Getty Boston Celtics fans
Since the start of the NBA finals, the Boston Celtics fanbase has come under scrutiny, primarily for how they treat opposing teams.
While the TD Garden is often spoken about as a fortress, due to the incredible noise and atmosphere, it would seem that not every fan conducts themselves appropriately, and the players are starting to speak up about it.
During a July 18 episode of ESPN’S First Take, Kendrick Perkins shared his thoughts on the current discussion surrounding his former team’s fanbase, noting how the disrespect towards players is starting to get out of hand.
The fans in Boston do cross the line and hit below the belt when it comes down to being disrespectful. I can say throwing stuff at players like LeBron talk about the beer thrown at him…You start to get out of bounds when you start talking about people and loved ones…The fans are too damn disrespectful when it comes to opposing teams coming to Boston,” Perkins said when asked about LeBron James’ recent comments regarding Celtics fans and his experiences playing in Boston.
Perkins spent seven and a half seasons with the Celtics, from the 2003-04 season to the 2010-11 season. During that time, Perkins averaged 6.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game, he was also part of the championship-winning team in 2008.
LeBron Puts Celtics Fans on Blast
Perkins’ comments on the Celtics fanbase didn’t come out of the blue, in fact, the entire discussion arose due to a recent viral video involving LeBron James, where the Los Angeles Lakers star claims the Celtics fans are ‘racist as ****’.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James on why he hates Boston Celtics fans: “Cause they racist as fuck.”
“Because they’re racist as f***, that’s why. They will say anything…I don’t mind it, if I hear somebody close behind, I’ll check it and I’ll move on to the game. They’re going to say whatever they want to say, they might throw something on you, I mean, I got a beer threw over me leaving a game…There was like a ‘F*** LBJ’ T-shirt, and I believe they probably sold that in the team shop, I think the Celtics had something to do with that s***,” LeBron said when discussing the Boston fanbase during a recent appearance on The Recount.
LeBron has participated in 56 regular-season games against the Celtics throughout his career, averaging 28.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, and seven assists per game, while shooting 50.5% from the field and 31.7% from deep.
Jaylen Brown has Previously Addressed These Claims
While it’s unclear what portion of the fanbase crosses the line, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that Boston is viewed negatively by players around the league – primarily due to how they’re treated when playing for the visiting team.
However, Celtics star Jaylen Brown has previously discussed the matter with the media, during a May 29 press conference in 2021.
Jaylen Brown addressing Kyrie Irving’s comments from earlier this week: “I think that systemic racism should be addressed in Boston and the United States. However, I do not like the manner it was brought up, in terms of centering it around a playoff game.”
“I think that not every Celtics fan — I know that every Celtics fan in our arena is not a racist. We have people of all walks of life, ethnicities, and colors, that are diehard Celtics fans. So I think painting every Celtics fan as a racist would be unfair,” Brown said, during a lengthy and well-articulated statement. Brown also spoke on the wide-ranging impact of racism, in Boston, America, and around the world, and you can hear his full interview in the video above.
Hopefully, the Celtics organization and the NBA as a whole will be taking steps to ensure that fans across the league are held to a stringent code of conduct moving forwards so that both the players and the spectators can enjoy the event in safety.