Warriors Owner Backs Coach During Sex Scandal

Even through his sex scandal, Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson is "love[d] as a coach, lov[ed] as a person" by the team and ownership, owner Joe Lacob said Thursday.

In an interview with the San Jose Mercury News's Tim Kawakami, Lacob laid out strong support for Jackson during a "difficult situation" for the coach.

Jackson had an affair with a former stripper six years ago, when he was an analyst on television in the New York City area. This year, with Jackson back behind an NBA bench with the Warriors, the former stripper and an accomplice blackmailed Jackson out of $5,000 to keep quiet, according to reports. The pair then demanded more money and also contacted Jackson's wife, so Jackson contacted the FBI.

Jackson remains a "stand-up guy," according to Lacob, who was impressed by Jackson's admitting to the affair and asking for an apology.

"He'll get through this. He's doing all the right things," Lacob said. "I wish it never happened. I'm sure he does, too. But it did. And that's life."

"But he's a really good man and we back him up 100 percent," Lacob said. "We stand right behind him."

Lacob did make one odd comment: suggesting that the Warriors franchise has "always" had "bad luck with things like this."

"I don't know," Lacob said, "the Warriors seem to ... this organization always seems to have bad luck with things like this. Obviously, this organization we're building, we've worked really hard to change the culture, to change everything about this organization, have quality people everywhere, and Mark is a quality guy."