Draymond Says He Was Repeatedly Called N-Word During NBA Finals

[MarcusSmartFanClub]

Weird that most Celtics fans on here think that couldn’t happen in Boston. Has anyone spent time in the city? Know people from Southie/Dorchester/etc? Open minded and tolerant are not words that I would use to describe our provincial city.

I went to a Patriots game earlier this year and there was a middle aged white guy in front of me that wouldn’t stop talking loudly about the “atrocities of transgender”. Guy was trying to make a political statement (while drunk) at a game and nobody told him to shut up. He had a bunch of his buddies there (and he was drunk), so I figured it would be easier to leave the section then say something and potentially get beat up.

[Roy H.]

Weird that most Celtics fans on here think that couldn’t happen in Boston. Has anyone spent time in the city? Know people from Southie/Dorchester/etc? Open minded and tolerant are not words that I would use to describe our provincial city.

You're intentionally twisting what people are arguing, aren't you?  It seems like a bad faith position.

Nobody has claimed that racism can't happen "in Boston". 

Rather, what people are saying is that in an arena of 18,000 people with presumably 18,000 phones, with hundreds of media organizations having reporters, cameras, audio recorders, etc., it's pretty unlikely that somebody shouted a racial slur at Draymond that he heard.  That's especially true when not a single player or referee that was sharing the court with DG heard it, and DG himself didn't report the (completely fictional) incident for five months.  That's despite vocal complaining all series about the "F Draymond" and "Draymond sucks" chants.  Dray did a podcast and didn't mention it, his wife complained on social media about swearing but not slurs, Klay Thompson did the same thing, etc.

There seem to be three reasonable alternatives here:

1.  The event didn't happen and Dray lied about it;
2.  The event didn't happen, but Dray legitimately misheard something (but still didn't speak up for five months);
3.  Dray has superhero-level hearing, and heard a shout that no other audio device or player's ears could hear (but still didn't speak up for five months).

[MarcusSmartFanClub]

Weird that most Celtics fans on here think that couldn’t happen in Boston. Has anyone spent time in the city? Know people from Southie/Dorchester/etc? Open minded and tolerant are not words that I would use to describe our provincial city.

You're intentionally twisting what people are arguing, aren't you?  It seems like a bad faith position.

Nobody has claimed that racism can't happen "in Boston". 

Rather, what people are saying is that in an arena of 18,000 people with presumably 18,000 phones, with hundreds of media organizations having reporters, cameras, audio recorders, etc., it's pretty unlikely that somebody shouted a racial slur at Draymond that he heard.  That's especially true when not a single player or referee that was sharing the court with DG heard it, and DG himself didn't report the (completely fictional) incident for five months.  That's despite vocal complaining all series about the "F Draymond" and "Draymond sucks" chants.  Dray did a podcast and didn't mention it, his wife complained on social media about swearing but not slurs, Klay Thompson did the same thing, etc.

There seem to be three reasonable alternatives here:

1.  The event didn't happen and Dray lied about it;
2.  The event didn't happen, but Dray legitimately misheard something (but still didn't speak up for five months);
3.  Dray has superhero-level hearing, and heard a shout that no other audio device or player's ears could hear (but still didn't speak up for five months).

How is it bad faith? I’ve heard white people use that word many times in Boston, esp related to alcohol at 2am on the streets of Southie walking home. My personal experiences lead me to think that a) it happens and b) people are afraid to intervene with a drunk person.

Are you saying that you don’t believe that one or two people were using that word in a huge stadium because of a lack of video evidence? I don’t buy that.

[Kuberski33]

Draymond pushes buttons. That's his nature. Last night he drained a 3, then turned around and yelled either at the C's bench or the crowd (my guess is the crowd). It's just what he does. If he were a Celtic we'd love him.

I'm just surprised the 'holier than thou' sports media didn't pick up on this and try to run with it the way they did with the Adam Jones thing.

[MarcusSmartFanClub]

https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2021/05/27/marcus-smart-racist-comments-td-garden/

Is Marcus also a liar? Or should we back down from our defensive position because we like the way he plays?

[Roy H.]

Weird that most Celtics fans on here think that couldn’t happen in Boston. Has anyone spent time in the city? Know people from Southie/Dorchester/etc? Open minded and tolerant are not words that I would use to describe our provincial city.

You're intentionally twisting what people are arguing, aren't you?  It seems like a bad faith position.

Nobody has claimed that racism can't happen "in Boston". 

