It was the morning of Game 5 between the Golden State Warriors' and the Los Angeles Clippers. The NBA had already been sucked into the whirlwind of the Donald Sterling Saga which featured secret recordings of the then Clipper owner expressing his disapproval of African Americans.

Fans, media members, and players wanted immediate action. More importantly, the teams playing that day wanted action-- and were willing to be the party to deliver. Warriors' General Manager Bob Myers saw that as he met with his team the morning before the game.

He called his boss, Warriors President Rick Welts, and told him, "These guys are going to walk off the floor."

Then-Warriors forward Andre Iguodala was ready to take a stand with the rest of his teammates that day.

"I was all-in. Like shut down the whole season," Iguodala said. "Maybe that was too far, but as far as that game that day, you can reschedule it, you gotta sort this thing out, because there's some deep-rooted stuff with him that had to be addressed."

For all parties involved, this was something new. No NBA team had ever refused to play a game, never mind a playoff game. For Myers, their decision wouldn't be affected by him.

"I mean, if that is the decision our players had made," Myers said, "who am I to tell them not to do that?"

The game did go on, and the newly appointed NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling for life-- giving the fans, media, and players the action they called for. For the Warriors this was the first time that they prepared themselves for a battle that stretched past the four lines. And it wouldn't be their last.

Professional athletes have an enormous platform. From adults wearing their jerseys to teens following their every move on social media to children wanting to be them when they grow up, a professional athlete has one of the biggest influences in today's culture. With that, an athlete becomes more when they use that platform for good. Lebron James coined the phrase 'More Than An Athlete" after Fox News host Laura Ingraham commented on air in an insult-laden rant, saying, "it's always unwise to seek political advice from someone who gets paid $100 million a year to bounce a ball."

James went on to continue speaking his mind and creating opportunities for disenfranchised groups. That's what being more than an athlete embodies. And when a collective group comes together to stand for what they believe in, they become more than a team.

That is what the Warriors as a franchise have become. Sometimes they're fighting lone battles, taking stands for single beliefs, but as an organization, they support each other through every stand.

Just think about the very essence of Stephen Curry. Minor in a sense, Curry has always made it clear that he does not play for fame or accolades; he plays for Christ. Since his Davidson days, he has written a variation of the Bible verse 'I can do all things' on his sneakers. In today's society, celebrities often shy away from outwardly proclaiming their religion. Curry does not, he does the exact opposite and basks in what he believes shapes him.

"It's a mantra that I live by and something that drives me every single day," Curry said. "It'll hopefully inspire people to find something that drives them, whether that's a verse or some other motivating force that keeps you hungry and keeps you driven. That's mine, and you can pick whatever yours is and let that drive you, too, as you continue with basketball or whatever field you're in your life."

Curry, along with the rest of the organization, were overtly outspoken when it came to the team's visit to the White House in 2017. Curry led the pack, saying that he wouldn't go even if invited. His statements sparked a response from President Trump, which prompted Draymond Green to take his disgust to Twitter.

"I still can't believe this guy is running the country," Green tweeted.

Curry later elaborated on his stance, saying that they don't stand for what the current President stands for.

"I don't want to go," Curry reiterated. "That's kind of the nucleus of my belief…(But) it's not just me going to the White House. If it was, this would be a pretty short conversation. That we don't stand for basically what our President has – the things that he's said and the things that he hasn't said in the right times, that we won't stand for it. And by acting and not going, hopefully that will inspire some change when it comes to what we tolerate in this country and what is accepted and what we turn a blind eye to. It's not just the act of not going there. There are things you have to do on the back end to actually push that message into motion. (Athletes are) all trying to do what we can. We're using our platforms, using our opportunities to shed light on that, so that's kind of where I stand on it. I don't think us not going to the White House is going to miraculously make everything better, but this is my opportunity to voice that."

Head Coach Steve Kerr stood with his team, as did the rest of management, Kerr citing the death of his father as the event that shaped his political views.

"Before my dad was killed, I remember night after night I'd get home, and he'd be typing on his typewriter, using the White-Out when he would make a mistake," Kerr said of his dad, who was President of American University of Beirut at the time of his murder. "He'd have popcorn next to him. He was in his study listening to music and working. And then at 6 o'clock, the MacNeil-Lehrer Report would come on the TV, and my mom and dad would watch the world news and whatever was going on. And then at the dinner table, everything was being discussed, from world politics to — I'd prefer to talk about the NBA, but that didn't come up very often. I was pretty much silent, just sort of taking it all in. But I was exposed to all of that at a young age. When my dad died, I was 18. I was still, relatively, a kid, just beginning to grow up. And it shaped the way I thought about the world. It disillusioned me in many ways. And everything that's happened since, I've always had the big-picture, global perspective in mind."

There's a plethora of times that the Warriors' as individuals and a collective group have stood for what they believe in. From Green speaking out against the term "owner," to Kerr and Curry expressing their disapproval for the NFL's handling of player protest, the Warriors' as an organization have shown their willingness to use their platform for good.

What makes this so special is that it's not forced or coerced. Their willingness to be a symbol as a unit comes from genuity. It starts from the top with the Warriors Owner, Joe Lacob, and trickles down to each player. Their essence is contagious, which makes the organization more than a team-- and that's special. In today's world, there aren't many gems finer than that.