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Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens wrote a powerful letter to his players amid the George Floyd protests taking place across America.
Celtics small forward Jaylen Brown, shooting guard Marcus Smart and big man Enes Kanter have peacefully protested the death of Floyd.
Stevens' letter to his entire team following protests across the country is a very grand gesture. The Celtics coach spoke to reporters about it during a conference call, via ESPN:
“I wrote a letter to our guys this weekend and it took me awhile to put down exactly what I wanted to say,” Stevens said in a video conference call with reporters Tuesday.
“But I think the thing I wanted them to know, is every decent person is hurting. Every decent person feels the pain of the African American community. But I also don't want to pretend that I know the exact, distinct pain.”
The Celtics coach had plenty more to say:
“What I wanted them to know is that I'm with them. I thought that was really important. It's so, so great to see so many of the guys so active. … I've talked to a lot of guys. Everybody's hurting. Let's put it that way. The leadership they've shown is terrific. And hopefully the most important thing is we can have short-term healing, and we can have near-term gains, and we can have long-term sustainable action that creates change.”
Everyone in the NBA community is hurting right now. Because of COVID-19, social distancing is still very important. However, Celtics players and other athletes are making it a point to participate in these protests so change can be made.
Stevens says he's very proud of Brown, who drove to Atlanta instead of flying to lead a peaceful protest on Saturday. The Celtics coach and other NBA coaches took part in a call over the weekend, which preceded a statement the National Basketball Coaches Association put out Monday announcing the creation of a committee on racial injustice and reform to pursue solutions within NBA cities.
