Lebron calls Celtics fans racist

[Moranis]

DeMarcus Cousins said he was called the N-Word in Boston, which the Garden investigated and banned the fan for two years (which likely means it actually happened). 

https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/nba-rumors-fan-boston-banned-calling-demarcus-cousins-n-word

"I was told by league sources that the incident occurred while the Warriors were in Boston," Haynes said on The Spin. "During that game, there was a fan that muttered the n-word at DeMarcus Cousins. And I was told DeMarcus informed one of the team security guys, and they got a hold of the security team at TD Garden, they took care of the fan. And I was told, ultimately, that that fan was banned for the rest of this season and next year. So, he received a two-year ban."

You don’t win points for twisting narratives on the internet, you know.  It’s better to just present everything known and let the chips fall where they may.

Huh? Why was he banned for 2 years?

Are you the arbiter of what should offend black people? I don’t feel that I have that right.

I have no idea what you’re talking about.  I presented the Celtics statement, which Moranis left out.  How is that being “the arbiter of what would offend black people”?

Also:  go talk with some “black people”.  Interestingly, they’re not some homogeneous, monolithic breathing stereotype that is identified with a broad brush.  Shocking, I know.  They don’t all take offense to the same things or think the same way.  My goodness, “black people” may even be individuals, as different from one another as “white people”.  I’m still not sure how this applies to the quoted post, but perhaps we shouldn’t be trying to speak on a race that encompasses hundreds of millions of people?

You stated that the narrative had been twisted.

My question is: why was the man banned for 2 years?

How is that “the arbiter of what should offend black people”?  It seems like a non sequitur.  And, that non sequitur contains some stereotyping / racism / dehumanizing of “black people”, don’t you think?

The Celtics’ statement speaks for itself, doesn’t it? 

Moranis cited the investigation, and then inaccurately described the conclusion reached.  People who intentionally leave out facts are pushing a narrative.  Those who support those leaving out facts have no interest in the truth; they’re pushing an agenda.

I didn't intentionally leave anything out. I did an internet search and the article I cited came up and not the Celtics response.  Of course I only did the search because the racists on here kept asking why there weren't other reports from other players when there are.  And the Celtics response says it couldn't confirm what was said, not that it wasn't said.  I have no reason to believe Cousins was lying.   He may have misheard what was was said, but he certainly heard what he believed to be the n-word. 

[Moranis]

By equating Lebron hate with racial hate. He may have experienced some racial hate, but he also said "f--- Lebron" t-shirts are racist. He also chose to call all the Celtics fans racist

no he didn't in either case.

[JSD]

DeMarcus Cousins said he was called the N-Word in Boston, which the Garden investigated and banned the fan for two years (which likely means it actually happened). 

https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/nba-rumors-fan-boston-banned-calling-demarcus-cousins-n-word

"I was told by league sources that the incident occurred while the Warriors were in Boston," Haynes said on The Spin. "During that game, there was a fan that muttered the n-word at DeMarcus Cousins. And I was told DeMarcus informed one of the team security guys, and they got a hold of the security team at TD Garden, they took care of the fan. And I was told, ultimately, that that fan was banned for the rest of this season and next year. So, he received a two-year ban."

You don’t win points for twisting narratives on the internet, you know.  It’s better to just present everything known and let the chips fall where they may.

Huh? Why was he banned for 2 years?

Are you the arbiter of what should offend black people? I don’t feel that I have that right.

I have no idea what you’re talking about.  I presented the Celtics statement, which Moranis left out.  How is that being “the arbiter of what would offend black people”?

Also:  go talk with some “black people”.  Interestingly, they’re not some homogeneous, monolithic breathing stereotype that is identified with a broad brush.  Shocking, I know.  They don’t all take offense to the same things or think the same way.  My goodness, “black people” may even be individuals, as different from one another as “white people”.  I’m still not sure how this applies to the quoted post, but perhaps we shouldn’t be trying to speak on a race that encompasses hundreds of millions of people?

You stated that the narrative had been twisted.

My question is: why was the man banned for 2 years?

How is that “the arbiter of what should offend black people”?  It seems like a non sequitur.  And, that non sequitur contains some stereotyping / racism / dehumanizing of “black people”, don’t you think?

The Celtics’ statement speaks for itself, doesn’t it? 

