SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Fans at Sunday's Western Conference playoff game in Oakland had a lot to say about a racial comment controversy involving Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. And the team made a statement of its own.
To give you an idea of how heated things have become, NBA Players Association representatives Kevin Johnson said that Clippers players told him they don't even want Sterling to attend any of their games until this situation is resolved.
The action at Oracle Arena for Game 4 in the NBA Playoffs between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers started before tipoff.
In their first public demonstration as a team, the Clippers tossed their warm-ups to the ground and went through their pregame routine with their red team shirts worn inside-out to hide the team's logo.
"To state solidarity and unity, not to be a distraction, but to say we are paying attention," said Johnson.
The players themselves remained silent, choosing not to speak out against comments alleged to have been made by Sterling to his girlfriend V. Stiviano.
V: "I don't understand, I don't see your views. I wasn't raised the way you were raised."
Sterling: "Well then, if you don't feel, don't come to my games. Don't bring black people, and don't come."
V: "Do you know that you have a whole team that's black, that plays for you?"
Sterling: "You just, do I know? I support them and give them food, and clothes, and cars, and houses. Who gives it to them? Does someone else give it to them? Do I know that I have who makes the game? Do I make the game, or do they make the game? Is there 30 owners that created the league?"
The attorney for Sterling's girlfriend says his client did not release the audio to any news media. Despite the source, Clippers Coach Doc Rivers says it has become a distraction.
"I think if there's anything, racism or injustice of any kind, it should always be front and center and we shouldn't run from it," he said.
Sterling faced immediate backlash after what is alleged to be his voice in a recording, became public. Pictures obtained by TMZ Sports are part of what reportedly caused the fight. It shows his girlfriend with basketball legend Magic Johnson.
In the recording that was also released by TMZ, Sterling allegedly says he does not want African Americans at his games. The photo has since been removed from Instagram.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who attended Sunday's game in Oakland, did not speak with reporters, but says the league is investigating.
In the meantime, fans are calling for swift and decisive action.
"It's very inappropriate," said Clippers fan Mark Vargas. "A big sign of disrespect for his employees and the whole Clipper organization, including the fans."
Another indication that it may be a while before things cool off -- the interim president of the NAACP said Donald Sterling will no longer receive a second lifetime achievement award that its Los Angeles chapter had planned to give him next month.
Clippers President Andy Roeser responded to the scandal on Saturday. He released a statement in defense of Sterling that reads in part, "He feels terrible that such sentiments are being attributed to him and apologizes to anyone who might have been hurt by them."
Roeser says the team is investigating.
President Barack Obama is also weighing in on the controversy, saying he's confident that the NBA commissioner will address Sterling's purported remarks.
The president addressed the issue Sunday during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur with Malaysia's prime minister.
"I don't think I have to interpret those statements for you, they kind of speak for themselves," Obama said. "When ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance, you don't really have to do anything. You just let them talk. And that's what happened here."
President Obama says the incident illustrates that more work needs to be done in understanding the legacy of slavery and racism in the United States.
Big Nate weighs in on Sterling controversy
Warriors great Nate Thurmond spoke to ABC7 Sports Director Larry Beil about the controversy surrounding Clippers owner Donald Sterling.
One of the NBA's all-time greats is weighing in on the Sterling controversy. Nate Thurmond talked to ABC7 Sports Director Larry Beil on Sunday.
In his playing days, Big Nate was a block of granite for the Warriors in the middle from 1963 to 1974. He was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history.
African American players like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James have said they do not think Sterling should own a team. Nate gave us his opinions on the matter.
"Now I'm not saying for sure that that's going to work, but I do think it's going to have a chance of working when you put all these things in the pot together and Donald Sterling realizes maybe he won't get any more free agents, and on and on and on," he said.