Programming note: Watch tonight's Warriors-Hawks game streaming live at 4:30 p.m. PT on the MyTeams app.
During the Warriors' post-championship celebration last year, David West created some headlines.
“We dealt with some things internally. When you guys find out about that, y’all are going to trip. I’m serious. Y’all are going to trip," West told reporters in the locker room. "It’s a testament to the type of people these guys are and how tied together we were as a group and how committed we were to winning.”
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Well, on Monday morning, we found out what West was referring to. As Sam Amick of The Athletic reports:
According to sources with knowledge of the situation, the Warriors dealt with a team-wide meningitis scare in mid-March that was the root of West’s infamous comments. An outside vendor who handled the team’s food on a daily basis contracted a contagious form of the disease, then survived a life-threatening challenge before eventually returning to work with the team.
But at the time, with the concern peaking in between a road game at Minnesota on March 11 and a home game against the Lakers on March 14, the internal fear was great enough that extensive precautionary measures were taken to ensure the meningitis didn’t spread to their super team. The Warriors declined to comment for this story.
In the days and weeks after the Warriors won the title, several members of the Warriors were asked about West's comments:
Golden State Warriors
-Assistant coach Ron Adams: "I’m a little mystified by that comment. So, I don’t know. Quite frankly, I have no idea what David was talking about."
-Kevon Looney: "D-West always likes to mess with the media (laughter). It never leaves the locker room -- we keep it that way -- that's why our team is so tight."
-Assistant coach Mike Brown: "Steve (Kerr) asked David or talked to David about it, and David was like, 'I was joking (laughter). I just wanted to stir the pot a little bit.' And he sure enough did. There's nothing to it."
Meningitis is scary and not something to mess around with (I had it in Kindergarten and was hospitalized for five nights) -- unless your name is JaVale McGee.
“I grew up in the hood,” the former Warriors big man told The Athletic. “Meningitis isn’t something I’m scared of."
If Warriors players and staffers are asked about last year's situation in the coming days, it's safe to assume that most or all will decline comment...
Drew Shiller is the co-host of Warriors Outsiders. Follow him on Twitter @DrewShiller