During a media session before Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Finals between the Celtics and Mavericks, a reporter tried to make the storyline about the racial identity of the two black head coaches.
When Joe Mazzulla was asked about this, he responded by asking about how many were Christian coaches instead.
“For the first time since 1975, this is the NBA Finals where you have two black head coaches,” Yahoo Sports reporter Vincent Goodwill said. “Given the plight, sometimes, of black head coaches in the NBA, do you think this is a significant moment? Do you take pride in this? How do you view this, or do you not see it at all?”
“I wonder how many of those have been Christian coaches?” Mazzulla said.
This triggered an awkward silence.
The reporter later criticized Mazzulla for his “unwillingness to discuss race” and alluded to Boston’s history of racism.
However, Mazzulla has consistently avoided framing issues along racial lines.
“2024 NBA Finals: Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla’s unwillingness to discuss race a complicated issue,” Goodwill later wrote.
“There was stunned silence in the room because it felt like an awkward answer, at the very least. Shockingly, and this may come as a surprise to the Celtics coach, it is possible to be both Black and Christian.”
“Mazzulla doesn’t mind jostling with the media, at times coming across very thin-skinned when being challenged. He doesn’t seem pressed by the awkward silence, and perhaps he likes embracing the weird in everything that comes with this professional sports ecosystem.”
“And he has referenced his faith when asked about things like the royal family coming to a Celtics game, so, at least publicly, he puts it out front and wears it proudly, for whatever it’s worth.”
“His relationship with his own racial identity is personal, but his answer certainly opens the door for more questions,” Goodwill said.
“Especially because it’s Boston and the NBA’s labor force is overwhelmingly Black.“
While past racial incidents in Boston are lamentable, the city’s sports history features support for prominent black athletes as well.
“Boston’s relationship with Black athletes has been checkered, dating back to its treatment of Bill Russell,” Goodwill wrote. “Once, vandals broke into his home, and Russell found feces on his walls and bed.”
“In the early ’90s, Celtics guard Dee Brown was pulled over in nearby Wellesley, with his fiancée in the passenger seat — under the guise of the police looking for a bank robber, they claimed. And guns were drawn on Brown.”
Mazzulla has remained indifferent to inserting political talking points into discussions of the NBA Finals.