Tweet
NBA Legend Larry Bird Says League Needs More White Stars
Celtic legend Larry Bird (right) says he felt disrespected when guarded by other white players.
Basketball Hall of Famer and Indiana Pacers President of basketball operations Larry Bird says the NBA lacks white superstars, and his sentiment seems echoed by fellow Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, who is a Los Angeles Lakers co-owner and vice president.
In an interview for an ESPN special set to air Thursday at 7PM ET, Jim Gray asks Bird: "Does the NBA lack enough white superstars in your opinion?"
"Well, I think so," Bird replies, according to an ESPN transcript. "You know when I played, you had me and Kevin (McHale) and some others throughout the league. I think it's good for a fan base because as we all know the majority of the fans are white America. And if you just had a couple of white guys in there, you might get them a little excited. But it is a black man's game, and it will be forever. I mean, the greatest athletes in the world are African-American."
Johnson then adds: "We need some more LB's, Larry Birds. I mean you know, you want that. Larry Bird, you see, can go into any neighborhood. When you say 'Larry Bird,' black people know who he is, Hispanics, whites, and they give him the respect."
Bird also says that when he was playing he "really got irritated" when a white player guarded him. "I still don't understand why," he says. "I didn't care who guarded me -- red, yellow, black. I just didn't want a white guy guarding me, because it's disrespect to my game." Bird on Tuesday declined to comment further, said Pacers director of public information David Benner. Johnson was unavailable for comment, and NBA Commissioner David Stern declined to comment.
NBA officials said the league does not maintain a breakdown of players by race.
From ESPN's transcript of Two On Two
ESPN's Jim Gray: Does the NBA lack enough white superstars in your opinion?
Larry Bird: "Well, I think so. You know when I played you had me and Kevin (McHale) and some others throughout the league. I think it's good for a fan base because as we all know the majority of the fans are white America. And if you just had a couple of white guys in there, you might get them a little excited. But it is a black man's game, and it will be forever. I mean the greatest athletes in the world are African-American."
Magic Johnson: "We need some more LB's, Larry Birds. I mean you know, you want that. Larry Bird, you see, can go into any neighborhood. When you say 'Larry Bird,' black people know who he is, Hispanics, whites, and they give him the respect."
* * *
Bird: "I really got irritated when they put a white guy on me. I still don't understand why. A white guy would come out, I would always ask him, 'What, do you have a problem with your coach? Did your coach do this to you?' And he would say, 'No,' and I'd say, 'Come on, you got a white guy coming out here to guard me; you got no chance.' And for some reason, that always bothered me when I was playing against a white guy."
Johnson: "Disrespect."
Bird: "Yeah, disrespect."
Gray: "Did you consider yourself black in terms of a basketball player?"
Bird: "As far as playing, I didn't care who guarded me -- red, yellow, black. I just didn't want a white guy guarding me, because it's disrespect to my game."
Johnson: "His game. You see, Larry Bird was the only guy that was mentioned in the barbershop. And they'll tell you, cuz that's where all the talking in our community is, the barbershop or on the playground."
Source: AP
Comment