A longtime Bay Area sports anchor been removed from covering the Warriors during their playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs after he allegedly stole a jacket from a team staffer.
Steve Berman of The Athletic reports that a video appeared to show ABC7/KGO-TV sports anchor Mike Shumann taking a jacket that belonged to Ralph Walker, the Warriors director of team security, following a practice at the AT&T Center in San Antonio late last week. ESPN reviewed the footage and confirmed that Shumann is visible on the tape and shown walking out of the AT&T Center with the jacket.
Shumann, a former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver who has been with KGO since 1994, was sent home and later apologized to individual Warriors players. The Athletic reports that several players are furious about the incident and do not want it simply brushed aside. Some have said they will refuse to do interviews with Shumann going forward. Walker is a highly respected member of the organization, and Stephen Curry personally thanked him when accepting his NBA MVP award in 2016.
“We are taking these allegations very seriously and conducting a full investigation,” a spokesperson for KGO said in a statement. “As a matter of policy, we do not comment about personnel matters.”
As an ABC/ESPN affiliate, ABC7 has exclusive access to interviews with Warriors players after playoff games. Shumann usually conducts those interviews, so it’s unclear how the network’s coverage will be affected going forward.
While Shumann obviously has a closer relationship with the team, the incident can’t help but remind us of the surreal events that took place after the Super Bowl two years ago. Shumann declined to comment when The Athletic reached out via phone.
