Kyrie saying he hopes there won't be racist abuse from Boston fans

[kraidstar]

I'm done with Marcus Smart. He could have made a thoughtful statement like, say:

"As a black man I've experienced racism in many different places. It is terrible, and heartbreaking, there's no excuse, and it needs to stop. I don't think it's fair though to single out a city and paint them with such broad strokes. Most of the fans are great ands just love their team. Some of them have issues with the way Kyrie left here and they might make their voices known about that."


It would have been easy for Smart to make his point without feeding into Kyrie's narrative. It is pitiful now that a lot of fans and players think Boston is more racist than Texas, Florida, Indiana, Georgia, or wherever. It's pretty absurd.

[Celtics2021]

Marcus Smart fueling the anti-Boston flames:

When asked whether he has heard racial remarks made against opposing players from the Boston crowd, Smart confirmed he witnessed at least a few interactions.

“Yeah, I’ve heard a couple of them,” Smart said after practice Thursday. “It’s kind of sad and sickening. Even though it’s an opposing team, we’ve had guys on your home team that you’re saying these racial slurs and you expect us to go out here and play for you. It’s tough.”

Why comment at all?  I hope that he’s traded this off-season.

I’m not sure I trust Marcus here.  He happens to be the only person in America who heard a Texas Tech fan shout the N-word at him before going into the stands to attack him.  He says a woman outside the TD Garden loudly shouted the N-wordat him when he was doing a good deed.  Again, no witnesses or corroboration.  To me, he’s got all the credibility of Tawana Bradley.

Marcus is apparently the only black Celtic, other than Kyrie now, to have dealt with these things it seems. Haven't heard anything from anyone prior to this, besides the stereotypes from opposition fans that Bostonians are racist.

Heck, even Perk and IT4 have gone on record saying Boston crowds are tough, but explicitly mention that they're not racist.

I'm pretty done with Marcus too. Heart and soul my rear-end

Marcus wrote about this last year.  Not quite sure why you're surprised he'd say this now:

But the incident that has stuck with me the most, and that’s had the biggest impact on me, occurred a few years back after a victory at the Garden.

I was pulling out of the arena parking lot when I saw a white woman with her five- or six-year-old son crossing against the light right as the cars were starting to come at them. I had my windows down and realized something bad was about to happen, so I yelled to her, politely, that she needed to hurry and get out of the street so the two of them wouldn’t get hurt.

The woman was wearing an Isaiah Thomas number 4 Celts jersey. And there were all these other Celtics fans around who were at the game. I figured she’d be cool. 

Nope.

She swung her head around and it was….

“F*** you, you f***ing n-word!!!!”

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts/marcus-smart-nba-boston-celtics-covid-racial-injustice

[tenn_smoothie]

I'm done with Marcus Smart. He could have made a thoughtful statement like, say:

"As a black man I've experienced racism in many different places. It is terrible, and heartbreaking, there's no excuse, and it needs to stop. I don't think it's fair though to single out a city and paint them with such broad strokes. Most of the fans are great ands just love their team. Some of them have issues with the way Kyrie left here and they might make their voices known about that."


It would have been easy for Smart to make his point without feeding into Kyrie's narrative. It is pitiful now that a lot of fans and players think Boston is more racist than Texas, Florida, Indiana, Georgia, or wherever. It's pretty absurd.

Well said.

Unfortunately, such measured, common sense statements like you
proposed are not part of today's culture in America.

[Tr1boy]

https://youtu.be/QbexzmSn02Q

Landry Shamet .. response to Irving criticism

Neutral experience. Welcomes fans back

[blink]

I'm done with Marcus Smart. He could have made a thoughtful statement like, say:

"As a black man I've experienced racism in many different places. It is terrible, and heartbreaking, there's no excuse, and it needs to stop. I don't think it's fair though to single out a city and paint them with such broad strokes. Most of the fans are great ands just love their team. Some of them have issues with the way Kyrie left here and they might make their voices known about that."


It would have been easy for Smart to make his point without feeding into Kyrie's narrative. It is pitiful now that a lot of fans and players think Boston is more racist than Texas, Florida, Indiana, Georgia, or wherever. It's pretty absurd.

