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From: schneider@2littl.DEC
Newsgroups: net.sport.hoops
Subject: Re: Black vs White on Red's Green
Message-ID: <750@decwrl.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 8-Oct-85 16:40:28 EDT
Article-I.D.: decwrl.750
Posted: Tue Oct  8 16:40:28 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 11-Oct-85 06:41:20 EDT
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> 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