Warriors president and COO Rick Welts featured in upcoming HBO Real Sports episode

When Rick Welts came out in 2011, he became the first openly gay man in the NBA. Not only a trailblazer in a cultural sense, Rick has had a hand in many of the modern-day facets of the NBA that we know and love. He helped create NBA All-Star Weekend. He crafted the marketing campaign for the 1992 Olympic Dream Team. He has lived a very interesting life, and has a unique, unparalleled perspective on the inner workings of the NBA.

Recently, he sat down with Soledad O'Brien for HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. In the interview, Welts opened up about the struggles he faced as a closeted gay man working in the NBA, as well as much more.

As a trailblazer, and as one of the most successful and innovative people in sports, anything Rick has to say should be heralded and cherished.

We can't wait to see the whole episode. Tune in to HBO tomorrow, February 23rd, at 10pm to see more!