Yeah I agree with this.  I don't really mind Marcus calling out what he feels / knows as the truth.  But it is the way that he sided with that snake of a dude Kyrie just kind of throws his home team city under the bus a little bit.  Yes there are racists literally EVERYWHERE in the US.  Yes there might be a lot of them in Boston, but there are a lot of them in NYC too, and Miami, and where ever.  I just feel like Marcus could have handled that a lot better.  Maybe in his mind he is going to get traded, C's are losing this series, so what does he care. 

[Tr1boy]

Man, some disgusting takes here. Marcus is saying he’s heard it and we’re denying it?? Asking him to be traded??

I’ve been to the Garden a couple of times and I’ve heard it too. What are we trying to do? Just ignore the problem? And saying “oh all fanbases do it” is not a solution and doesn’t matter. If our players and ex-players have experienced racism, we need to listen and find a solution.

How can we fix this problem if we don’t even acknowledge its existence?

Some posters here obviously don’t want it fixed. Very telling.

Marcus could have stated that he has heard racist comments throughout the league as well. And those that are racist or racist "protect" must do better

Why backup Irving and "blanket""paint the whole city/affect org" racist comment?

You know when Irving and KD said "everyone knows it" ... they were chuckling... what is that? Its a serious matter yet they are making light of it?

[blink]

Man, some disgusting takes here. Marcus is saying he’s heard it and we’re denying it?? Asking him to be traded??

I’ve been to the Garden a couple of times and I’ve heard it too. What are we trying to do? Just ignore the problem? And saying “oh all fanbases do it” is not a solution and doesn’t matter. If our players and ex-players have experienced racism, we need to listen and find a solution.

How can we fix this problem if we don’t even acknowledge its existence?

Some posters here obviously don’t want it fixed. Very telling.

Marcus could have stated that he has heard racist comments throughout the league as well. And those that are racist or racist "protect" must do better

Why backup Irving and "blanket""painting the whole city" racist comment?

You know when Irving and KD said "everyone knows it" ... they were chuckling... what is that? Its a serious matter yet they are making light of it?

I feel like Kyrie knows he completely failed in Boston, so he is stirring stuff up to change the narrative a bit.  Kind of like let me show you all this shiny object so you will forget about how I basically lied to all the fans, and just gave up in the playoffs against the Bucks when I was here.  If he only make it about the racist fans in Boston then he won't have to confront the fact that he was a failure as a leader in Boston.

KD is a just kind of a slimeball as well.  He probably is aware that places like OKC are just as if not more racist than Boston, I mean he played there.  But it is more fun to pile onto Boston with Kyrie than have a serious conversation about any of that.  I think for whatever reason both Kyrie and KD don't like Boston.  Maybe it is DA, maybe it is Kyrie didn't like getting upstaged by JT / JB the year he was out of the playoffs.   

For all of these reasons, I would really like to win on Friday night.  If Smart doesn't play many minutes and we win, well that would be great too.

[Tr1boy]

Man, some disgusting takes here. Marcus is saying he’s heard it and we’re denying it?? Asking him to be traded??

I’ve been to the Garden a couple of times and I’ve heard it too. What are we trying to do? Just ignore the problem? And saying “oh all fanbases do it” is not a solution and doesn’t matter. If our players and ex-players have experienced racism, we need to listen and find a solution.

How can we fix this problem if we don’t even acknowledge its existence?

Some posters here obviously don’t want it fixed. Very telling.

Marcus could have stated that he has heard racist comments throughout the league as well. And those that are racist or racist "protect" must do better

Why backup Irving and "blanket""painting the whole city" racist comment?

You know when Irving and KD said "everyone knows it" ... they were chuckling... what is that? Its a serious matter yet they are making light of it?

I feel like Kyrie knows he completely failed in Boston, so he is stirring stuff up to change the narrative a bit.  Kind of like let me show you all this shiny object so you will forget about how I basically lied to all the fans, and just gave up in the playoffs against the Bucks when I was here.  If he only make it about the racist fans in Boston then he won't have to confront the fact that he was a failure as a leader in Boston.

