I think he was pretty fair about the racism in Boston stuff. The city has a history and still continues with the issue (like many other cities in the country).
The part of this interview that really bothered me was his freaking hypocrisy about his support for Kanye and Kyrie and the Black Islaelites. He claims racism against Blacks/African Americans but literally continues support for antisemites in the same article. He was asked about his support for Kanye and he just responded “Next question.” Just a super lame reply and just so hypocritical. It is so hard to take him seriously. You can’t claim to be an activist for civil rights/racism and in the same breath support the likes of Kanye and Kyrie. It was disappointing to read that.
Yeah, this isn't receiving enough attention. I obviously like Jaylen as a basketball player, but his views leave a lot to be desired. People should just stop giving him attention as if he is one of the league's great minds.
The fact that he won't just come out and denounce the words of Kanye and Kyrie speaks volumes and makes his platform about social equality a pretty empty one imo.
Yeah even on NBA reddit everyone is calling him out for it. Hard to really take Jaylen seriously on the off-the-court stuff when he can't even denounce Kayne and Kyrie.
And also, what Jaylen said about the fanbase, isn't that literally true of every fanbase? I mean maybe not the smaller ones like Charlotte, but almost all of them are like that with some "bad apples". It just is what it is.
I got tired of his nonsense when he started asking calling for games to be cancelled in protest of a black violent criminal who was shot by a police officer after he:
a) Forcefully entered the home of an ex-partner who had an AVO out against him
b) Tried to steal said ex-partners car and kidnap her child (who was in the car)
c) Resisted arrest even after being tazed
d) Went for a knife that he had under the carpet of his car in an attempt to stab the police officer
If you're the type of person who thinks that that a criminal's desire to avoid being arrested takes precedence over a Police Officer's right to defend his own life (but only if/when the criminal in question is black) then as far as I'm concerned, you aren't much better than the person you're defending.
Then the final straw for me was though was when JB was seen heading to a game wearing a "black power" jacket. Initially I kinda forgave him for his crap based on the hope that maybe he's just young, naive and easily influenced. But wearing a "black power" jacket is next level. Everybody knows that "White Power" is synonymous with white supremacist groups like Nazi's and the KKK, and wearing such a statement is effectively your way if saying you believe whites are superior and should rule the world. So when I see Jaylen wearing a jacket that says "Black Power" it seems pretty clear to me where where his mind and heart is. If I saw an NBA player wearing a white power jacket I would feel absoutely disgusted towards that player and would think they are complete garbage. With all due respect to the Celtics organisation and community, why should I look at somebody who wears a Black Power jacket any differently?
People talk about JB like he's a lovely passionate activist standing up against injustice - yet everything I've seen so far suggests to me that he's really just a racist who'll defend absolutely anybody (no matter how terrible a person they might be or what horrible act they have committed) so long as they are black.
I for one couldn't care less about a person's skin colour. I don't care about a person's race. I don't care about a person's religion. I don't care about a person's sexual orientation. I care about a person's words and action. If you're a good person then I'll root for you every step of the way. If you're muderer, a drug dealer and a wife-beater then as far as I'm concerned, you're a piece of trash.
And I'm sorry Jaylen, but I can't find it within my heart to show any sense of love, respect or appreciation for the type of person who defends murderers, drug deals and wife beaters just because they have the same coloured skin. And yes, I understand the historical pretence...and no I don't believe think that makes it ok.