Rather, what people are saying is that in an arena of 18,000 people with presumably 18,000 phones, with hundreds of media organizations having reporters, cameras, audio recorders, etc., it's pretty unlikely that somebody shouted a racial slur at Draymond that he heard.  That's especially true when not a single player or referee that was sharing the court with DG heard it, and DG himself didn't report the (completely fictional) incident for five months.  That's despite vocal complaining all series about the "F Draymond" and "Draymond sucks" chants.  Dray did a podcast and didn't mention it, his wife complained on social media about swearing but not slurs, Klay Thompson did the same thing, etc.

There seem to be three reasonable alternatives here:

1.  The event didn't happen and Dray lied about it;
2.  The event didn't happen, but Dray legitimately misheard something (but still didn't speak up for five months);
3.  Dray has superhero-level hearing, and heard a shout that no other audio device or player's ears could hear (but still didn't speak up for five months).

How is it bad faith? I’ve heard white people use that word many times in Boston, esp related to alcohol at 2am on the streets of Southie walking home. My personal experiences lead me to think that a) it happens and b) people are afraid to intervene with a drunk person.

Are you saying that you don’t believe that one or two people were using that word in a huge stadium because of a lack of video evidence? I don’t buy that.

It's bad faith because you're intentionally conflating "in Boston" with "at court level of the TD Garden during the NBA Finals".

[Kuberski33]

https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2021/05/27/marcus-smart-racist-comments-td-garden/

Is Marcus also a liar? Or should we back down from our defensive position because we like the way he plays?

Take any group of 20,000 people. Among them you'll find - millionaires, business owners, social workers, teachers, people who do lots of community service, average folks.  You'll also find - thieves, criminals, bullies, folks with psychological problems, others who by logical evaluation might be considered scumb bags etc. And you'll find some racists.

You can't legislate proper behavior among everyone. I'd suggest that you stop expecting it.  500 years from now take another group of 20,000 folks - you're likely to find a similar makeup. People are people and they aren't and will never be perfect. We've had law enforcement for as long as there have been laws - for a reason.

[MarcusSmartFanClub]

https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2021/05/27/marcus-smart-racist-comments-td-garden/

Is Marcus also a liar? Or should we back down from our defensive position because we like the way he plays?

Take any group of 20,000 people. Among them you'll find - millionaires, business owners, social workers, teachers, people who do lots of community service, average folks.  You'll also find - thieves, criminals, bullies, folks with psychological problems, others who by logical evaluation might be considered scumb bags etc.

You can't legislate proper behavior among everyone. I'd suggest that you stop expecting it.  500 years from now take another group of 20,000 folks - you're likely to find a similar makeup. People are people and they aren't and will never be perfect. We've had law enforcement for as long as there have been laws - for a reason.

I agree. I’m not saying it’s the end of the world. I’m just not outright denying it like others. I don’t think Boston is any worse than other cities. This stuff happens. To gaslight a black person and say that it didn’t happen seems wrong to me.

[MarcusSmartFanClub]

Weird that most Celtics fans on here think that couldn’t happen in Boston. Has anyone spent time in the city? Know people from Southie/Dorchester/etc? Open minded and tolerant are not words that I would use to describe our provincial city.

You're intentionally twisting what people are arguing, aren't you?  It seems like a bad faith position.

Nobody has claimed that racism can't happen "in Boston". 

Rather, what people are saying is that in an arena of 18,000 people with presumably 18,000 phones, with hundreds of media organizations having reporters, cameras, audio recorders, etc., it's pretty unlikely that somebody shouted a racial slur at Draymond that he heard.  That's especially true when not a single player or referee that was sharing the court with DG heard it, and DG himself didn't report the (completely fictional) incident for five months.  That's despite vocal complaining all series about the "F Draymond" and "Draymond sucks" chants.  Dray did a podcast and didn't mention it, his wife complained on social media about swearing but not slurs, Klay Thompson did the same thing, etc.

There seem to be three reasonable alternatives here:

1.  The event didn't happen and Dray lied about it;
2.  The event didn't happen, but Dray legitimately misheard something (but still didn't speak up for five months);
3.  Dray has superhero-level hearing, and heard a shout that no other audio device or player's ears could hear (but still didn't speak up for five months).

How is it bad faith? I’ve heard white people use that word many times in Boston, esp related to alcohol at 2am on the streets of Southie walking home. My personal experiences lead me to think that a) it happens and b) people are afraid to intervene with a drunk person.

Are you saying that you don’t believe that one or two people were using that word in a huge stadium because of a lack of video evidence? I don’t buy that.

It's bad faith because you're intentionally conflating "in Boston" with "at court level of the TD Garden during the NBA Finals".

