smooching outwardly liberal San Francisco, with the hope of landing there by 2018, is it possible they perceive Jackson’s conservative religious views as a potential liability?Christians generally oppose same-sex relationships, defining marriage as that between a man and a woman. San Francisco leads the nation in sexual liberation. I have to believe Warriors honchos debated this in back-room meetings.Could they risk having a man of such faith as one of the faces of the franchise?What if Jackson were to say something that was viewed as controversial, forcing the team into damage-control mode?"
Right or wrong, this theory totally makes sense to me. As someone who recently moved from the Southeast to the Bay Area, the environment regarding christianity (or organized religion in general) is jarring. Religion tends to be less of a priority than social issues, and it’s no secret that San Francisco has a proud gay community.
If the Warriors did indeed see Jackson’s outward faith as a business hurdle, this theory could be true. And let’s not forget that team president Rick Welts in openly gay. Either way, at least they landed the highly-sought Steve Kerr to replace him.
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