BOSTON – Race is one of the defining issues in this country, and it’s not easy to talk about, but avoiding it adds fuel to an already complicated fire.
For the first time since 1975, the NBA Finals will have a black head coach on each sideline, pitting Dallas’ Jason Kidd against Boston’s Joe Mazzulla. Al Attles (Golden State) and KC Jones (Washington) did it last in a series that the Warriors won 4-0.
Kidd and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver both spoke about the importance of the achievement and the symbolism it may represent for the perennial struggle of Black coaches in these leadership positions and what it means to them personally.
Mazzulla, who is mixed race, preferred to sidestep this, showing more respect for his religion than his racial identity.
“I wonder how many of those have been Christian coaches,” Mazzulla said when asked Saturday if two Black coaches in the NBA Finals meant anything to him.
There was a stunned silence in the room as it felt like an awkward answer to say the least. Shockingly, and this may come as a surprise to the Celtics coach, it is possible to be both black and Christian.
He didn’t elaborate, he didn’t explain what it meant to him to be a Christian in this place. He brought religion to the party but chose not to explore the conversation.
It could be seen as using that tool to stop any discussion on the topic at hand, just an abrupt stop. And to be fair, there was no follow-up question, just the awkward silence – which could have been Mazzulla’s desired effect.
Mazzulla does not mind dealing with the media and sometimes comes across as very thin when challenged. He doesn’t seem pressured by the awkward silence, and perhaps he likes to embrace the strange in all things related to 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 front and center and wears it with pride, for whatever it’s worth is.
His relationship with his own racial identity is personal, but his answer certainly opens the door for more questions.
Especially since it’s Boston and the NBA’s workforce is predominantly black.
Boston’s relationship with black athletes has been troubled, dating back to the treatment of Bill Russell. On one occasion, vandals broke into his house and Russell found feces on his walls and bed.
In the early 1990s, Celtics guard Dee Brown was pulled over in nearby Wellesley, with his fiancée in the passenger seat — under the guise of police looking for a bank robber, they claimed. And guns were pulled on Brown.
Nowadays you hear things in the stands that make you feel a little uncomfortable, even if nothing directly racist is said. Often it is just a feeling.
This didn’t feel like an indictment of Mazzulla’s blackness, so to speak. It wasn’t quite the “I’m not black, I’m OJ” moment; it just leaves room for interpretation.
“My faith is just as important as my race, if not more so,” Mazzulla told Andscape’s Marc Spears over a year ago. “To reach different people you have to be completely yourself, and you cannot put yourself in a box.”
Boston has a sensitivity to race, and other blocs like to avoid any mention of race, so there’s a risk that Mazzulla’s words will be co-opted on this big stage in ways he didn’t intend. Not only for the religious right, but also for the bad actors who like to start quiet conversations based on such statements.
It happened to Jonathan Isaac four years ago in the Orlando bubble, when he used religion as a shield against the discussion about police brutality against black people.
Many will defend Mazzulla’s response as a way to deflect the discussion from even celebrating progress, if this moment is indeed a symbol of how far black coaches have come in the NBA, when the numbers a few years ago dropped to the point of shame (four black head coaches after the 2019-2020 season).
Before this recent cycle, there were fourteen Black head coaches, and four of the top five Eastern Conference teams were led by Black coaches. JB Bickerstaff and Darvin Ham were recently fired after making the playoffs, while Brooklyn fired Jacque Vaughn and Washington fired Wes Unseld Jr. fired during the season.
So while they are extremely competitive and, thanks to Monty Williams’ incentive package, extremely financially rewarding, black coaches are usually hired last and fired first.
“I think it’s important to have two Black head coaches in the Finals, and honestly, I wish that wasn’t the case,” Silver said Friday afternoon during a dedication of the Boys & Girls Club of Dorchester. “I think we’ve made tremendous progress there.”
Silver also hopes that with more women on staff, it will only be a matter of time before a franchise selects a woman to lead it.
“I think people need to take note of the fact that there are two African-American head coaches,” Silver said. “On the one hand, I want them to take note. But at the same time, I don’t want this to take away from the merit system that we have in coaching. And that doesn’t change the fact that, of course, they’re head coaching these teams, not because they’re African-American, but because they’re great coaches.
Mazzulla is an excellent coach and finishes in the upper echelons of the Coach of the Year election, including on this ballot. Who knows what box he checks when the issue of race/ethnicity comes up? But in this world he is considered the black coach.
He doesn’t have to like it or be insincere about it either. It was a moment when Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith were the two black coaches in the Super Bowl in 2007, and it’s a moment here.
It’s not Mazzulla’s fault that history is history. But he should at least be aware of it. Ignoring race in these matters is not progress because it can mean that seeing someone as black means something negative. Color blindness is impossible, and seeing one’s Blackness or the Black experience as positive could be the ultimate sign of progress.
“It’s always a discussion because it doesn’t happen often,” Kidd told Yahoo Sports with a laugh on Saturday afternoon. “In ’75 I was two years old. Joe wasn’t born. So I think it’s huge that this is happening. It shows how far we have come, but we still have a way to go. I think it means something that we just have to keep building on.”
Silver looks at the pipeline of Black assistant coaches, which means there will be more opportunities as openings open up. While Kidd finds stability on the sidelines in Dallas, he knows what it’s like to be fired, even with a winning record in the middle of a season.
“It mainly starts with ownership. We need to talk about ownership and higher positions,” Kidd said. “So if you look at the ownership and the general managers, that’s where it starts. Being able to have people who can say, “We’re going to build this. We’re not going to fire someone after one or two seasons.’ That means there is a plan. It starts higher up, not with the coaches.”
Kidd spoke about the extra responsibility coaches have, and for Black coaches, it’s an extra burden that is often bigger than basketball.
“Coaches have a responsibility to put their best foot forward to win, but I also think what sometimes doesn’t get looked at is what happens off the field,” Kidd said. “To develop better men as they progress. And I think Pop [Gregg Popovich] said that in his Hall of Fame speech…we’re always judged on wins and losses, but the great thing about coaching is they come back to see you after they’re done playing. You know, that’s something that I don’t think is measured in, you know, hiring and firing.
Jaylen Brown does not shy away from discussion when it comes up. And while he is well versed in Boston’s history, he is committed to the franchise and invested in the community.
He is fearless on the subject and seems endlessly curious. It seems very clear that he and Mazzulla have different experiences and different perspectives, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Mazzulla has the right to embrace his religion and lean on it to help him in his professional and personal life. He has the right to look in the mirror and see not a black man first, but a Christian man with strong beliefs.
But if he is pulled over in Boston, the police will see his last name on his driver’s license, but before they learn anything else about him, they will first see a black man.
