Boston Celtics wingman Jaylen Brown is one of the more socially active players in the NBA. He's a big proponent of the Black Lives Matter movement, even joining the protests in his hometown of Atlanta last year.
That's why Brown was very happy to see that seven new African-American coaches have been hired by NBA teams for the upcoming season, including of course Celtics coach Ime Udoka. The 24-year-old Brown admitted he made a strong push to convince the Celtics brass to hire Udoka (via The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears).
“They were on board with it. They talked about it. It wasn’t like it was just about being African American. (Udoka is) more than qualified.”
Udoka served as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers, and Brooklyn Nets before finally landing his big break with the Celtics. He has learned from some of the great minds in basketball, particularly Spurs mentor Gregg Popovich.
For Brown, hiring African-American coaches is still a tightrope for some NBA teams. He said some do it just to “shut them up” on talking about racial equality. But regardless, the Celtics All-Star will continue to push for his advocacy.
“People may disagree, like, ‘They’re not qualified. They’re just getting the job because they’re African American.’ You’ve seen people say that in the media. And things like that. That’s some (expletive). There’s plenty of qualified African Americans and Black people that can do their job. And they deserve to have a seat at the table.”
The Celtics have a lot to prove this season, but Udoka should be glad to know Brown has his back.
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