Nets' coach criticizes Celtics' fans for racist attitude 
Thursday, May 8, 2003
By STEVE ADAMEK
STAFF WRITER
EAST RUTHERFORD - Less than 24 hours after the latest Joumana Kidd episode drew the spotlight off the court in the Nets-Celtics series, Nets' coach Byron Scott stepped into it by criticizing Boston fans' treatment of black players.
On WFAN-AM's "Mike and The Mad Dog" program Wednesday afternoon, Scott said, "I don't think we are way past that. I think a lot of black players feel that way. We did [when he was a player] in the Eighties. And I know in the Eighties, some of their black players still couldn't go to certain places, and that was their own players.
"So it is still a crazy time. Some cities or organizations or whatever you want to say still haven't caught up to the year 2000 yet."
Scott did not address the issue during his pregame session with reporters, saying, "If we're going to talk about anything, we're going to talk about this game tonight and that's it."
But when asked on the radio earlier in the day whether a lot of black athletes consider Boston "a backward town," Scott said: "I think it is still a part of that out there. They are not very good fans."
His words further stir up a pot that reached a boil during last season's Eastern Conference finals, when fans taunted Jason and Joumana Kidd and their son T.J. about Jason Kidd's 2001 arrest for a domestic violence incident for which he later underwent mandatory counseling.
They also represent the latest in a series of remarks he has issued in his three seasons as Nets' coach that have, or in this case, are certain to stir up controversy.
In the wake of Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan's remarks on a television sports-talk show that he wanted to "smack" Joumana Kidd, Scott said he thought Ryan should be fired, although he backed off that remark Wednesday after Ryan received a one-month unpaid suspension.
During this season, Scott criticized Knicks' coach Don Chaney for playing Antonio McDyess late in an exhibition game when McDyess blew out his knee, and said he wouldn't want Latrell Sprewell on his team because of Sprewell's lax practice and pregame habits. Those remarks prompted Nets' officials to tell him to tone down his tenor, which he had until he spoke Wednesday.
Scott also said his players "played like women" during his first season with the Nets following a loss in Philadelphia.
Wednesday's words, however, have roots in his long-standing, often-expressed dislike of the Celtics, against whom he played in three NBA Finals while with the Lakers.
In those days, he said Boston fans used to treat the wives of the Lakers' players so rudely, he hired an armed security guard to protect them. His wife Anita and several others, he said, were "mooned" while sitting in the stands and heard the same kind of language that Joumana Kidd said she and her son T.J. were subjected to last season.
Thursday, May 8, 2003 By STEVE ADAMEK
STAFF WRITER
EAST RUTHERFORD - Less than 24 hours after the latest Joumana Kidd episode drew the spotlight off the court in the Nets-Celtics series, Nets' coach Byron Scott stepped into it by criticizing Boston fans' treatment of black players.
On WFAN-AM's "Mike and The Mad Dog" program Wednesday afternoon, Scott said, "I don't think we are way past that. I think a lot of black players feel that way. We did [when he was a player] in the Eighties. And I know in the Eighties, some of their black players still couldn't go to certain places, and that was their own players.
"So it is still a crazy time. Some cities or organizations or whatever you want to say still haven't caught up to the year 2000 yet."
Scott did not address the issue during his pregame session with reporters, saying, "If we're going to talk about anything, we're going to talk about this game tonight and that's it."
But when asked on the radio earlier in the day whether a lot of black athletes consider Boston "a backward town," Scott said: "I think it is still a part of that out there. They are not very good fans."
His words further stir up a pot that reached a boil during last season's Eastern Conference finals, when fans taunted Jason and Joumana Kidd and their son T.J. about Jason Kidd's 2001 arrest for a domestic violence incident for which he later underwent mandatory counseling.
They also represent the latest in a series of remarks he has issued in his three seasons as Nets' coach that have, or in this case, are certain to stir up controversy.
In the wake of Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan's remarks on a television sports-talk show that he wanted to "smack" Joumana Kidd, Scott said he thought Ryan should be fired, although he backed off that remark Wednesday after Ryan received a one-month unpaid suspension.
During this season, Scott criticized Knicks' coach Don Chaney for playing Antonio McDyess late in an exhibition game when McDyess blew out his knee, and said he wouldn't want Latrell Sprewell on his team because of Sprewell's lax practice and pregame habits. Those remarks prompted Nets' officials to tell him to tone down his tenor, which he had until he spoke Wednesday.
Scott also said his players "played like women" during his first season with the Nets following a loss in Philadelphia.
Wednesday's words, however, have roots in his long-standing, often-expressed dislike of the Celtics, against whom he played in three NBA Finals while with the Lakers.
In those days, he said Boston fans used to treat the wives of the Lakers' players so rudely, he hired an armed security guard to protect them. His wife Anita and several others, he said, were "mooned" while sitting in the stands and heard the same kind of language that Joumana Kidd said she and her son T.J. were subjected to last season.
