Former WVU basketball player and Current Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla could always bring a crowd to life in Morgantown. That hard-nosed kid would take it straight to the hoop and make the coliseum erupt with cheers. That’s the Joe Mazzulla that we remember.
Unfortunately for a Yahoo Sports writer by the name of Vince Goodwill, Mazzulla gave him nothing to cheer about when he answered a race-baiting question asked by the reporter. Deafening silence, on the other hand, was not in short supply.
Goodwill attempted to project his own personal beliefs onto Mazzulla by asking a leading question in hopes that Mazzulla would agree with him. Joe, however, did not take the bait.
For the first time since 1975, the NBA Finals [features] two black head coaches,” Goodwill began, which must have made viewers groan “And here we go”.
Goodwill continued, “Given the plight, sometimes, of black head coaches in the NBA, do you think this is a significant moment, do you take pride in this, how do you view this or do you not see it at all?”
“I wonder how many of those have been Christian coaches?” Mazzulla quickly yet calmly replied, leading to a long silence in the room before the moderator stepped in to get the next question.
One would think that it would all end here. Goodwill asked his question, and Mazzulla replied. Time to move on, right? But not so fast!
Goodwill then decided to pen and post a column titled “Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla’s unwillingness to discuss race a complicated issue.”, in which he criticized Mazzula for sidestepping his question.
I think many would agree that Mazzulla’s decision to not talk about it is a credit to his character. I know I miss the times when sports reporters asked sports-related questions and coaches and players gave sports-related answers.
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