Moranis cited the investigation, and then inaccurately described the conclusion reached.  People who intentionally leave out facts are pushing a narrative.  Those who support those leaving out facts have no interest in the truth; they’re pushing an agenda.

I didn't intentionally leave anything out. I did an internet search and the article I cited came up and not the Celtics response.  Of course I only did the search because the racists on here kept asking why there weren't other reports from other players when there are.  And the Celtics response says it couldn't confirm what was said, not that it wasn't said.  I have no reason to believe Cousins was lying.   He may have misheard what was was said, but he certainly heard what he believed to be the n-word.

They interviewed multiple witnesses, all of whom admitted there was taunting, but that no racial language was used.

There’s also a world where Cousins was incredibly annoyed by this specific fan and wanted to jam him up, so he embellished what was said to cause the young man the most grief possible. Again, I’m not saying that happened, however it’s a plausible scenario.

[Roy H.]

Perk weighs in:

Appearing on ESPN’s “First Take” Monday, former Celtics center Kendrick Perkins responded to James. He said he didn’t experience racism. “There’s racism everywhere. I spent eight and a half years there. And maybe because I was on the Celtics … I didn’t experience racism,” Perkins said.

Perkins said Boston fans sometimes cross the line. “I hear from so many other players about Boston being racist and things to that nature. But there’s racism everywhere. But I will say: The fans are too [dang] disrespectful when it comes to opposing teams coming to Boston.”

“The fans in Boston do cross the line and hit below the belt when it comes down to being disrespectful,” Perkins said. “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.”

I've gotta agree with Perk:  throwing things and targeting family is unacceptable.

[Vermont Green]

Perk weighs in:

Appearing on ESPN’s “First Take” Monday, former Celtics center Kendrick Perkins responded to James. He said he didn’t experience racism. “There’s racism everywhere. I spent eight and a half years there. And maybe because I was on the Celtics … I didn’t experience racism,” Perkins said.

Perkins said Boston fans sometimes cross the line. “I hear from so many other players about Boston being racist and things to that nature. But there’s racism everywhere. But I will say: The fans are too [dang] disrespectful when it comes to opposing teams coming to Boston.”

“The fans in Boston do cross the line and hit below the belt when it comes down to being disrespectful,” Perkins said. “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.”

I've gotta agree with Perk:  throwing things and targeting family is unacceptable.

Perk has a knack for getting right down to it.  I bet if you went back and asked 50 past Celtics players, some would report having felt some racial bias, others like Perk, not.  There are some pretty crude people around Boston and some of them go to games.  Perk says it is no different than anywhere else.  To some extent, I can believe that Perk is right.  Each person's experience in different places is probably different but it likely averages out.

I will say that for athletes that have had a bad experience with Boston or Boston fans, they shouldn't take that and declare that Boston is racist as LeBron came out and said.  Racial bias occurs when someone takes an experience or stereotype and then applies that broadly to an entire race of people.  That is categorically wrong.  It is also wrong to apply a bad experience with a Boston fan to all Boston fans.  I get that it is a lot to ask for athletes to be so discerning or diplomatic (although Perk has a knack for it) but I think that is the bottom line.

Some crude, possibly racially biased, fan threw a beer or whatever at LeBron and based on that, he feels Boston if full of similar types.  Maybe there were other incidents also.  It is understandable he would feel that way.  That is a handful of fans at most out of the 18,000 that were at the game though.

I have been to games in all sports in other cities.  Boston fans are more passionate in general.  Probably more crude too in general.  I am not sure if they are more racist in general though.  I have not seen anything like that at any game I have been at.  I am not really in a position where I could fully judge that.

[Roy H.]

By the way, the beer incident:



https://youtu.be/_sjGX3GqnL0

Are there other angles of this?  Were they able to pinpoint who threw it?  It's probably fair to assume that it was thrown by a white fan -- the large majority of fans at the Garden are white -- but there's no real proof of that.

[Goldstar88]

Perk weighs in:

Appearing on ESPN’s “First Take” Monday, former Celtics center Kendrick Perkins responded to James. He said he didn’t experience racism. “There’s racism everywhere. I spent eight and a half years there. And maybe because I was on the Celtics … I didn’t experience racism,” Perkins said.

Perkins said Boston fans sometimes cross the line. “I hear from so many other players about Boston being racist and things to that nature. But there’s racism everywhere. But I will say: The fans are too [dang] disrespectful when it comes to opposing teams coming to Boston.”

