The Boston Celtics fanbase is coming under fire once again, this time courtesy of NBA superstar LeBron James.
When discussing the place he hates to play the most on the latest episode of “The Shop,” James without hesitation selected Boston, and the Los Angeles Lakers forward didn’t mince words about his feelings toward the city’s fans.
“Cause they racist as (expletive),” James said on why he hates Boston, as transcribed by the New York Post’s Jared Greenspan. “They will say anything. And it’s fine. It’s my life, (expletive), I’ve been dealing with it my whole life. I don’t mind it. I hear it. If I hear somebody close by, I check them real quick, then move onto the game. They’re going to say whatever the (expletive) they want to say.”
James didn’t stop there. He brought up an incident that occurred following Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals when he played for the Miami Heat and had a drink poured on him as he walked through the tunnel at TD Garden.
James also noted that he saw Celtics fans wearing profanity-laced shirts with his name on them when he’s played in Boston.
“There was like a ‘(expletive) LBJ’ t-shirt,” James said. “I believe they sold it at the (expletive) team shop.”
James isn’t the first NBA athlete to criticize Celtics fans and call them racist. Kyrie Irving called the fanbase out for the same thing last year, and then Irving exchanged words, plus some gestures, with them throughout Game 1 of the Brooklyn Nets first-round series against the Celtics in this year’s playoffs.
During the NBA Finals, Celtics fans were in the spotlight again when they hurled expletives at Golden State Warriors agitator Draymond Green during Game 3. Green and his wife, along with Steve Kerr and Warriors forward Klay Thompson chastised the fans for their behavior.
So, this is just the latest example of another prominent athlete calling out the Boston fanbase.
