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Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla needs an NBA history lesson

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla needs an NBA history lesson

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Boston Celtics Coach Joe Mazzulla said something really crazy recently. He later tried to explain what he said, but the explanation was still a little crazy. That being said, Mazzulla has demonstrated both a lack of historical knowledge about his own league and how races work in America.

During a radio interview Tuesday, Mazzulla said the NBA should bring back fighting. You read that right. It’s true that Mazzulla is a strange bird who says all sorts of strange things, but this was crazy even for him. The case made headlines across the country. Listen to this part of the interview for yourself:

“The biggest thing we’re robbing people of from an entertainment standpoint is that you can’t fight anymore. I wish we had brought the fight back,” Mazzulla told NBC Sports Boston. “What’s more fun than a little fight? Why are they allowed to clean benches in baseball? Why is it okay to fight in hockey?

“I don’t understand. I just don’t understand why certain sports are allowed to clear their benches. They have bats and guns (in baseball). We don’t. We have the ball. Another sport (hockey) has one of the hardest playing surfaces, a puck and a stick, and yet we’re not allowed to lose some weight?

On Wednesday, Mazzulla tried to, well, clarify his words, explaining that he was not in favor of legalizing the fights. Instead as According to Boston.com, Mazzulla said his comments were more about how fouls were signaled. Mazzulla later added in part: “We have to accept a little conflict, that’s what I would say.”

Even his revised comments are problematic (and actually don’t seem that improved). He doesn’t seem to understand why the NBA is different, should be different, and in many ways is forced to be different.

Let’s focus on one thing Mazzulla said during his original radio interview: I just don’t understand why certain sports are allowed to clear the benches.

The answer is not complicated. A lot of it comes down to history and race. Like many things in life, they are interconnected.

Let me explain. Fighting in the NBA has long been viewed as different from fighting in other sports. In hockey, it’s part of the sport. Same thing in baseball. But of course it’s more than that.

White people competing in sports are simply perceived as different from people of color doing so. Especially black athletes and especially black NBA players. This isn’t even a controversial issue. This is something that ordinary people living on Earth simply know. This type of double standard has been discussed for decades. When black players fight, they are thugs and thugs. When white players do this, it is fierce and competitive. It is even seen as extremely funny.

A classic moment occurred 10 years ago when former Seattle linebacker Richard Sherman, now a commentator, spoke on the subject in a wise and blunt way that few have ever done publicly. In fact, few athletes in recent American sports history have spoken out with such courage about race. Sherman was once on the panel and was asked about the double standard applied to black professional athletes competing in games compared to white ones.

“It’s almost angry black man syndrome, especially for football players.” Sherman said. “I couldn’t imagine if there was a big fight on the pitch, what the consequences would be and what the comments would be. It just happened big fight a big fight in baseball. I haven’t heard about it since.”

Former Houston, Texas defenseman Arian Foster, who also participated on the panel, added: “Hockey, they fight every day.”

“There was one day they broke the record,” Sherman replied. “They deflected the puck two seconds after the start of the match. Everyone was like, “Man, that’s good hockey.”

“The judges go around and just look at it,” Foster said. “If we fight, it’ll be like, ‘These animals.'”

“That’s the most frustrating part: the double, triple standards,” Sherman said. “The way an athlete is perceived. The way an African-American athlete is perceived in football or basketball, predominantly African-American sports. Just a fight. Imagine a fight taking place in football and imagine the coverage of it.”

Nothing has changed since Sherman said these things.

It’s inconceivable that Mazzulla doesn’t know about all this. I don’t buy Mazzulli’s “explanation” either. I think what he said in the original interview is exactly what he meant.

More fights in the NBA or more “conflicts” would lead to black players in the sport being called thugs. This would dramatically reduce the sport’s popularity, which is currently extremely high. How do I know this? Because it’s happened before.

The NBA of the 1970s was full of fights (and drugs), and the perception of the sport was so problematic that the league almost collapsed. Average attendance during that decade was approximately 8,000 fans per game. The TV ratings were terrible. The on-court violence of that era was symbolized by a game between the Rockets and Lakers in 1977. Rudy Tomjanovich was trying to break up a fight when he was punched by Kermit Washington. Tomjanovich suffered a broken skull, cheekbone and nose. It was one of the ugliest moments in sports history.

Player self-harm due to constant fighting, combined with racism from fans and some media, almost sunk the league.

“To say I haven’t had a good response from potential sponsors would be the nicest way to put it.” said former NBA executive Rick Welts in the ESPN documentary “Basketball: A Love Story.” “If I could schedule a meeting, it took about 15 minutes: ‘Why would anyone in their right mind want to be associated with your league?’”

That’s what the fight brought.

None of this even includes 2004’s Malice at the Palace. Subsequently, the entire player base, not just the brawl participants, was branded as thugs by many media outlets.

The league may be “soft” for some right now, but the game is stunning and wonderful. It’s a fast-paced, futuristic sport that connects people from all over the world.

No more “conflict” needed. You don’t need fights to be great. It’s already here.