“The fans in Boston do cross the line and hit below the belt when it comes down to being disrespectful,” Perkins said. “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.”

I've gotta agree with Perk:  throwing things and targeting family is unacceptable.

Perks right, but it won’t matter to some posters on here as they would prefer taking Kyrie and Lebron’s word for it and believe that Boston is the same as it was 30+ years ago. Pierce had similar sentiments when he was asked about the City.

The Celtics have a history of bringing in players who, as Pierce said, are ultimately pleasantly surprised. Pierce says the expectations are based on old perceptions.

“I think it more has to do with the city, or the weather, or Boston has always been known as a racist city, but people come and it’s not like that anymore,” Pierce said. “That’s just what it is. It’s been known for that. Once they get here and understand what it’s all about, they change their whole opinion.”

KG has shared his thoughts as well:

“I come from the South,” said Garnett, who is a native of South Carolina. “I am used to racism. I am used to interacting with it. I was comfortable in being able to exchange in it. To control it.

“When I went to Boston, it was a different feel. People weren’t racist toward me. They were like, ‘Ooh, s—, ‘The Big Ticket,’ can I get a picture, bro?’ … Black, white, green, purple, it didn’t matter. ‘Yo, KG.’ Everybody was happy. Everybody wanted to talk the game. You had to stop and talk. It was natural. It was cool. There was so much transparency. You high-five and take the picture. They claim it. They saw me running through the rope, and diving on the floor. You’re like a god there. If you give everything there, they give it right back to you.”

[Kernewek]

Perk's right Boston fans are too [dang] disrespectful to opposing players?

We believe Perk when he says "I hear from so many other players about Boston being racist and things to that nature." ?

I feel like you don't have the grasp over narrative that you think you do, Goldstar. Especially when you're citing a 2019 story about Boston's attractiveness as a free agent destination: https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2019/06/paul-pierce-on-playing-in-the-city-of-boston-and-horford-getting-his-money.html

And an article where it's clear KG is talking about being a Celtic:

“The narrative of Boston before you get there is that it is a racist town,” said Kevin Garnett, who led the Celtics to a championship in 2008 and the team recently announced will have his No. 5 Celtics jersey retired next season.

“But once you became a Celtic, it was a whole other protective,” Garnett added. “It was another shield. … It was a whole other flip.”

https://andscape.com/features/celtics-being-a-black-player-in-boston/


Apologies for the edits, but this is the most blatant cherry picking since Ricky Davis trying for that triple double. Consider this from that same article:

Many Celtics players interviewed for this story who played in Boston in the mid-1990s and 2000s, and lived primarily in the suburbs near the practice facility in Waltham until it moved much closer to downtown in 2018, shared mostly positive experiences with Boston fans, though they acknowledged that being a Celtic likely helped.

Rivers added that it also helped when they were part of winning teams.

“When we became good, I became a ‘made man,’ ” Rivers said.

Rondo, too, said overall Boston was welcoming to him, but his brother, William, didn’t always feel the same way. The Celtics’ championship point guard said whether in Boston or elsewhere in America, a black athlete will likely get treated favorably over the typical African American. Kendrick Perkins agrees.

“I never dealt with any racism one time in eight years,” said Perkins, a member of the 2008 team. “I’m not saying there was no racism nowhere in Boston. But, I will say that being a professional athlete in Boston created a separation. If I was a normal black person in Boston, I’m not sure how they would act.”

Avery Bradley, who played for the Celtics from 2010-2017, said one of his brothers had a racist incident at a Boston Bruins game.

“My family and friends experienced a lot of racism in Boston,” Bradley said. “If they weren’t with me, they experienced all types of stuff. At a hockey game, my brother almost got in a fight with some people because they were acting crazy. I never experienced it, but every other person I knew that was there experienced it.”

[Goldstar88]

Perk's right Boston fans are too [dang] disrespectful to opposing players?

We believe Perk when he says "I hear from so many other players about Boston being racist and things to that nature." ?

I feel like you don't have the grasp over narrative that you think you do, Goldstar. Especially when you're citing a 2019 story about Boston's attractiveness as a free agent destination: https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2019/06/paul-pierce-on-playing-in-the-city-of-boston-and-horford-getting-his-money.html

And an article where it's clear KG is talking about being a Celtic:

“The narrative of Boston before you get there is that it is a racist town,” said Kevin Garnett, who led the Celtics to a championship in 2008 and the team recently announced will have his No. 5 Celtics jersey retired next season.

