Tag: Politics

Celtics host roundtable, exhibition game with formerly incarcerated people

Turns out those rumors of Boston playing a game in prison were off — but not by that much, and for a good cause.

There was a rumor floating around the Boston Celtics that the team was going to conduct a game with prisoners that seemed just plausible enough to have us at the Celtics Wire reach out for confirmation.

While we did not hear anything back from the Celtics or other rumored parties, it turns out to have been true, at least for the most part.

While the initial reports turned out to be off on several points, Boston did hold an event on Thursday that hosted what the team called “a transformational experience featuring an intimate roundtable discussion about hope and redemption with formerly incarcerated individuals, followed by a game coached by the 2022-23 roster featuring roundtable participants and our coaches.”

With Represent Justice, PLUS ONE, the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC), and Transformational Prison Project, Boston held the event to get the team familiar with what some in their community go through and to advocate for the “Raise The Age” bill currently in process with the state legislature.

“This reminds me of (Celtics great Bill Russell) and how active he was in the community,” related Grant Williams via the Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn. “It makes you feel more comfortable … and more willing to be involved.

“I feel like it shines light on things players don’t necessarily get to see every day unless they’re directly affected. It’s something that strikes me immediately and it’s something that I want to be involved with.”

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Stephen Curry committed to winning another title while expanding his activist profile

At 34, Stephen Curry is “absolutely” committed to winning the title again this year. But the game isn’t his only focus. Curry has raised his profile as a businessman, a humanitarian, and – slowly but surely – an activist and more vocal political …

At 34, Stephen Curry is “absolutely” committed to winning the title again this year. But the game isn’t his only focus. Curry has raised his profile as a businessman, a humanitarian, and — slowly but surely — an activist and more vocal political leader. Look into his kaleidoscopic stare as he considers his status in the history books, and you begin to believe Curry when he declares that he can eventually “have as much influence” as Michael Jordan. And while the notoriously apolitical Jordan once said that “Republicans buy sneakers, too,” Curry has already put his brand on the line by clashing with Trump, endorsing Joe Biden, and marching for racial justice. Now, Curry is grappling with how he might expand the meaning of influence, and wondering what the fuck he is gonna say next.

Source: Matt Sullivan @ Rolling Stone

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Connor Letourneau @Con_Chron
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Stephen Curry said that the Warriors had internal talks this summer about acquiring Kevin Durant, who ultimately stayed with the Brooklyn Nets. sfchronicle.com/sports/warrior… – 12:51 PM
Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria
Steph Curry signed off on a Golden State Warriors trade for Kevin Durant: ‘Hell, Yeah’ I Would Have Played With Kevin Durant Again
nj.com/nets/2022/09/s… – 11:06 AM
Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Stephen Curry says ‘Hell, yeah’ Warriors considered Durant trade nba.nbcsports.com/2022/09/12/ste… – 10:01 AM
Emiliano Carchia @Sportando
Stephen Curry says Warriors considered idea of a blockbuster trade to bring Kevin Durant back sportando.basketball/en/stephen-cur… – 8:56 AM
BasketNews @BasketNews_com
Forget Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and the others…
🇮🇹 Nicolo Melli is the best player in the world for Gianmarco Pozzecco 😅💪
#EuroBasket pic.twitter.com/08RSl32T6Y – 5:02 AM

Chris Biderman @TheWarriorsWire
Warriors Wire celebrates the brilliance of Stephen Curry with a photo gallery of his 50-point games. warriorswire.usatoday.com/gallery/stephe… – 4:01 AM
Kerith Burke @KerithBurke
Steph Curry told @sullduggery he loves KD. I know anything KD is kindling for the same ol’ discourse but it feels meaningful to see Steph say this. File it away in the “players are people” folder. pic.twitter.com/Kw78XonYsN – 9:19 PM

Christos Tsaltas @Tsaltas46
Bugrahan Curry or Stephen Tuncer?
20 points / 6-6 3P with 10 minutes remaining. The game of his life! #BizBirlikteyiz #EuroBasket #TURFRA – 7:16 AM
Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Stephen Curry agrees with Draymond Green: 2022 title was ‘definitely the most special’ nba.nbcsports.com/2022/09/09/ste… – 3:01 PM

