1961 Boston Celtics boycott
{{Short description|1961 protest against racial injustice}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
On 17 October 1961, five African-American basketball players of the Boston Celtics and two from the St. Louis Hawks boycotted a National Basketball Association exhibition game between the teams in Lexington, Kentucky, after facing racial discrimination in the city.{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissheridan/2020/08/27/nba-boycott-is-unprecedented-but-one-almost-happened-in-1964-and-one-did-happen-in-1961/|title=NBA Players' Boycott Is Unprecedented, But 1961 And 1964 Offered Previews|first=Chris|last=Sheridan|website=Forbes}}{{cite book | last1=Pedersen | first1=P.M. | last2=Miloch | first2=K.S. | last3=Laucella | first3=P.C. | title=Strategic Sport Communication | publisher=Human Kinetics | year=2007 | isbn=978-0-7360-6524-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DJOm9pVzaqAC&pg=PA318 | access-date=2020-09-09 | page=318}} The game proceeded as scheduled, with the Hawks winning 128–103.
Background
Two black players, Sam Jones and Satch Sanders, went to a coffee shop at the Phoenix Hotel on arriving in town, where a waitress refused to serve them. "I'm sorry but we don't serve Negroes," the NBA champion Boston Celtics were told.{{Cite web |last=Eisenberg |first=John |date=August 27, 2020 |title=Sixty years ago, the Boston Celtics staged their own walkout over racial injustice |url=https://www.yahoo.com/now/sixty-years-ago-the-boston-celtics-staged-their-own-walkout-over-racial-injustice-223600387.html |access-date=2022-08-01 |website=www.yahoo.com |language=en-US}} Later, Hawks player Cleo Hill was also denied service. The Celtics players informed Bill Russell of this incident, and the three along with K.C. Jones, rookie Al Butler and Hawks players Woody Sauldsberry and Hill decided to leave Kentucky in protest.{{cite news |title=Brown sizzles at Celtic slur |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/106745149/ |access-date=1 August 2022 |work=Boston Globe |date=18 October 1961 |page=41 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}} Coach Red Auerbach argued the players should stay, but ultimately agreed to drive them to the airport.{{cite news |title=NBA stars bolt game |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/106745392/ |access-date=1 August 2022 |work=The San Francisco Examiner |date=18 October 1961 |page=57 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}} According to the AP, the hotel manager at the time, Art Lang, said the hotel did not have “discriminatory policies,” and the refusal of service was a "misunderstanding."{{Cite news |last=Clay |first=John |date=August 27, 2020 |title=Boycott by NBA players brings back memory of Boston Celtics boycott in Lexington |url=https://www.kentucky.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/sidelines-with-john-clay/article245289330.html |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=Lexington Herald-Leader}}
On arriving in Boston, Russell stated to the media: "Negroes are in a fight for their rights – a fight for survival in a changing world... I am with these Negroes."{{cite book | last1=Goudsouzian | first1=A. | last2=Edwards | first2=H. | title=King of the Court: Bill Russell and the Basketball Revolution | publisher=University of California Press | series=George Gund foundation imprint in African American Studies | year=2011 | isbn=978-0-520-26979-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e7MwDwAAQBAJ | access-date=2020-09-09 | page=}}
See also
- Racial segregation in the United States
- 1965–66 Texas Western Miners men's basketball team
- Glory Road, 2006 film about Texas Western's win against Kentucky
References
{{reflist}}
{{Boston Celtics}}
Category:Civil rights movement protests