Warriors President & COO Rick Welts in mid-March began an email called "The Daily" to keep employees "engaged as they worked from home," and during those first couple of months of the pandemic, the emails "provided mainly the latest information" about COVID-19 and the NBA's restart, according to Connor Letourneau of the S.F. CHRONICLE. But when the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25 sparked protests throughout the country, Welts "decided to turn over 'The Daily' to staffers so that they had a platform to share their thoughts on the issues of racism and police brutality." Over the past 14 weeks, as social unrest plagued the U.S., more than 30 Warriors employees "wrote thought-provoking emails to their co-workers." In addition to letting employees "share their stories of racial injustice on the company email, the Warriors offered an online course in anti-racism." Hundreds of staffers "signed up for the class, which, over seven weeks, featured 14 hours of training." The Warriors also have had guests including Basketball HOFer Spencer Haywood, S.F. Police Chief William Scott and actor George Lopez "speak at the organization's weekly town-hall discussions about racism in their communities." Though Welts "wishes such initiatives weren’t necessary, he has seen the emails and discussions gain enough traction that he expects them to continue for the foreseeable future" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 9/7).
