Kyrie Irving is making his return to Boston tonight and there are fears that the fans could be less than welcoming towards him. The Celtics fanbase has had a bad reputation in the past and this rep extends to other sports like baseball, hockey, and football as well. In fact, Kyrie touched on this reputation ahead of tonight’s game, noting that he hopes the fans don’t resort to any sort of racist remarks.
Celtics star Marcus Smart admitted that he’s heard racism from Celtics fans in the past and that it makes it hard to play for those supporters. During an episode of The Jump today, Jayson Tatum was asked about Kyrie’s statement, and the Celtics superstar gave a measured response. Essentially, Tatum has not been a victim of said racism although he knows what Kyrie means and he just wants everyone to be respectful.
“Everyone is expected to act a certain way whether you’re on the court or not. I understood what he was saying and trying to keep it about basketball,” Tatum said before revealing if he’s had racist comments directed at him. “Not towards me. Everybody has different experiences. It’s something that shouldn’t be tolerated in any arena.”
Hopefully, the Celtics faithful are on their best behavior tonight, as no one wants to see any player disrespected in such an awful way.
