“The Celtics stand second to none in believing in, and embodying, respect for all and breaking racial barriers,” said current Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck. Often forgotten is that the Celtics broke many racial barriers in the NBA – and that has played a big part in their storied success, even today. For decades, the Celtics have been one of the most progressive teams in sports. When it comes to playing for Boston’s NBA franchise, however, it’s been a different story for African Americans. I was like, ‘Damn, that s- really happens.’ … I play for the city of Boston, but it still happens.” “It was more of a disappointment than really being hurt. “They cheer for you and you hear that right after,” Smart said. But the incident with the fan in the Isaiah Thomas jersey was eye-opening for Smart. Other players who have worn Celtic green agree that it’s unfair to single out Boston. He says he has experienced racism in other places across the country, not just Beantown. Smart, who was drafted by the Celtics in 2014 and is the longest-tenured player on the team, wants to make it clear that he loves playing for Boston. In 2019, a Celtics fan called then-Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins a racial slur and was banned from TD Garden for two years. In 2017, then-Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones was berated by taunts of “N-word” at Fenway Park while a fan threw a bag of peanuts at him. Subban, who played for the Montreal Canadiens at the time, received racist tweets after a game-winning goal against the Boston Bruins. The perception of the city, which had a population that was 53% white and 25% black in the 2010 census, was not helped by recent events involving black athletes and Boston sports fans. (top left), a portrait of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall (bottom left) and a Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph by Stanley Forman, which shows Landsmark being assaulted in 1976 by a demonstrator carrying a flagpole bearing the American flag. Pictured in Landsmark’s office are a sketch of Martin Luther King Jr. Theodore Landsmark, lawyer, architect and director of the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University, poses for a photo in his office in Boston on March 27, 2018. Four decades later, a national survey commissioned by The Boston Globe in 2017 reported that of eight major cities, black people ranked Boston as the least welcoming to people of color. A haunting photo taken by Stanley Forman in 1976 captured the ugly tension in Boston as a white man lunges at a black man with the sharp point of a pole with the American flag during an anti-busing protest after public schools were ordered to desegregate. You just got done watching the game, ma’am … with an Isaiah Thomas jersey on.’ ”įairly or unfairly, Boston has long been viewed as the largest American city in which African Americans are not welcome. 4, green with the white outline Celtics jersey – and told me, ‘F- you, you f-ing n-–.’ People that actually heard her were stunned. “As soon as I said that, she looked at me – as she is wearing a No. “ ‘Excuse me, ma’am, you better get out of the street before you and your son get hit. The woman was with a little boy in the middle of the crosswalk outside of TD Garden when the light turned green for oncoming traffic. BOSTON – Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart was expecting a simple drive home after a game during the 2016-17 season when he encountered a vocal Celtics fan he will never forget.
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