You made this point before- people behave in the expensive seats. I don’t think there’s a correlation between wealth and decency.

[MarcusSmartFanClub]

I don't believe it.  If the N-word is audible on the court to a player, that means it's being shouted very loudly.  Somebody else -- an usher, another fan, TV or radio broadcasts, etc. -- is going to hear it, and most likely have you thrown out of the game.

Green isn't shy about complaining about things.  If this had actually happened, he wouldn't have sat on it for seven months.

Nah, it doesn’t. If the person is sitting courtside, they are as close as possible. Therefore they don’t have to shout.

[Roy H.]

Weird that most Celtics fans on here think that couldn’t happen in Boston. Has anyone spent time in the city? Know people from Southie/Dorchester/etc? Open minded and tolerant are not words that I would use to describe our provincial city.

You're intentionally twisting what people are arguing, aren't you?  It seems like a bad faith position.

Nobody has claimed that racism can't happen "in Boston". 

Rather, what people are saying is that in an arena of 18,000 people with presumably 18,000 phones, with hundreds of media organizations having reporters, cameras, audio recorders, etc., it's pretty unlikely that somebody shouted a racial slur at Draymond that he heard.  That's especially true when not a single player or referee that was sharing the court with DG heard it, and DG himself didn't report the (completely fictional) incident for five months.  That's despite vocal complaining all series about the "F Draymond" and "Draymond sucks" chants.  Dray did a podcast and didn't mention it, his wife complained on social media about swearing but not slurs, Klay Thompson did the same thing, etc.

There seem to be three reasonable alternatives here:

1.  The event didn't happen and Dray lied about it;
2.  The event didn't happen, but Dray legitimately misheard something (but still didn't speak up for five months);
3.  Dray has superhero-level hearing, and heard a shout that no other audio device or player's ears could hear (but still didn't speak up for five months).

How is it bad faith? I’ve heard white people use that word many times in Boston, esp related to alcohol at 2am on the streets of Southie walking home. My personal experiences lead me to think that a) it happens and b) people are afraid to intervene with a drunk person.

Are you saying that you don’t believe that one or two people were using that word in a huge stadium because of a lack of video evidence? I don’t buy that.

It's bad faith because you're intentionally conflating "in Boston" with "at court level of the TD Garden during the NBA Finals".

You made this point before- people behave in the expensive seats. I don’t think there’s a correlation between wealth and decency.

It's not about wealth, it's about being within audible distance of thousands of cameras.  Hell, the sidelines are "mic'd up". 

Why don't you explain your theory on these two issues:

1.  Why didn't any other witness hear, or any microphone pick up, the alleged slur?;

2.  Why did Draymond sit on this story for several months, even though he, his wife, and his teammates were outspoken about non-racial chants?

[MarcusSmartFanClub]

Weird that most Celtics fans on here think that couldn’t happen in Boston. Has anyone spent time in the city? Know people from Southie/Dorchester/etc? Open minded and tolerant are not words that I would use to describe our provincial city.

You're intentionally twisting what people are arguing, aren't you?  It seems like a bad faith position.

Nobody has claimed that racism can't happen "in Boston". 

Rather, what people are saying is that in an arena of 18,000 people with presumably 18,000 phones, with hundreds of media organizations having reporters, cameras, audio recorders, etc., it's pretty unlikely that somebody shouted a racial slur at Draymond that he heard.  That's especially true when not a single player or referee that was sharing the court with DG heard it, and DG himself didn't report the (completely fictional) incident for five months.  That's despite vocal complaining all series about the "F Draymond" and "Draymond sucks" chants.  Dray did a podcast and didn't mention it, his wife complained on social media about swearing but not slurs, Klay Thompson did the same thing, etc.

There seem to be three reasonable alternatives here:

1.  The event didn't happen and Dray lied about it;
2.  The event didn't happen, but Dray legitimately misheard something (but still didn't speak up for five months);
3.  Dray has superhero-level hearing, and heard a shout that no other audio device or player's ears could hear (but still didn't speak up for five months).

How is it bad faith? I’ve heard white people use that word many times in Boston, esp related to alcohol at 2am on the streets of Southie walking home. My personal experiences lead me to think that a) it happens and b) people are afraid to intervene with a drunk person.

Are you saying that you don’t believe that one or two people were using that word in a huge stadium because of a lack of video evidence? I don’t buy that.

It's bad faith because you're intentionally conflating "in Boston" with "at court level of the TD Garden during the NBA Finals".

You made this point before- people behave in the expensive seats. I don’t think there’s a correlation between wealth and decency.