KD is a just kind of a slimeball as well.  He probably is aware that places like OKC are just as if not more racist than Boston, I mean he played there.  But it is more fun to pile onto Boston with Kyrie than have a serious conversation about any of that.  I think for whatever reason both Kyrie and KD don't like Boston.  Maybe it is DA, maybe it is Kyrie didn't like getting upstaged by JT / JB the year he was out of the playoffs.   

For all of these reasons, I would really like to win on Friday night.  If Smart doesn't play many minutes and we win, well that would be great too.

Kyrie ... what a guy

Remember when he called the media "pawns"

What a disrespectful and selfish guy

I want the fans to Boo him hard.... "Lebron is your daddy chants"....   

Danny and Wyc must really regret now trading for him.  Its no wonder ... even for a player with his talent... there wasnt much interest around the league. Cavs had to take a deal from rival Celtics

I agree... please win tomorrow

[colincb]

Have no problem with what Smart said or any other athlete that has talked about racism in Boston. Racism is pervasive in this country (and in the world), but Boston and its environs is not the most racist area in the country as anyone who knows the US or US history well would tell you.

That's not what Irving's doing. He has always sought attention and made himself out to be way more than he is. He's gotten that attention again.

(But down deep, he's small.)

[Kernewek]

One thing that hasn’t been brought up is the way that homogeneity in a fan base can contribute to these perceptions.

Or:
Is anyone surprised that the two teams embroiled in racism chatter are the Utah Jazz and the C’s, while the two teams being called out for boorish behaviour are the Knicks and the 76ers?

[gouki88]

One thing that hasn’t been brought up is the way that homogeneity in a fan base can contribute to these perceptions.

Or:
Is anyone surprised that the two teams embroiled in racism chatter are the Utah Jazz and the C’s, while the two teams being called out for boorish behaviour are the Knicks and the 76ers?

The other 3 had actual incidents occur, whereas the Celtics did not. That’s a pretty important point of difference for my mind.

[Celtics4ever]

I clearly recall this incident from Oct 20, 2020, and googled it for others to see.   Is this what he was talking about:

“I was pulling out of the arena parking lot when I saw a white woman with her five- or six-year-old son crossing against the light right as the cars were starting to come at them. I had my windows down and realized something bad was about to happen, so I yelled to her, politely,” he said of the woman leaving TD Garden in Celtics gear. “I figured she’d be cool. Nope.”

Smart said she responded by cursing him and calling him the n-word. And it’s not just basketball fans who have given Smart problems. Since signing on with the NBA, his nicer cars have drawn the attention of people in power. Namely, cops.

Smart said she responded by cursing him and calling him the n-word. And it’s not just basketball fans who have given Smart problems. Since signing on with the NBA, his nicer cars have drawn the attention of people in power. Namely, cops.

Though he made a point of tinting his windows within the legal limit, knowing how traffic stops can turn deadly for Black men, Smart said he was frequently stopped by police who believed his windows were too dark.

“One time it was like, ‘This is a pretty nice car. Pretty expensive. It’s yours?’” he said. “Another time, I get pulled over for the tint again, and the officer recognizes who I am. So for whatever reason he starts going in on Colin Kaepernick.”

https://www.complex.com/sports/2020/10/marcus-smart-details-incident-called-n-word-celtic-fan

[Birdman]

LeBron use to be my most hated player in NBA but now I think it’s Kyrie

[jambr380]

Man, some disgusting takes here. Marcus is saying he’s heard it and we’re denying it?? Asking him to be traded??

I’ve been to the Garden a couple of times and I’ve heard it too. What are we trying to do? Just ignore the problem? And saying “oh all fanbases do it” is not a solution and doesn’t matter. If our players and ex-players have experienced racism, we need to listen and find a solution.

How can we fix this problem if we don’t even acknowledge its existence?

Some posters here obviously don’t want it fixed. Very telling.

Marcus could have stated that he has heard racist comments throughout the league as well. And those that are racist or racist "protect" must do better

Why backup Irving and "blanket""painting the whole city" racist comment?

You know when Irving and KD said "everyone knows it" ... they were chuckling... what is that? Its a serious matter yet they are making light of it?

