Welts said that it will be hard to decide who will join him on stage at his HOF inductionNBAE/Getty Images
Warriors President & COO RICK WELTS, who will be the first openly gay man enshrined in the Basketball HOF, said the HOF has historically been "not the most inclusive place," but he hopes "they've opened one more door with my election." Welts, appearing on NBC Sports Bay Area's "Warriors Insider Podcast," said of the HOF's history, "African-American pioneers have been ignored, women have been ignored. I would say over the last 20 years, mostly over the last five or six years, the Hall has made a real effort to change that." Welts said of getting the news of his selection, "I never in my wildest dreams imagined I would get elected." Welts said that the "hardest thing" for him will be deciding who will join him on stage. Welts: "The rules are you can have anywhere from one to actually up to six people. They have to be members of the Hall of Fame and that, to me, will be the hardest decision to have to make because I've been blessed, because of my longevity in the league, to have had so many influential people who have had this honor and trying to make sure I've paid the proper respect to the most important people" ("Warriors Insider Podcast", NBC Sports Bay Area, 4/2).