Author Topic: NBC Sport and race article  (Read 6610 times)

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Re: NBC Sport and race article
« Reply #15 on: March 11, 2019, 06:35:22 PM »

Offline johnnygreen

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I believe there could be some truth to it. I know it’s a stigma from the pre-90’s Celtics (despite Red and the Celtics being at the forefront of African-American firsts in the NBA), and even up until the KG trade, he wasn’t fond of Boston for that reason (and quickly realized that was a false narrative).

I don’t recall seeing any visiting player get the love that Dirk got recently. And the crazy love affair with Doncic on these boards?

Sure we can name tons of non-Caucasian stars who are heroes here, but SAS prefaced it by saying they want any star they can get. Nobody is saying we would’ve traded Pierce for Mike Dunleavy or KG for Tyler Hansbrough. We love great players, regardless of race/ethnicity.

But is there an affinity for white players? Doesn’t seem like such a stretch to me.

Kobe didn't retire that long ago. Heck, the fans in TD Garden were chanting MVP when he was at the free throw line one year.

Re: NBC Sport and race article
« Reply #16 on: March 11, 2019, 06:43:34 PM »

Offline Walker Wiggle

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Boston had a serious problem with racism. That shouldn't be a surprise, given that this country as a whole suffers from the same affliction.

And I do believe that some Hayward's popularity is because he is white, and thus a minority in his sport. But that's neither unique to Hayward or to this team. Other examples of this would be Jayson Williams in basketball (who was called "white chocolate"), Tiger Woods in golf, Rodney Williams in football (punter who was black), Jason Sehorn in football (white cornerback). I'm not encouraging nor  discouraging this, I'm just saying it's not unique to this sport, this team, or this player.

Regardless, I don't think Hayward's race is why he was getting minutes early in the season. It's because he needed the minutes to get back to his old self, and Stevens (as well as Ainge) knew that they probably weren't winning anything this year unless Hayward could get back to that level.

Re: NBC Sport and race article
« Reply #17 on: March 11, 2019, 06:46:16 PM »

Offline GreenEnvy

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I believe there could be some truth to it. I know it’s a stigma from the pre-90’s Celtics (despite Red and the Celtics being at the forefront of African-American firsts in the NBA), and even up until the KG trade, he wasn’t fond of Boston for that reason (and quickly realized that was a false narrative).

I don’t recall seeing any visiting player get the love that Dirk got recently. And the crazy love affair with Doncic on these boards?

Sure we can name tons of non-Caucasian stars who are heroes here, but SAS prefaced it by saying they want any star they can get. Nobody is saying we would’ve traded Pierce for Mike Dunleavy or KG for Tyler Hansbrough. We love great players, regardless of race/ethnicity.

But is there an affinity for white players? Doesn’t seem like such a stretch to me.

Kobe didn't retire that long ago. Heck, the fans in TD Garden were chanting MVP when he was at the free throw line one year.

And you think Bostonians were chanting MVP?
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Re: NBC Sport and race article
« Reply #18 on: March 11, 2019, 06:52:36 PM »

Offline petbrick

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The idea that Boston isn't a particularly racist US city and the idea that the city of Boston might be a bit more racist than some other places are two separate things that should be considered as such. The first can be true while the second can be false (although in a perfect world we have moved on as much as some posters might like to think we have).

Having said that: the city was certainly, if tacitly, segregated while I lived there -- and I'd imagine that even with the slow creep of gentrification that there aren't yet a lot of white folks flocking to live in Roxbury. Not a situation unique to Boston in the slightest, but the fact is that it is one of those smaller cities that simply doesn't seem to feature an awful lot of racial co-mingling compared to a lot of other cities around the world, or even around the States, especially north of the Mason Dixon. Factor in the rest of New England being about as ethnic as mayonnaise and you've got a recipe for homogeneity among the fan base that isn't going to be unnoticed.

Put more simply:
I don't think Scal becomes the same sort of celebrity playing for the Nets for his entire career, even if you swapped the trajectories of the two teams over his relative tenures with them, and even though we are all sure that he wouldn't have wanted the mantled foisted on him if he had a say, Larry Bird was definitely stuck as the white saviour for a whole generation of bigoted NBA fans who are mostly still alive and kicking. The Kevin Love thing has already been remarked upon. The Hayward thing is obviously cut from the same mold, which is a perception-slash-caricature that, however unfair, has stuck around the Celtics.

Which, obviously, sucks.

Re: NBC Sport and race article
« Reply #19 on: March 11, 2019, 07:09:50 PM »

Offline PhoSita

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Trolling. Plain and simple.

Boston like many places has issues with race but it's a poorly thought out and badly written article by a clickbaity hack.
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Re: NBC Sport and race article
« Reply #20 on: March 11, 2019, 07:12:05 PM »

Offline smokeablount

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I'm confident that most white Boston fans don't want a white superstar any more than you hear people of color talk about how important it is to see people that look like them as doctors, lawyers, etc.  In basketball especially in the past decade, white guys are the minority and most of them have been specialists or frankly haven't been very good, so that kind of psychology makes a lot more sense to me than Boston having racist fans.  Most of my friends who are Celtics fans are white and only my little brother, who looks like Gordon Hayward, has Hayward as their favorite Celtic.
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Re: NBC Sport and race article
« Reply #21 on: March 11, 2019, 07:22:00 PM »

Offline KGBirdBias

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This is why I know Ainge will not trade Hayward. Ainge knows the culture in Boston and having a white star is good for the community. I'm not saying it's right but I'm black and I know....

