With Kyrie Irving’s comments Tuesday igniting new conversations about racism at Celtics games and in the city of Boston, forward Jaylen Brown on Friday night gave a nearly five-minute statement in which he shared his thoughts on the matter.
Brown, who has become an active voice in the social justice movement, said Irving’s concerns and the recent behavior of fans at other playoff games should be addressed. But he is concerned that if the focus is confined to basketball games it will mask much larger issues.
“I do not like the manner it was brought up, in terms of centering around a playoff game,” Brown said. “It bothers me if the construct of racism is used as a crutch or an opportunity to execute a personal gain. I’m not saying that’s the case. But I do think racism is bigger than basketball, and I do think racism is bigger than Game 3 of the playoffs.
“When it’s painted in that manner it’s insensitive to people who have to deal with it on a daily basis. The constructs and the constraints of systemic racism in our school system, inequality in education, lack of opportunity, lack of resources, lack of affordable housing, lack of affordable health care, tokenism. The list goes on.”
Brown heard Irving’s comments about racially charged language at TD Garden. He said he saw Wizards star Russell Westbrook have popcorn dropped on his head by a 76ers fan in Philadelphia, and he saw a Knicks fan spit on Hawks star Trae Young in a game at Madison Square Garden, and he said that players should not have to put up with such behavior.
“I think it’s important to address those situations, but if the topic is racism, I think that those incidents don’t compare, or those belligerent comments don’t compare to what systemic racism is currently doing in our community and has done in the past,” Brown said. “So it’s important to frame it in that context.”
He added: “Boston, we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.