More on this storyline

Stephen Curry rise has interlaced directly with historic racism, bigotry, and political chaos — with American protest and athlete activism not seen since the Sixties. And yet Curry has remained a reluctant culture warrior. He analyzes political issues like an opponent’s defense, studying “where the loopholes are, where the missteps are,” maneuvering to say less and, as Obama taught him, do more. “The current events of the Trump era, I don’t wake up and say, ‘I wanna go at that conversation,’ ” Curry, who has 75 million followers, tells me. Fans and the media, though, have come to expect the liberal NBA’s superstars to respond to CNN headlines. “Some of this stuff falls on your doorstep and people want a perspective or comment, and sometimes you cough that up unsolicited.” Which hasn’t always gone so well for him. “I think I probably need to do the work of looking back at the last 10 or 12 years.” -via Rolling Stone / September 12, 2022
Curry repeatedly agonized over a moment he wishes he could take back. In 2014, the Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling was exposed as a vile racist in recordings published by TMZ, in the middle of the upstart Warriors’ playoff series against them. Curry privately discussed a unified player response with the Clippers star Chris Paul, twice, because Curry and his teammates wanted to walk off the court after the jump ball. But the Warriors ultimately deferred to their opponents’ protest of choice — the Clippers wore warmup shirts with the logo inside out, then discarded them at center court — and to the league commissioner’s lifetime ban of Sterling. “One of my biggest regrets is not boycotting the game,” Curry told me. “That was a moment to leverage beyond anything we probably could have said.” -via Rolling Stone / September 12, 2022
In one of five interviews, Curry revealed that he and the Warriors legitimately discussed whether and how to blow up the roster of the defending NBA champions this summer for a reunion with Durant, who dramatically split from Golden State in 2019 for the Brooklyn Nets following back-to-back titles. -via Rolling Stone / September 11, 2022

How Bob Cousy and the Boston Celtics helped shape Massachusetts AG and gubernatorial candidate Maura Healey

Basketball (and being a point guard) played a major role in making Healey who she is today.

Long before she was a candidate for the governorship of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, state Attorney General Maura Healey was a point guard. And Healey was a fan of Hall of Fame Boston Celtics floor general Bob Cousy at that, donning his No. 14 while playing for the Harvard University women’s basketball program.

That frame of mind followed her in her stops playing as a pro overseas in Austria, through her time at law school up to the present. When she waded into politics, Healey applied the logic of a point guard to how she does her job working for the state — by looking for the play that lifts everyone up.

Now, with Healey in the race to succeed Charlie Baker as governor, she is drawing on her roots in the sport to ground her campaign.

To talk over how the Celtics and basketball more broadly have shaped her career as a public servant — and of course to talk about the Celtics of today — Healey sat down with the hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast on a recent episode.

Be sure to check this episode out to hear about everything from how Jaylen Brown inspires her to the importance of being a Bill Russell over a Wilt Chamberlain.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Star Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown announces partnership to support women entrepreneurs

Brown is a longtime activist and supporter of causes that seek to level the playing field for historically underserved communities around the US.

Star Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown recently announced on Twitter that he plans to partner with Legal Zoom’s “Fast Break 4 Small Biz” program in support of women starting their own businesses to be their own bosses.

Citing a recent Legal Zoom survey that found among 60% of their respondents started a business explicitly to be their own boss, Brown announced his partnership with the organization. The study cited by Brown notes how while women are part of a rising tide of entrepreneurship, they still find themselves in a sheer minority (just 4%) of small business funding from traditional financial institutions — and just 2% of funding from venture capital sources.

The Georgia native shared how he hopes to help with “providing equitable resources for women” through his partnership with Legal Zoom.

Brown is a longtime activist and supporter of causes that seek to level the playing field for historically underserved communities around the US.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Not everyone is into the idea of honoring Bill Russell’s career with a leaguewide jersey retirement

But the bone to be picked is not the means as much as the timing.

The NBA announced plans to honor Bill Russell, the late, great Boston Celtics Hall of Fame big man, by retiring his No. 6 jersey leaguewide to honor Russell not only for his achievements in basketball, but his considerable advocacy for civil rights and social justice.

Though current No. 6 wearers would be grandfathered, not everyone is happy about the decision.

They seem irked more about the timing of the announcement than the idea, however. Fox Sports Radio’s Rob Parker takes issue with Russell not getting the honor while alive. Parker is not alone in that sentiment, but the balance between an honor and a pre-emptive obituary is a precarious one.

How best to honor the living, then?

Hear out Parker for yourself, and decide if what he as to say about honoring Russell (and athletes more generally) makes sense.

Check out the Celtics Lab podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Arash Markazi: Former Los Angeles …

Joe Biden: From a childhood in …

Joe Biden: From a childhood in segregated Louisiana to a career playing on the biggest stages in sports at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Bill faced the hostility and hate of racism embedded in every part of American life. Yet, he never gave up. Throughout his life, he forced us to confront hard truths. And on this day, there are generations of Americans who are reflecting on what he meant to them as someone who played for the essential truth that every person is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect.