Getty Kyrie Irving of the Boston Celtics wipes his face next to the Celtics coach Brad Stevens.
The Brooklyn Nets will take on the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on Friday night. It will be Kyrie Irving‘s first time playing in Boston since he departed the team to come to the Nets in the Summer of 2019. As if there was not enough hype surrounding a Nets playoff game, Kyrie’s comments on his return to Boston added even more fuel to an already lit fire.
As you might expect, Kyrie was asked how he thought he would be received by Celtics fans in his return to TD Garden. Irving’s response sparked a conversation that delves into an issue that is far deeper than basketball.
“I am just looking forward to competing with my teammates and hopefully, we can just keep it strictly basketball; there’s no belligerence or racism going on — subtle racism, people yelling s*** from the crowd,” Irving said to reporters after Tuesday’s win via ESPN. “But even if it is, it’s part of the nature of the game and we’re just going to focus on what we can control.”
Kyrie Irving discusses returning to Boston for the first time in front of a crowd since his departure from the Celtics:
“Hopefully we can just keep it strictly basketball. There’s no belligerence or any racism going on, subtle racism or people yelling s— from the crowd”
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Brad Stevens Responds to Kyrie’s Remarks About Celtics Fans
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens has spent some time with Kyrie as he was his coach for two seasons in Boston. On Wednesday, Stevens appeared on the Zolak & Bertrand show on Boston’s 98.5 The Hub and responded to Irving’s comments.
“I certainly take any comments like that very seriously, I don’t know what context [Irving] was discussing there. But I know that the Garden, I know that the Celtics, I know that the NBA, is very alert to making sure that our fans don’t cross the line. I think that’s really important. People shouldn’t ever feel like they’re being discriminated against. I think everybody is dialed into that,” Stevens said on Wednesday.
“That’s happened maybe once or twice since I’ve been here, and it was dealt with immediately. But maybe it’s happened, and guys haven’t talked about it. Certainly, Kyrie has never mentioned anything to me about it, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, and I think those things should always be taken very seriously.”
Celtic Legend Bill Russell Recounts the Racism He Faced in Boston
Perhaps Stevens is right and Kyrie along with others have experienced instances of racism and have chosen to not vocalize them. However, there are multiple accounts from people who have been willing to tell their story including Hall of Famer Bill Russell who played for the Celtics from 1956-1959. In Russell’s 1959 memoir Second Wind he said that not only were there racists in Boston but they came in all different forms.
“It had all varieties, old and new, and in their most virulent form,” Russell wrote in a transcript obtained from The Undefeated. “The city had corrupt, city hall-crony racists, brick-throwing, send-’em-back-to-Africa racists, and in the university areas phony radical-chic racists. … Other than that, I liked the city.’’
Deborah White, the widow of the late Celtics legend Jo Jo White said that her husband would tell her gruesome stories of the racism that Russell and Celtics great Sam Jones would face during their time in Boston.
“Things were different, and they were difficult, and they were tough for them, and they were hard,” White said to The Undefeated, “but they were the pioneers and paved the way for the Jo Jos and the Don Chaneys and the Paul Pierces and the Kevin Garnetts and Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum.”
Whether it is because of the way that Kyrie left Boston or some other reason, the crowd will be hostile when he takes the floor in the TD Garden on Friday. That is just the life of an NBA superstar. Irving’s attention will be on helping the Nets go up 3-0 in the series.
READ NEXT: Nets’ Kyrie Irving Sounds off About ‘Subtle Racism’ From Celtics Fans