It's not about wealth, it's about being within audible distance of thousands of cameras.  Hell, the sidelines are "mic'd up". 

Why don't you explain your theory on these two issues:

1.  Why didn't any other witness hear, or any microphone pick up, the alleged slur?;

2.  Why did Draymond sit on this story for several months, even though he, his wife, and his teammates were outspoken about non-racial chants?

I’m not sure about those answers. Doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

I’m also not offended by Draymond’s accusation. I have heard multiple people talk about this before (Smart, Wilbon, Demarcus Cousins, etc). I listened to a stadium chant indecent things at Kyrie and Draymond and many thought it was funny.

If one person is indecent, it has no reflection on me or my character. I also feel no need to protect them.

[Roy H.]

Weird that most Celtics fans on here think that couldn’t happen in Boston. Has anyone spent time in the city? Know people from Southie/Dorchester/etc? Open minded and tolerant are not words that I would use to describe our provincial city.

You're intentionally twisting what people are arguing, aren't you?  It seems like a bad faith position.

Nobody has claimed that racism can't happen "in Boston". 

Rather, what people are saying is that in an arena of 18,000 people with presumably 18,000 phones, with hundreds of media organizations having reporters, cameras, audio recorders, etc., it's pretty unlikely that somebody shouted a racial slur at Draymond that he heard.  That's especially true when not a single player or referee that was sharing the court with DG heard it, and DG himself didn't report the (completely fictional) incident for five months.  That's despite vocal complaining all series about the "F Draymond" and "Draymond sucks" chants.  Dray did a podcast and didn't mention it, his wife complained on social media about swearing but not slurs, Klay Thompson did the same thing, etc.

There seem to be three reasonable alternatives here:

1.  The event didn't happen and Dray lied about it;
2.  The event didn't happen, but Dray legitimately misheard something (but still didn't speak up for five months);
3.  Dray has superhero-level hearing, and heard a shout that no other audio device or player's ears could hear (but still didn't speak up for five months).

How is it bad faith? I’ve heard white people use that word many times in Boston, esp related to alcohol at 2am on the streets of Southie walking home. My personal experiences lead me to think that a) it happens and b) people are afraid to intervene with a drunk person.

Are you saying that you don’t believe that one or two people were using that word in a huge stadium because of a lack of video evidence? I don’t buy that.

It's bad faith because you're intentionally conflating "in Boston" with "at court level of the TD Garden during the NBA Finals".

You made this point before- people behave in the expensive seats. I don’t think there’s a correlation between wealth and decency.

It's not about wealth, it's about being within audible distance of thousands of cameras.  Hell, the sidelines are "mic'd up". 

Why don't you explain your theory on these two issues:

1.  Why didn't any other witness hear, or any microphone pick up, the alleged slur?;

2.  Why did Draymond sit on this story for several months, even though he, his wife, and his teammates were outspoken about non-racial chants?

I’m not sure about those answers. Doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

I’m also not offended by Draymond’s accusation. I have heard multiple people talk about this before (Smart, Wilbon, Demarcus Cousins, etc). I listened to a stadium chant indecent things at Kyrie and Draymond and many thought it was funny.

If one person is indecent, it has no reflection on me or my character. I also feel no need to protect them.

But it *probably* means it didn't happen, which you can't acknowledge.  The most likely scenario is that Green is lying.

[MarcusSmartFanClub]

Weird that most Celtics fans on here think that couldn’t happen in Boston. Has anyone spent time in the city? Know people from Southie/Dorchester/etc? Open minded and tolerant are not words that I would use to describe our provincial city.

You're intentionally twisting what people are arguing, aren't you?  It seems like a bad faith position.

Nobody has claimed that racism can't happen "in Boston". 

Rather, what people are saying is that in an arena of 18,000 people with presumably 18,000 phones, with hundreds of media organizations having reporters, cameras, audio recorders, etc., it's pretty unlikely that somebody shouted a racial slur at Draymond that he heard.  That's especially true when not a single player or referee that was sharing the court with DG heard it, and DG himself didn't report the (completely fictional) incident for five months.  That's despite vocal complaining all series about the "F Draymond" and "Draymond sucks" chants.  Dray did a podcast and didn't mention it, his wife complained on social media about swearing but not slurs, Klay Thompson did the same thing, etc.

There seem to be three reasonable alternatives here:

1.  The event didn't happen and Dray lied about it;
2.  The event didn't happen, but Dray legitimately misheard something (but still didn't speak up for five months);
3.  Dray has superhero-level hearing, and heard a shout that no other audio device or player's ears could hear (but still didn't speak up for five months).

