There are reasons to love the Boston Celtics, but not enough to quell our hatred

Before Boston’s decisive loss in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, my friend Touré said it was time to show the “Blackified Celtics” some love.

That’s lots to ask of this native New Yorker.

For us, the hatred for Boston starts at an early age. Rites of passage include a lesson on the topic flea market of racism to our north. A terrifying image of a black man almost impaled during the 1976 bus protest, it looked too very similar to the South our elders had fled to. A thick Bostonian accent could create the same sense of unease that a rustic accent did. It doesn’t help that the rattling Celtics now have 18 NBA titles while our beloved Knicks only have two (none since 1973).

However, I’m able to give credit where credit is due. My long-standing philosophy towards suspected or certified racists is obvious: I’m not concerned about their feelings towards Black people, so long as we proceed to secure loans, jobs, homes, services, etc. that we could obtain with white skin. Hate us all you wish, but don’t trouble us.

I even have to admit that the Celtics are acting in a way that’s counterintuitive to Boston’s popularity.

Yes, the franchise goes overboard when in search of white players to appease the fans, whether or not it’s stars like Larry Bird or players like Brian Scalabrine. When Boston won the title in 1986, white NBA players were an endangered species, but the Celtics had eight of them! This composition structure does not occur by accident.

However, despite its fame as a logo of whiteness, the team was quick to recognize and reward Black excellence. Not that it makes us hate the Celtics any less, but…

Boston was the first NBA team to achieve this pick a black player (Chuck Cooper in 1950) and the first to be used all black starting lineup (1964). The Celtics were the first team to hire head coach of the Blacks (Bill Russell in 1966) and were instrumental in hiring the league’s first player Black full-time judge (Ken Hudson in 1969).

Any other franchise with these real players could be Team Black America. We’d love to root for the current lineup, led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The Two Jays are an incredible story, examples of talent, patience and perseverance that contributed to the championship. They spent seven seasons together, giving the Celtics a homey atmosphere that did not exist when Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen arrived in 2007-08 and immediately won a title with Paul Pierce.

Much to my disappointment, my daughters loved the Celtics (especially Rajon Rondo) and rooted for Boston against Dallas. Wearing different jerseys, it could be easy to root for Brown and Tatum. “We’ve been through a lot,” Brown said Monday after winning the Finals MVP award. “Losses, expectations, media. People say we can’t play together, we can’t win. We just blacked it out. He trusted me and I trusted him. And we did it together.”

I actually would not mind pulling them under different circumstances. I gave up two years ago because I fell in love with Nia Long, but now she’s fed up with Boston too, after former coach Ime Udoka scheming. Whatever we are saying about the franchise, it has nothing against putting a Black man at the helm of the team. Of the seven Black coaches who’ve won an NBA title, 4 of them coached the Celtics. Three of Boston’s last 4 coaches were black, including 35-year-old Joe Mazzulla.

Touré and other black native Bostonians are understandably frustrated and wonder why our fervor for the Celtics stays so keen. “The Celtics current core group is very black,” he wrote. “Why not give some love to today’s Blackified Celtics?”

I’m sorry, but that is not what we do. This is a curse for self-respecting black sports fans who were not born on this region. Black residents constitute 21% the city’s population, and I imagine it’s crazy for us to vilify Boston for the racism that’s rampant across the country. But all of us have burdens to carry.

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“Boston’s defense is a real sport” – Black-owned Bos. founder Jae’da Turner he said Boston Globe. “As a Northeastern student and folks coming from New York, California and throughout the country, I feel they truthfully love to hate Boston. It’s like somewhat club. It’s not fair in the event you say you are from Boston.

People don’t select where they arrive from, they select who they support. Listening to fans’ vulgar verbal abuse towards Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving – during games in Boston and later – that was the only reason to hope the Celtics would lose.

As I explained to my daughters, I even have nothing against players.

I just never wanted to see pleased fans.