“But once you became a Celtic, it was a whole other protective,” Garnett added. “It was another shield. … It was a whole other flip.”

https://andscape.com/features/celtics-being-a-black-player-in-boston/


Apologies for the edits, but this is the most blatant cherry picking since Ricky Davis trying for that triple double. Consider this from that same article:

Many Celtics players interviewed for this story who played in Boston in the mid-1990s and 2000s, and lived primarily in the suburbs near the practice facility in Waltham until it moved much closer to downtown in 2018, shared mostly positive experiences with Boston fans, though they acknowledged that being a Celtic likely helped.

Rivers added that it also helped when they were part of winning teams.

“When we became good, I became a ‘made man,’ ” Rivers said.

Rondo, too, said overall Boston was welcoming to him, but his brother, William, didn’t always feel the same way. The Celtics’ championship point guard said whether in Boston or elsewhere in America, a black athlete will likely get treated favorably over the typical African American. Kendrick Perkins agrees.

“I never dealt with any racism one time in eight years,” said Perkins, a member of the 2008 team. “I’m not saying there was no racism nowhere in Boston. But, I will say that being a professional athlete in Boston created a separation. If I was a normal black person in Boston, I’m not sure how they would act.”

Avery Bradley, who played for the Celtics from 2010-2017, said one of his brothers had a racist incident at a Boston Bruins game.

“My family and friends experienced a lot of racism in Boston,” Bradley said. “If they weren’t with me, they experienced all types of stuff. At a hockey game, my brother almost got in a fight with some people because they were acting crazy. I never experienced it, but every other person I knew that was there experienced it.”

They are saying that they don’t view Boston as a racist city in that article, but you want to discount it because it had to do with free agency and was from 2019? Guess that makes it ancient history. There are incidents everywhere. Philly Fan received an indefinite ban last year for calling Carmelo Anthony “Boy”. Unfortunately this behavior happens in other cities as well, even though you want to believe that it’s only in Boston. You clearly think that Boston is a racist city, unlike anywhere else. it’s fine, you are entitled to your opinion. I’m going to agree with KG and Paul, though. Maybe you should team up with Lebron and Kyrie and buy the Celtics so you can make money off of all the racists and really stick it to them.

[Kernewek]

Perk's right Boston fans are too [dang] disrespectful to opposing players?

We believe Perk when he says "I hear from so many other players about Boston being racist and things to that nature." ?

I feel like you don't have the grasp over narrative that you think you do, Goldstar. Especially when you're citing a 2019 story about Boston's attractiveness as a free agent destination: https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2019/06/paul-pierce-on-playing-in-the-city-of-boston-and-horford-getting-his-money.html

And an article where it's clear KG is talking about being a Celtic:

“The narrative of Boston before you get there is that it is a racist town,” said Kevin Garnett, who led the Celtics to a championship in 2008 and the team recently announced will have his No. 5 Celtics jersey retired next season.

“But once you became a Celtic, it was a whole other protective,” Garnett added. “It was another shield. … It was a whole other flip.”

https://andscape.com/features/celtics-being-a-black-player-in-boston/


Apologies for the edits, but this is the most blatant cherry picking since Ricky Davis trying for that triple double. Consider this from that same article:

Many Celtics players interviewed for this story who played in Boston in the mid-1990s and 2000s, and lived primarily in the suburbs near the practice facility in Waltham until it moved much closer to downtown in 2018, shared mostly positive experiences with Boston fans, though they acknowledged that being a Celtic likely helped.

Rivers added that it also helped when they were part of winning teams.

“When we became good, I became a ‘made man,’ ” Rivers said.

Rondo, too, said overall Boston was welcoming to him, but his brother, William, didn’t always feel the same way. The Celtics’ championship point guard said whether in Boston or elsewhere in America, a black athlete will likely get treated favorably over the typical African American. Kendrick Perkins agrees.

“I never dealt with any racism one time in eight years,” said Perkins, a member of the 2008 team. “I’m not saying there was no racism nowhere in Boston. But, I will say that being a professional athlete in Boston created a separation. If I was a normal black person in Boston, I’m not sure how they would act.”

Avery Bradley, who played for the Celtics from 2010-2017, said one of his brothers had a racist incident at a Boston Bruins game.

