Another sly Kyrie move.

[rollie mass]

The Celtic organization was on the forefront of racial equality with Red Auerbach creating a band of brothers willing to die (in a competitive sense for basketball and their teammates).The broken promises and his inability to lead ended in a Bucks humiliating retreat  by Kyrie .Now attempting to stir the pot with the racial issues of the past.
 The attempt to disgrace all the Banners and Hall of Famers just another sly ,narcissistic move of a petulant child .The success of the Celtics started long ago with Red Auerbach and Celtics organization breaking all sorts of racial barriers From black coaches, and all black squads.
This group brought respect to each other.I loved basketball because the Celtics played scrappy ,defensive minded fast break basketball,The rivalries built up over years and the Legends forged from them.
Basketball was tougher then and playoffs infamous for hard fouls  and much more gritty defense.No hugs.
The athletes of today have  no loyalty it  has become mercenary,A hard foul is now a breath foul,l
 or anding in someones airspace and players are baiting  for whistle happy refs.
 While the stars are crybabies pushing the limits of the faux fouls.
This was a season to test all fans. Injuries ,no crowds last years bubble ,Covid isolations and remaining residual effects.The lack of vets,the lack of summer league,short a training camp an short pre season,lack of continuity ,BLM and an incited resurrection targeting the Capital.
This was a year of covid hospitalization while masking life threatening peritonitis .Then a major operation removing a bowel tumor and 18 lymph nodes and now chemo.

I grew up in Lexington and i watched the evidence of mass extermination of Jews ,the Jew jokes and was half Jewish  Back then i wouldn't admit it and i was Captain of Basketball team coached by Rollie Masimino. we won 18 straight games  ending with a loss to Wakefield
Being old went through the negro stage ,the a revert to black and now African Americans.I watched first had busing in Boston. Brighton families fled to suburbs. In Lexington busing stood for athletes like Ronnie Lee who made it to pros.
I still remember the playing undefeated Jamaica Plain in state tournament THEY were huge and jumped out of the gym
but Rollie Massimino had taught us well and.conditioned us to a fine edge,and yelling Help Right Help Left, pressure man to man defence. left them shocked .You could see the "who are these white guys"taking charges and turn and blocking these guys out of bounds.
We used their strengths against them, a simple eye or head fake and lean in drew fouls or a drive  Our defence shocked THEM and WE beat them.The use of THEM was never meant to denigrate but to identify a group of quicker,taller athletic players.I would really love to sit down with Jaylen and talk about that usage. .I never thought of myself a Racist spending my late teens in Cambridge on the forefront equality and i used to think it was poverty crime and anger that was the big divider. Of course there was this intellectual subset talked about in Cambridge cafes or the progressive bars i worked at. Where cool blacks hunted white liberal chicks.

 There was the historical break up of family unit the blocikng of the vote,the systematic unemployment of black men,and MASS. welfare system leaning over to  reward single women per kid,,drugs and crime.There was a phrase "come on up and join the welfare system that pays better than working Again dis enfranchised the male and family
Then the lowering of requirements to get into college and to be filled while students screamed reverse discrimination that now extended into the job market.Boston was famous for its immigration in and out of the ghettos North End East Boston and Revere,Chelsea Southie ,Charlestown, Dorchestor and the South End,Mission Hill and Brooklline. You worked hard saved and moved up .
This left areas competing for same low paying jobs jobs -the Irish an the Italians  were the mob racism percolated at their common borders. and maybe in downtown Boston near the strip joints and stores catering black fashion,trainers and caps

[Jiri Welsch]

Thanks for the post rollie, it's always a treat reading your perspective.

The current situation with Kyrie is tough to sum up in a few words, mostly because there are so many different elements involved: Kyrie's petulant behavior and unceremonious exit from Boston, his continued inconsistent behavior, Boston's very real problems with race that span beyond the floor, the current climate where NBA fans are very much acting out in a way that's unacceptable, etc.

During my conversations with friends, we tend to agree that Kyrie is by no means acting or speaking in good faith. Yet at the same time Boston fans do have a reputation for occasionally acting in a way that goes beyond the pale. And Boston -- like Jaylen Brown reminded us the other day -- has some serious work to do when it comes to racial equity in the city.

The whole situation is unfortunate to put it mildly.

[Kuberski33]

Rollie my dad likely reffed a few of your HS games. He was always telling me about the Lexington teams that Rollie Mass coached. Also heard a lot of stories about how good Ronnie Lee was.  I did get to watch him with the Suns and he was a force of nature.