Boston Celtics Head Coach Joe Mazzulla Emphatically Shuts Down Race-Baiting Question

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazullah declined the opportunity to spread a race-baiting narrative in a press conference on Saturday.

Mazzulla was facing the media ahead of his team’s impending Game 2 matchup with the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals. Most of the questions were your standard material for these sorts of things: how are you guys exploiting matchups, how do you keep your bench players engaged, stuff like that.

But what’s an NBA presser without a reporter bringing up the topic of race? Fortunately for us (I mean that quite sarcastically), Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports took care of that responsibility marvelously.

Mar 18, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla watches from the sideline as they take on the Detroit Pistons at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

He prefaced his question to Mazzulla by explaining that this was the first time since 1975 that two Black head coaches faced off for the NBA’s ultimate crown. (In case you were wondering, K.C. Jones led the Washington Bullets, and Al Attles skippered the Golden State Warriors in that matchup). Goodwill used this as a springboard to ask whether Mazullah found this significant, since evidently black coaches like him (and Mavericks coach Jason Kidd), have had a rough time being respected in the league.

If this were any other coach, they would probably drool at the opportunity to respond with an answer that stirred the race-baiting narrative. But fortunately (and I mean that sincerely this time), Mazzulla unequivocally shut down that question by responding with a question of his own.

"I wonder how many of those have been Christian coaches?" Mazzullah said. Goodwill did not try to press any further.

If you want to read Goodwill's completely unhinged recap of his perspective on the exchange, click here.

Mazzullah Was Right To Shut Down This Ridiculous Question

Now, as a stand-alone fact, I do think that the black head coaches story line is somewhat interesting (then again, I am a sports fan who finds the obscure to be fascinating).

But Goodwill tried to frame it in a way that suggested that Black head coaches have been historically oppressed throughout the league's history. Thankfully, Mazzulla, a devout Catholic, declined to give that perspective any validity, especially considering that Goodwill provided no substantial evidence to support his theory.

Two Black coaches reaching the NBA Finals isn’t something that’s easily controllable. Sometimes, those guys’ teams lose in early rounds, and two don’t end up winning their respective conferences. It’s just luck that you can’t sway one way or another.

Plus, Black coaches in today’s league are doing pretty well for themselves in terms of contracts. Last season, 10 of the top 20 coaches to have earned the most money in the NBA were Black. Maybe it wasn't always that way, but right now, I’d say they're doing just fine.

I’m not sure if any of these reasons were why Mazzullah declined to answer Goodwill’s question. But at any rate, he was right to do so.

Game 2 of the NBA Finals tips off at 8 p.m. EST.