I thought he spent all his professional time bickering with knuckledraggers (Woody Paige), douchebags (Jay Mariotti), and zombies (Bob Ryan) on the most annoying show in the history of television, ("Around the Horn") but I was wrong! Mr. Adande just delivered a fantastic article for ESPN. He examines the ridiculous misconception commonly echoed by roid ragin' cheater wordsmiths like Barry Bonds (and admittedly alluded to by current mancrush KG after the first attempt at a trade), the idea that Boston isn't kind to black players:
In the 1992 Public Enemy song "Air Hoodlum," Chuck D rapped about a basketball phenom who was "so quick at 6-foot-6, down to be picked by anyone but the Celtics."
That was the prevailing attitude. And it was rooted in ignorance.
Part of that's because, prior to the 50th anniversary season of 1996-97, the NBA never did much to promote its history. While everyone knew the role the Dodgers played in integrating baseball, most people didn't realize the Celtics were the Dodgers of basketball, the Texas Western of pro hoops.
The Celtics were the first NBA franchise to draft an African-American player -- Chuck Cooper in 1950. They became the first NBA team to send an all-black starting lineup onto the floor. The man responsible was the same guy who put together the Celtics teams of the 1980s: Red Auerbach.
Bravo, J.A. Sure, Bob Ryan or Dan Shaughnessy should have been writing variations on this column for the last 10 years, but thanks for picking up the slack. Now the Celtics can spend less time worrying about race and more time giving the Pistons the beat down.Source URL: https://ledger-heath.blogspot.com/2007/12/i-heart-ja-adande.html
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