“My family and friends experienced a lot of racism in Boston,” Bradley said. “If they weren’t with me, they experienced all types of stuff. At a hockey game, my brother almost got in a fight with some people because they were acting crazy. I never experienced it, but every other person I knew that was there experienced it.”

They are saying that they don’t view Boston as a racist city in that article, but you want to discount it because it had to do with free agency and was from 2019? Guess that makes it ancient history. There are incidents everywhere. Philly Fan received an indefinite ban last year for calling Carmelo Anthony “Boy”. Unfortunately this behavior happens in other cities as well, even though you want to believe that it’s only in Boston. You clearly think that Boston is a racist city, unlike anywhere else. it’s fine, you are entitled to your opinion. I’m going to agree with KG and Paul, though. Maybe you should team up with Lebron and Kyrie and buy the Celtics so you can make money off of all the racists and really stick it to them.

Well, before I said you either didn't understand context or you didn't understand the meaning of hypocrisy. I guess now the answer is clear: it's both.

No one in this thread is saying that racism exclusively happens in Boston. You have to actively work at twisting yourself in knots to come up to that conclusion - it's kind of impressive in the expanse of its Gormlessness.

[pokeKingCurtis]

By equating Lebron hate with racial hate. He may have experienced some racial hate, but he also said "f--- Lebron" t-shirts are racist. He also chose to call all the Celtics fans racist

no he didn't in either case.

Ok I went back and actually watched the interview.

Asked why he hates Boston, he said "because they're racist as f---,", not because some of their fans are racist. I know it's trivial, he probably just means he feels the Celtics fans are racist when he plays games...

But he just has no tact, in line with some of his past comments/behavior. That's where I take issue. Him trying to be the face of social issues, but not being thoughtful enough to deal with some of it.

The thing with the t-shirt I unfortunately read some of the articles on this issue, as I wasn't able to watch the videos. I mistakenly attributed this to Lebron based on how some of those articles were written, apologies for that. The host, in response to Lebron's comments, said this.

The full quote in response to why Lebron hates Boston: "because they're racist as f---, That’s why, They might throw something on you. I mean, I got a beer thrown on me leaving a game." Essentially the same thing - it's as Perk said, the fans may be disrespectful, but being disrespectful, or hating on Lebron, is not racism.

[Moranis]

By equating Lebron hate with racial hate. He may have experienced some racial hate, but he also said "f--- Lebron" t-shirts are racist. He also chose to call all the Celtics fans racist

no he didn't in either case.

Ok I went back and actually watched the interview.

Asked why he hates Boston, he said "because they're racist as f---,", not because some of their fans are racist. I know it's trivial, he probably just means he feels the Celtics fans are racist when he plays games...

But he just has no tact, in line with some of his past comments/behavior. That's where I take issue. Him trying to be the face of social issues, but not being thoughtful enough to deal with some of it.

The thing with the t-shirt I unfortunately read some of the articles on this issue, as I wasn't able to watch the videos. I mistakenly attributed this to Lebron based on how some of those articles were written, apologies for that. The host, in response to Lebron's comments, said this.

The full quote in response to why Lebron hates Boston: "because they're racist as f---, That’s why, They might throw something on you. I mean, I got a beer thrown on me leaving a game." Essentially the same thing - it's as Perk said, the fans may be disrespectful, but being disrespectful, or hating on Lebron, is not racism.

again that isn't what he said.  If you are going to quote the man, at least quote him accurately.  The full segment has been put into this thread, you don't even have to watch the minute or so. 

[pokeKingCurtis]

By equating Lebron hate with racial hate. He may have experienced some racial hate, but he also said "f--- Lebron" t-shirts are racist. He also chose to call all the Celtics fans racist

no he didn't in either case.

Ok I went back and actually watched the interview.

Asked why he hates Boston, he said "because they're racist as f---,", not because some of their fans are racist. I know it's trivial, he probably just means he feels the Celtics fans are racist when he plays games...

But he just has no tact, in line with some of his past comments/behavior. That's where I take issue. Him trying to be the face of social issues, but not being thoughtful enough to deal with some of it.

The thing with the t-shirt I unfortunately read some of the articles on this issue, as I wasn't able to watch the videos. I mistakenly attributed this to Lebron based on how some of those articles were written, apologies for that. The host, in response to Lebron's comments, said this.