How is it bad faith? I’ve heard white people use that word many times in Boston, esp related to alcohol at 2am on the streets of Southie walking home. My personal experiences lead me to think that a) it happens and b) people are afraid to intervene with a drunk person.

Are you saying that you don’t believe that one or two people were using that word in a huge stadium because of a lack of video evidence? I don’t buy that.

It's bad faith because you're intentionally conflating "in Boston" with "at court level of the TD Garden during the NBA Finals".

You made this point before- people behave in the expensive seats. I don’t think there’s a correlation between wealth and decency.

It's not about wealth, it's about being within audible distance of thousands of cameras.  Hell, the sidelines are "mic'd up". 

Why don't you explain your theory on these two issues:

1.  Why didn't any other witness hear, or any microphone pick up, the alleged slur?;

2.  Why did Draymond sit on this story for several months, even though he, his wife, and his teammates were outspoken about non-racial chants?

I’m not sure about those answers. Doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

I’m also not offended by Draymond’s accusation. I have heard multiple people talk about this before (Smart, Wilbon, Demarcus Cousins, etc). I listened to a stadium chant indecent things at Kyrie and Draymond and many thought it was funny.

If one person is indecent, it has no reflection on me or my character. I also feel no need to protect them.

But it *probably* means it didn't happen, which you can't acknowledge.  The most likely scenario is that Green is lying.

Ah bad faith arguing. Smart, Demarcus, and Michael Wilbon all said it happened to them. So they are lying as well? The Celtics suspended a fan for two years without video evidence.

[Roy H.]

Weird that most Celtics fans on here think that couldn’t happen in Boston. Has anyone spent time in the city? Know people from Southie/Dorchester/etc? Open minded and tolerant are not words that I would use to describe our provincial city.

You're intentionally twisting what people are arguing, aren't you?  It seems like a bad faith position.

Nobody has claimed that racism can't happen "in Boston". 

Rather, what people are saying is that in an arena of 18,000 people with presumably 18,000 phones, with hundreds of media organizations having reporters, cameras, audio recorders, etc., it's pretty unlikely that somebody shouted a racial slur at Draymond that he heard.  That's especially true when not a single player or referee that was sharing the court with DG heard it, and DG himself didn't report the (completely fictional) incident for five months.  That's despite vocal complaining all series about the "F Draymond" and "Draymond sucks" chants.  Dray did a podcast and didn't mention it, his wife complained on social media about swearing but not slurs, Klay Thompson did the same thing, etc.

There seem to be three reasonable alternatives here:

1.  The event didn't happen and Dray lied about it;
2.  The event didn't happen, but Dray legitimately misheard something (but still didn't speak up for five months);
3.  Dray has superhero-level hearing, and heard a shout that no other audio device or player's ears could hear (but still didn't speak up for five months).

How is it bad faith? I’ve heard white people use that word many times in Boston, esp related to alcohol at 2am on the streets of Southie walking home. My personal experiences lead me to think that a) it happens and b) people are afraid to intervene with a drunk person.

Are you saying that you don’t believe that one or two people were using that word in a huge stadium because of a lack of video evidence? I don’t buy that.

It's bad faith because you're intentionally conflating "in Boston" with "at court level of the TD Garden during the NBA Finals".

You made this point before- people behave in the expensive seats. I don’t think there’s a correlation between wealth and decency.

It's not about wealth, it's about being within audible distance of thousands of cameras.  Hell, the sidelines are "mic'd up". 

Why don't you explain your theory on these two issues:

1.  Why didn't any other witness hear, or any microphone pick up, the alleged slur?;

2.  Why did Draymond sit on this story for several months, even though he, his wife, and his teammates were outspoken about non-racial chants?

I’m not sure about those answers. Doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

I’m also not offended by Draymond’s accusation. I have heard multiple people talk about this before (Smart, Wilbon, Demarcus Cousins, etc). I listened to a stadium chant indecent things at Kyrie and Draymond and many thought it was funny.

If one person is indecent, it has no reflection on me or my character. I also feel no need to protect them.

But it *probably* means it didn't happen, which you can't acknowledge.  The most likely scenario is that Green is lying.

Ah bad faith arguing. Smart, Demarcus, and Michael Wilbon all said it happened to them. So they are lying as well? The Celtics suspended a fan for two years without video evidence.

I'll answer your question as soon as you answer mine:  The lack of evidence -- despite the fact that there *should* be evidence if this in fact happened -- means that Green is probably lying, no?