Brad Stevens supports team as Celtics work through emotions, strike

Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens supports his players as the team tries to sort out what comes next following Wednesday’s historic wildcat strike.

For Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens, his players — and the NBA’s — reaction to the police shooting of Jacob Blake isn’t a problem, a lost opportunity or an obstacle.

“These guys are people first. They care deeply about the communities that they grew up in, the communities they live in, and everything that’s going on affects them emotionally, and us emotionally, just like everyone else,” explained the Celtics coach on Wednesday.

“I think that that’s something that sometimes when you turn on the TV, you forget,” he added, alluding to the pressure his players are under with all the things going on in the world — and more importantly, their communities — right now.

Expected to compete for an NBA championship while navigating separation from loved ones in the middle of a pandemic while also maintaining a commitment to  racial justice in the midst of unfolding racial injustice tearing their communities apart is a near-impossible task.

And yet, it is expected of them, almost casually.

“I think that certainly, they’re amazing, and we [coaches] are in coaching as much as anything to just be a part of a team, and to be around people and to share those moments that only a team can share in those rooms,” noted Stevens.

“The things that I think you look back on [in] your career is when you really think about the relationships that you build and everything else and how people from every background can come together for a common goal is … what makes sports special, make teams special.”

“But the end of the day also, certainly, [we’re] all affected by what’s going on around us,” added Stevens, acknowledging the very real emotional turmoil his players are experiencing trying to navigate an utterly unprecedented situation like this one.

As Stevens has been keen to note, these players are playing what is at its essence just a game, while having real lives and emotions and worries that greatly overshadow the concerns surrounding an entertainment product.

That they have found a way to use that entertainment product as a vehicle for promoting some of the most important social change in decades is powerful.

But even that important work can’t move forward if we don’t respect the players as individuals, which Stevens notes.

“[I] totally understand anybody’s reaction to what’s going on outside of here and the desire to do more, or desire to not play, or desire to leave, it’s totally up to the individual,” he explained, “and we’re here to support that.”

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