The full quote in response to why Lebron hates Boston: "because they're racist as f---, That’s why, They might throw something on you. I mean, I got a beer thrown on me leaving a game." Essentially the same thing - it's as Perk said, the fans may be disrespectful, but being disrespectful, or hating on Lebron, is not racism.

again that isn't what he said.  If you are going to quote the man, at least quote him accurately.  The full segment has been put into this thread, you don't even have to watch the minute or so.

I should have put some elipses there, but ok --- here you go,the full quote, transcribed, apologies again for the oversight/lazy copy-pasting on my end. A lot of the articles didn't have this accurately quoted and should have just manually transcribed  these comments (not sure if the full quote is in this thread, but I guess it's faster to just transcribe anyway). hopefully I didn't mistranscribe some of this

"Why do you hate Boston"
"“because they're racist as f---, That’s why. They will say anything. And it’s fine, I mean f--- it's my life, I’ve been dealing with this my whole life. I don’t mind it. Like I hear it. Like if I hear somebody close by, I check them real quick, I move onto the game. They’re going to say whatever the f–k they want to say. They might throw something on you... I mean, I got a beer thrown on me leaving a game. You know”

The host then says "It's the only place in the NBA that wherever you go and they have like t-shirts that say like 'F*** LeBron.'"
"Yeah, it's like a 'F*** LBJ' T-shirt. I believe they probably sold it at the f***ing team shop."
"No they sold it outside the arena"
"No they sold it at the team shop"


Does that change anything? "they will say anything", I mean if someone was talking smack about my mom that's disrespectful but not racism. Of course, it could have been racial slurs, I won't deny that.

And doesn't his beer comment amount to him equating throwing beers as racism against him?

I get that the premise of the show is just a couple guys having beers and kicking back, so maybe Lebron isn't supposed to think to hard. "They" (Boston) "are racist as f---", not just some of them, all of them. But he just says/does the same kind of stuff everywhere and carries himself the same way.

The T-shirt thing, is that accurate? Unfortunately I never got to go to the Garden. Can't imagine it is ---- and if so (likely the case) --- again just lazy by him. And just awful.

I mean, having typed this out and having to had to spend time thinking about this more  --- if Luka Doncic was as much of a rival, like if he taunted an end of career KG in 2012 or whatever like Lebron did, and dunked over a 6'2 Terry and flexed, and if he teamed up with Dwayne Wade and Wade snapped Rondo's arm, and he did all this stuff to rile up the fans--- Luka might have also had a beer thrown at him (and the fans would have been equally wrong for throwing a beer at him, because you shouldn't throw stuff at other human beings)

There is racism in Boston - because I trust Marcus Smart's comments, and because of all these other comments that are more credible than Lebron's comments here. Maybe Lebron also faced some of it, he didnt make it super clear in this particular interview (he doesn't have to, that's his choice) but personally I feel it's also possible there's also some amount of - Lebron can dish it but he can't take it - based on his antics, and how he chooses to say/do some of the things he does (maybe stretching it but that's my feeling).

Thanks for talking me through it Moranis and calling me out (hopefully I didn't mess up the quote thrice, possible I did given the kind of week this has been, call me out again if I did). Thanks to you I think I understand a little more why I'm so peeved about this guy now and why I have so little respect for him, and the more he's sort of evolved the less I like some of the stuff he does. (I guess being basically a basketball god, he's proabbly been surrounded by yes-men and that sort of made him the way he is...but that's for another conversation for another time).

[Moranis]

By equating Lebron hate with racial hate. He may have experienced some racial hate, but he also said "f--- Lebron" t-shirts are racist. He also chose to call all the Celtics fans racist

no he didn't in either case.

Ok I went back and actually watched the interview.

Asked why he hates Boston, he said "because they're racist as f---,", not because some of their fans are racist. I know it's trivial, he probably just means he feels the Celtics fans are racist when he plays games...

But he just has no tact, in line with some of his past comments/behavior. That's where I take issue. Him trying to be the face of social issues, but not being thoughtful enough to deal with some of it.

The thing with the t-shirt I unfortunately read some of the articles on this issue, as I wasn't able to watch the videos. I mistakenly attributed this to Lebron based on how some of those articles were written, apologies for that. The host, in response to Lebron's comments, said this.