...Celtics had 1st black player and black coach. They love their athletes no matter the race BUT Ainge being a BYU guy knows how to squelch an issue...but the guy better be able to hoop.

This is a non story. Boston loved Russell, DJ. Parish, Peirce, KG, Rondo, Big Papi...on and on.

Re: NBC Sport and race article
« Reply #22 on: March 11, 2019, 07:23:43 PM »

Offline petbrick

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This is why I know Ainge will not trade Hayward. Ainge knows the culture in Boston and having a white star is good for the community. I'm not saying it's right but I'm black and I know....

...Celtics had 1st black player and black coach. They love their athletes no matter the race BUT Ainge being a BYU guy knows how to squelch an issue...but the guy better be able to hoop.

This is a non story. Boston loved Russell, DJ. Parish, Peirce, KG, Rondo, Big Papi...on and on.

Boston loves Russell now. Boston definitely didn't love Russell then. Generally though, you're right: winners are going to be loved.

Re: NBC Sport and race article
« Reply #23 on: March 11, 2019, 07:38:37 PM »

Offline rocknrollforyoursoul

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I think there's a difference between racism and having an affinity for certain ethnic groups. In other words, people identify with others who are like them in notable ways.

White guys tend to be a little more popular in Boston than they are in some other cities/areas (especially when it comes to basketball), but I'm pretty sure Manny Machado is gonna be a little more popular in San Diego than he was in Baltimore, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Speaking as a white guy who can't jump, I get pretty stoked seeing a white guy who CAN jump.

And I don't think Hayward's minutes ever, at any point, had anything to do with the color of his (or Brad's) skin.
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Re: NBC Sport and race article
« Reply #24 on: March 11, 2019, 07:42:38 PM »

Offline Roy H.

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Most of my friends who are Celtics fans are white and only my little brother, who looks like Gordon Hayward, has Hayward as their favorite Celtic.

Yeah, among my peers and even here in the forums, I can’t really think of anybody who has embraced Hayward as a favorite.  We were all (or almost all) psyched when he signed, but the same was true of Horford.

I think that race influences perception quite frequently, but I haven’t noticed it factoring in to how Boston embraces its players.  Is David Ortiz any less loved than Tom Brady? I’m not sure that he is, and Brady is a 6-time champion.


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Re: NBC Sport and race article
« Reply #25 on: March 11, 2019, 07:49:40 PM »

Offline Roy H.

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White guys tend to be a little more popular in Boston than they are in some other cities/areas

I wonder if that’s even true on a wide scale. 

Looking at the two guys mentioned in this thread, Scal was a human victory cigar in Chicago, too. And Scal’s celebrity was in large part because he was a goofy pale redhead who had no gracefulness, but tried hard. The other player mentioned is Larry Bird, who would have been idolized by any fan base.


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Re: NBC Sport and race article
« Reply #26 on: March 11, 2019, 07:51:42 PM »

Offline Donoghus

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White guys tend to be a little more popular in Boston than they are in some other cities/areas

I wonder if that’s even true on a wide scale. 

Looking at the two guys mentioned in this thread, Scal was a human victory cigar in Chicago, too. And Scal’s celebrity was in large part because he was a goofy pale redhead who had no gracefulness, but tried hard. The other player mentioned is Larry Bird, who would have been idolized by any fan base.

I have no idea how you would even begin to try & measure that.


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Re: NBC Sport and race article
« Reply #27 on: March 11, 2019, 08:32:40 PM »

Offline Roy H.

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Quote
White guys tend to be a little more popular in Boston than they are in some other cities/areas

I wonder if that’s even true on a wide scale. 

Looking at the two guys mentioned in this thread, Scal was a human victory cigar in Chicago, too. And Scal’s celebrity was in large part because he was a goofy pale redhead who had no gracefulness, but tried hard. The other player mentioned is Larry Bird, who would have been idolized by any fan base.

I have no idea how you would even begin to try & measure that.

Yeah, I'm not sure it's measurable.  But I do think that the "odd white guy" does at times get a little extra attention around the league, almost like they're an oddity.  Matt Bonner (redhead), Boban (eastern European giant), Muresan (eastern European giant).  It takes more than whiteness, though.  Nobody, for instance, ever really loved Eric Montross around here.  Or Travis Knight.  Or Dan Dickau.  Or Chris Mihm.  Their race earned them absolutely zero credit from the fan base.


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Re: NBC Sport and race article
« Reply #28 on: March 11, 2019, 08:34:54 PM »

Offline nickagneta

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Quote
White guys tend to be a little more popular in Boston than they are in some other cities/areas

I wonder if that’s even true on a wide scale. 

Looking at the two guys mentioned in this thread, Scal was a human victory cigar in Chicago, too. And Scal’s celebrity was in large part because he was a goofy pale redhead who had no gracefulness, but tried hard. The other player mentioned is Larry Bird, who would have been idolized by any fan base.
Yeah, I haven't thought any more highly of white Celtics than black players. My most favorite recent Celtics have been Jaylen, Jayson, Rondo, KG, Pierce, and Lewis.

As for the rest of Boston athletes you are talking two teams where the great majority of players are white, in the Sox and Bruins. Yet recent most beloved Sox are men of color in Betts, Ortiz, Pedro, J.D. Martinez, Ramirez, etc.

As for football stars, Brady and Gronk would have been superstars no matter what city they played in.
« Last Edit: March 11, 2019, 09:26:14 PM by nickagneta »

Re: NBC Sport and race article
« Reply #29 on: March 11, 2019, 08:50:25 PM »

Offline Erik

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Race hustlers have to make their money somehow. This is complete nonsense.