Amber Harding
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Jaylen Brown is sending a message to the “shut up and dribble” crowd.
In a recent interview with the New York Times, the Boston Celtics star opened up about his activism and life off the court.
“I definitely think there’s a group or an amount within the Celtic nation that is extremely toxic and does not want to see athletes use their platform, or they just want you to play basketball and entertain and go home,” Brown said. “And that’s a problem to me.”
Brown, who has played his entire seven-year career for the Celtics, said some fans make it tough to be a black athlete in Boston.
“It’s not the whole Celtic fan base, but it is a part of the fan base that exists within the Celtic nation that is problematic,” Brown said. “If you have a bad game, they tie it to your personal character.”
But Brown is not the first athlete to speak about the attitude of Celtics’ fans.
LeBron James called Boston “racist as f-ck” in a July 2022 episode of “The Shop.”
“They will say anything. And it’s fine,” he said. “It’s my life, f-ck I’ve been dealing with it my whole life. I don’t mind it. I hear it. If I hear somebody close by, I check them real quick, then move onto the game. They’re going to say whatever the f-ck they want to say.”
And Hazel Renee, wife of Warriors forward Draymond Green, called out the “very disgusting” behavior of fans at TD Garden during the 2022 NBA Finals.
“Tough loss tonight BUT in NO WAY, shape or form should fans be allowed to chant obscenities at players!” She wrote. “Are they not human? Is someone standing at your job saying off the wall things to you?”
Jaylen Brown considers himself an activist.
The 26-year-old hasn’t been shy about his feelings on social issues.
Last year, Brown hinted his team might boycott the NBA Finals to protest gun violence in America. They did not do that.
And in November, Brown supported Kyrie Irving after Irving faced accusations of antisemitism. He even called out Nike for cutting ties with Irving despite bending a knee to communist China.
So while some Boston faithful might take offense to his recent comments, Brown has been careful not to pant them with a broad brush.
“I know that every Celtics fan in our arena is not a racist,” Brown told ESPN in 2021. “We have people of all walks of life, ethnicities, colors, that are die-hard Celtics fans. So I think painting every Celtics fan as a racist would be unfair.”
That said, he believes Boston has “a lot of work to do” in regard to incarceration rates, wealth disparity, inequality in education and a general lack of opportunity for black Bostonians.
“There’s not a lot of room for people of color, black entrepreneurs, to come in and start a business,” Brown said. “I think that my experience there has been not as fluid as I thought it would be.”
That`s the gig he signed up for and it`s part of the reason why he`s making 20 million a year. He`s being paid to win and not play social activist. If he doesn`t like it, he should quit and go do something else. Tell you what: pay me 20 million a year and you can call me whatever you want on a basketball court.
People call LeBron James the 2nd coming, but his skin is thin as hell. Many pro athletes suffer that same affliction.
I know that Jordan caught crap from the time he went to North Carolina, but he never complained in public. Racism was a helluva lot worse in the 80’s than today, a helluva a lot worse.
Brown should use his millions to bankroll black entrepreneurs if it’s so unfair in Boston. Or else, shut the f up. No one, except the Michael Wilbons of the world want to hear professional athletes pontificate on anything. Most of them are not very intelligent on worldly matters.