I feel like Kyrie knows he completely failed in Boston, so he is stirring stuff up to change the narrative a bit.  Kind of like let me show you all this shiny object so you will forget about how I basically lied to all the fans, and just gave up in the playoffs against the Bucks when I was here.  If he only make it about the racist fans in Boston then he won't have to confront the fact that he was a failure as a leader in Boston.

KD is a just kind of a slimeball as well.  He probably is aware that places like OKC are just as if not more racist than Boston, I mean he played there.  But it is more fun to pile onto Boston with Kyrie than have a serious conversation about any of that.  I think for whatever reason both Kyrie and KD don't like Boston.  Maybe it is DA, maybe it is Kyrie didn't like getting upstaged by JT / JB the year he was out of the playoffs.   

For all of these reasons, I would really like to win on Friday night.  If Smart doesn't play many minutes and we win, well that would be great too.

KD is the absolute best. Dude has no problem throwing out graphic homophobic slurs - and the world seemingly has no problem with it either since it is now forgotten. Now he is the peanut gallery on something that has never reportedly been a problem for him in the city, just throwing out a random 'everyone knows it' comment, acting like it is all a joke.

Yes, I understand there is racism in the world - and there is racism in Boston. Just feel like the city is getting a not especially deserved bad rap. As for Marcus - I know he is trying to be thoughtful with his comments, but dude, read the room. The current Cs players should despise Kyrie, yet it seems like he is everyone's best friend. Such a huge mistake it was ever bringing him here...

[RJ87]

Marcus Smart fueling the anti-Boston flames:

When asked whether he has heard racial remarks made against opposing players from the Boston crowd, Smart confirmed he witnessed at least a few interactions.

“Yeah, I’ve heard a couple of them,” Smart said after practice Thursday. “It’s kind of sad and sickening. Even though it’s an opposing team, we’ve had guys on your home team that you’re saying these racial slurs and you expect us to go out here and play for you. It’s tough.”

Why comment at all?  I hope that he’s traded this off-season.

I’m not sure I trust Marcus here.  He happens to be the only person in America who heard a Texas Tech fan shout the N-word at him before going into the stands to attack him.  He says a woman outside the TD Garden loudly shouted the N-wordat him when he was doing a good deed.  Again, no witnesses or corroboration.  To me, he’s got all the credibility of Tawana Bradley.

Marcus is apparently the only black Celtic, other than Kyrie now, to have dealt with these things it seems. Haven't heard anything from anyone prior to this, besides the stereotypes from opposition fans that Bostonians are racist.

Heck, even Perk and IT4 have gone on record saying Boston crowds are tough, but explicitly mention that they're not racist.

I'm pretty done with Marcus too. Heart and soul my rear-end

Marcus wrote about this last year.  Not quite sure why you're surprised he'd say this now:

But the incident that has stuck with me the most, and that’s had the biggest impact on me, occurred a few years back after a victory at the Garden.

I was pulling out of the arena parking lot when I saw a white woman with her five- or six-year-old son crossing against the light right as the cars were starting to come at them. I had my windows down and realized something bad was about to happen, so I yelled to her, politely, that she needed to hurry and get out of the street so the two of them wouldn’t get hurt.

The woman was wearing an Isaiah Thomas number 4 Celts jersey. And there were all these other Celtics fans around who were at the game. I figured she’d be cool. 

Nope.

She swung her head around and it was….

“F*** you, you f***ing n-word!!!!”

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts/marcus-smart-nba-boston-celtics-covid-racial-injustice

TP.

This isn't the first time Marcus has spoken about his experience and he shouldn't be restricted from speaking about it. The same people railing against him in this thread and calling for him to be traded, are the first ones to shout about PC culture and free speech. Interesting how the tables turn.

I've had some racially charged experiences in my life - a few when I lived in the South - but the most frightening one was when I was going to college in Boston. I've told this story before, but when I told my family of my decision to go to school in Boston, my grandmother basically staged in intervention to try to talk me out of it because of the racist rep it has. Granted, the city has come a long way from the days of Bill Russell. But it's not nearly as progressive as it thinks it is because people would prefer to pretend things like this don't still happen there with the frequency it does instead of confronting it head on.