Jay Williams Praises Celtics For Their First Black Coach. Problem Is, This Is Their Sixth.

***UPDATE***

As of 4:37 p.m. (PST), Jay Williams announced that he did not post the tweet and that his account password has been changed — without clear indication of "hacking."

https://twitter.com/RealJayWilliams/status/1407845316582264833

Ask Jay Williams if 1:31 p.m. is too early for a drink; he'd probably say no.

Deleted shortly after it was posted, ESPN basketball analyst Jay Williams gave his thoughts on the Boston Celtics hiring Ime Udoka — celebrating the moment as "the first head coach of color for @Celtics," on Twitter.

The rest of his tweet read: "He is one talented individual who has paid his dues."

What the celebratory statement failed to acknowledge is that five Celtics head coaches of color preceded Udoka. Followers on Twitter were quick to point out the tweet's inaccuracy, perceived as an attempt for clickbait.

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1407785374932516867?s=20

The list of former minority head coaches includes Bill Russell, M.L. Carr., Tom Sanders, K.C. Jones and Doc Rivers — who led Boston to their most recent NBA Championship in 2008.

The title would technically be given to Bill Russell regarding major North American sports when he became a head coach in 1966, though Fritz Pollard became a co-head coach in 1921 for the Akron Pros football team.

Ime Udoka is of Nigerian-American descent and formally an assistant head coach for the Brooklyn Nets. Udoka is now slated to take over head coaching duties left by the new Celtics President of Basketball Operations, Brad Stevens.

The Celtics lost to the Nets in a 4-1 series defeat in the 2020-2021 playoffs, entering as the No. 7 seed in the East.

Fans and viewers around the NBA can only hope that Udoka's acuity for basketball and its history surpasses that of the ESPN commentator.