Chauncey Billups has friends on the Los Angeles Clippers, and he respects the players who were his teammates for two seasons.
But the veteran point guard wouldn't have joined them on the floor Sunday afternoon.
Billups said Monday on ESPN radio that had he still been a member of the Clippers, where he played from 2011-13, he would have boycotted Game 4 of their playoff series against Golden State.
The team played in the aftermath of owner Donald Sterling's alleged racist comments, but wore plain red shirts instead of their team-issued warmup apparel.
"I'm going to be honest, there's no way I would have played that game," said Billups, who played for the Detroit Pistons this season. "It's more than basketball. It's bigger than Game 4 of a first-round playoff series.
"This is about what my grandparents and their parents and their parents went through to make it possible for us attain these jobs and have this life.
"I would rather have my teammates mad at me than have to face my grandparents and my parents, knowing I could have done the right thing."
Pistons owner Tom Gores joined Billups in his condemnation of Sterling's alleged remarks.
"We trust Commissioner Adam Silver to handle the matter swiftly and properly, but let me state without reservation: There is no place for prejudice or intolerance in our league, or anywhere else.," Gores said in a statement. "That's not a debatable point. It's a first principle."
The NBA has called a press conference for Tuesday to address their investigation on Sterling. The Clippers are scheduled to play Game 5 at home that night.