The full quote in response to why Lebron hates Boston: "because they're racist as f---, That’s why, They might throw something on you. I mean, I got a beer thrown on me leaving a game." Essentially the same thing - it's as Perk said, the fans may be disrespectful, but being disrespectful, or hating on Lebron, is not racism.

again that isn't what he said.  If you are going to quote the man, at least quote him accurately.  The full segment has been put into this thread, you don't even have to watch the minute or so.

I should have put some elipses there, but ok --- here you go,the full quote, transcribed, apologies again for the oversight/lazy copy-pasting on my end. A lot of the articles didn't have this accurately quoted and should have just manually transcribed  these comments (not sure if the full quote is in this thread, but I guess it's faster to just transcribe anyway). hopefully I didn't mistranscribe some of this

"Why do you hate Boston"
"“because they're racist as f---, That’s why. They will say anything. And it’s fine, I mean f--- it's my life, I’ve been dealing with this my whole life. I don’t mind it. Like I hear it. Like if I hear somebody close by, I check them real quick, I move onto the game. They’re going to say whatever the f–k they want to say. They might throw something on you... I mean, I got a beer thrown on me leaving a game. You know”

The host then says "It's the only place in the NBA that wherever you go and they have like t-shirts that say like 'F*** LeBron.'"
"Yeah, it's like a 'F*** LBJ' T-shirt. I believe they probably sold it at the f***ing team shop."
"No they sold it outside the arena"
"No they sold it at the team shop"


Does that change anything? "they will say anything", I mean if someone was talking smack about my mom that's disrespectful but not racism. Of course, it could have been racial slurs, I won't deny that.

And doesn't his beer comment amount to him equating throwing beers as racism against him?

I get that the premise of the show is just a couple guys having beers and kicking back, so maybe Lebron isn't supposed to think to hard. "They" (Boston) "are racist as f---", not just some of them, all of them. But he just says/does the same kind of stuff everywhere and carries himself the same way.

The T-shirt thing, is that accurate? Unfortunately I never got to go to the Garden. Can't imagine it is ---- and if so (likely the case) --- again just lazy by him. And just awful.

I mean, having typed this out and having to had to spend time thinking about this more  --- if Luka Doncic was as much of a rival, like if he taunted an end of career KG in 2012 or whatever like Lebron did, and dunked over a 6'2 Terry and flexed, and if he teamed up with Dwayne Wade and Wade snapped Rondo's arm, and he did all this stuff to rile up the fans--- Luka might have also had a beer thrown at him (and the fans would have been equally wrong for throwing a beer at him, because you shouldn't throw stuff at other human beings)

There is racism in Boston - because I trust Marcus Smart's comments, and because of all these other comments that are more credible than Lebron's comments here. Maybe Lebron also faced some of it, he didnt make it super clear in this particular interview (he doesn't have to, that's his choice) but personally I feel it's also possible there's also some amount of - Lebron can dish it but he can't take it - based on his antics, and how he chooses to say/do some of the things he does (maybe stretching it but that's my feeling).

Thanks for talking me through it Moranis and calling me out (hopefully I didn't mess up the quote thrice, possible I did given the kind of week this has been, call me out again if I did). Thanks to you I think I understand a little more why I'm so peeved about this guy now and why I have so little respect for him, and the more he's sort of evolved the less I like some of the stuff he does. (I guess being basically a basketball god, he's proabbly been surrounded by yes-men and that sort of made him the way he is...but that's for another conversation for another time).

earlier in the thread kernewek added some brackets which are very much implied

Cause they racist as f-. That's why. They will say anyth--and it's fine. I mean, it's my life.  It's s- I've been dealing with [racist heckling] my whole life. I don't mind it. Like, I hear it [the racist heckling]. Like, if I hear somebody [say something racist], like, close by, I'll check 'em real quick. I move on to the game. They gonna say whatever the f- they want to say.

The beer, the shirts, etc. aren't given as examples of racism.  They are given as examples as to why the fans in Boston make it tough on opposing players (which was the question Lebron was answering).  Separate thoughts but all relate to why it is hard to play in Boston as an opposing player i.e. they say racist things, they say anything they want no matter how crude, they have shirts made that say f- and your name, and they will throw beer on you.  All reasons why Lebron hates playing in Boston. 

[celticsclay]

Does anyone here actually regularly watch the shop? I’ve only seen clips. Curious if it is any good after all this discussion.