Boston Celtics star Marcus Smart is the latest athlete to share his story about his personal experience on racial profiling in America.
Smart opened up about the incident in an essay he wrote for The Players Tribune published on Monday. In his article, the 26-year-old defense-first guard recalled an encounter from a few years back after playing a home game at TD Garden in Boston.
“I was pulling out of the arena parking lot when I saw a white woman with her five- or six-year-old son crossing against the light right as the cars were starting to come at them. I had my windows down and realized something bad was about to happen, so I yelled to her, politely, that she needed to hurry and get out of the street so the two of them wouldn't get hurt. The woman was wearing an Isaiah Thomas number 4 Celts jersey and there were all these other Celtics fans around who were at the game. I figured she'd be cool. Nope,” the Celtics star wrote.
“She swung her hear around and it was… ‘F— you, you f—–g n-word!' For a second it was like I couldn't breathe. Did she really say that? And in an instant, just like that, I was made to feel less than human. I wasn't a person to this woman. I was a form of entertainment. Nothing more,” Smart added.
"I wasn't a person to this woman. I was a form of entertainment. Nothing more."
—@smart_MS3 recounts an interaction with a Celtics fan and shares his thoughts on the country's future (via @PlayersTribune) pic.twitter.com/Z7XgN3vDoT
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 19, 2020
Marcus Smart went on to express how much it took for him to restrain himself and not retaliate to the racial slurs from the woman. Knowing how feisty of a character Smart is, that should've been a tough few seconds for the Texas native.
Cooler heads prevailed, as Smart ultimately just drove off and chill out. He went on to share how much that moment has stuck with him through the years and how much he's been thinking of that little kid who was holding on to his mom as she cussed out Smart.
If you're a black man or woman in America, it's most likely that you've encountered something like this. Racism and discrimination are such systemic problems not just in the country but all over the world, so much so that no amount of fame or status can wipe away the utter hate people live with on a daily basis.
In Smart's case, it didn't even matter that the woman was cheering for him and the Celtics or that he actually helped her cross the street safely. At the end of the day, Smart was a Black man to her eyes and she hated it.
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