Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla left the press room speechless Sunday following his response to a question about black coaches in the NBA.
Hours before his team was set to take on the Dallas Mavericks, Mazzulla was asked about his thoughts on both teams in the Finals having Black head coaches.
“For the first time since 1975, this is the NBA Finals where you have two Black head coaches,” Yahoo Sports reporter Vince Goodwill said. “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?”
In response, Mazzulla sidestepped the race aspect and instead offered a quip about religion.
“I wonder how many of those have been Christian coaches,” he said.
What followed was eight seconds of incredibly uncomfortable silence before the microphone was given to The Athletic’s David Aldridge.
Mazzulla has a history of expressing his faith in unorthodox ways during media availability. Members of the
British royal family — namely Prince Harry and Meghan Markle — once attended a Celtics game and Mazzulla was asked for his thoughts on royalty watching them.
“Jesus, Mary and Joseph?” Mazzulla said when he heard about a royal family being at the game.
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