In the infamous fight between the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers in 1984, an ubiquitous lack of backup of Celtics legend Larry Bird when he got into it a fight with Sixers star Julius “Dr. J” Irving by Boston teammate Robert Parish may have puzzled some fans.
Speaking in an interview with famed Celtics reporter Jackie MacMullan via Basketball Network’s Yakshpat Bhargava, Chief said that Larry legend deserved what came to him. “Larry earned that,” said Parish. “He earned it from his words. No question about it. And that’s one of the reasons why I didn’t do anything about it, even though Moses (Malone) was holding Larry back.”
“Because some things Jackie you just don’t say to the other person in the heat of the moment and I felt like Larry crossed the line,” he added. “And then when Moses did not throw a punch, that’s why I did not intervene.”
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“We all know Larry is legendary at trash-talking,” recounted Parish. “Oh, man, the trash-talking. Oh my goodness. I would’ve threw a punch if it was me.”
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