pannell@dosadi.DEC (Roger D. Pannell 229-6893) (10/07/85)
> The Celtics acquired Jerry Sichting yesterday (10/2) from the Indiana >Pacers. That gives them yet another white ballplayer. I've always >wondered about the disproportionate number of white Celtics. Does anybody >else have any thoughts concerning the *possible* racist policies of the >Celtic front office? Or is this a completely unfounded claim? > >Jeff Gershengorn '88 ihnp4!dartvax!gersh >Hinman Box 1772 Dartmouth College Hanover, New Hampshire 03755 >Real World: 5 Fairway Drive San Rafael, CA 94901 I don't understand why people are so concerned about the number of white Celtics. If the team can perform together and put on an exciting and entertaining display of basketball skills, then color shouldn't matter. Your use of the word "disproportionate" in regard to the number of white players on the Celtics puzzles me, is there a rule somewhere that says most basketball players on a given team have to be black (or some color other than white)? Also, I read in one of the local papers the other day, that Walton and Sichting both, first approached the Celtics rather than the other way around. So it's not like they go out shopping for white players. In fact in recent years the Celts have traded away white players for black players Cowens for Buckner, and Robey for DJ. So don't we all stop all this talk about black and white and just see them as they really are...CELTIC GREEN. -- Roger Pannell ARPA: pannell%dosadi.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA, pannell%dosadi.DEC@Purdue-Merlin.ARPA UUCP: {allegra, decvax, ucbvax}!decwrl!rhea!dosadi!pannell
schneider@2littl.DEC (10/08/85)
> I don't understand why people are so concerned about the number of white > Celtics. If the team can perform together and put on an exciting and > entertaining display of basketball skills, then color shouldn't matter. Concern isn't the appropriate word, but I've wondered for a long time about the front-office racial policy of the Celtics and another local team - the Red Sox. You're right though that color shouldn't matter when it comes to the play of the game, and there is no evidence that it does to my knowledge. > Your use of the word "disproportionate" in regard to the number of white > players on the Celtics puzzles me, is there a rule somewhere that says most > basketball players on a given team have to be black (or some color other than > white)? Well, there is, sort of. We call that rule by the names "probability" and "statistics". The Celtics have a long-standing tradition of violating both of these when filling out their roster. This by itself does in no means substantiate the claim of a racist policy within the club. But if I had to qualify the evidence, I'd say the odds lay somewhere between slim and none that the policy in question is color-blind. > ...In fact in recent > years the Celts have traded away white players for black players Cowens for > Buckner, and Robey for DJ. Aurbach would be crazy to tamper with the talent of the first 8 or 10 players based on color. He'd probably also be unemployed. What was being addressed was the issue of a consistent disproportion of whites to blacks on the Celtics when compared with the league at large. If you want to get specific and study this problem, one should look at the end of the bench over a number of years. For instance (how handy!) last year Greg Kite and Rick Carlisle resided there. Carlisle I have my reservations about, being a fan of his when he played in college, but I doubt Greg Kite would be in the NBA if he didn't make the Celtics. > So don't we all stop all this talk about black and white and just see them as > they really are...CELTIC GREEN. ...with envy, that the crown rests in L.A. But seriously, I feel these are serious issues that haven't gone away in a long time. To ignore it is to condone it if, in fact, something wrong is going on. > -- Roger Pannell Daniel Schneider {decvax}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-2littl!schneider