The Boston Celtics and the precedents set by Hall of Fame big man Bill Russell as a basketball player unafraid to use the platform his excellence in his sport of choice gave him reverberate through history up into the present, with so many in the sport today following his lead.
And perhaps no more emblematic of that tradition is the Celtics’ own Jaylen Brown, who has made a name for himself by bending his platform to a number of causes seeking radical change for the better of society’s more precarious. Speaking at a panel at his adopted city’s Museum of Fine Arts called “The City Talks: Leading From Anywhere,” Brown explained why he does.
“I try to use my platform to elevate other people’s voices,” he suggested via Boston.com’s Khari Thompson.
Celtics Lab 145: Honoring Bill Russell’s legacy and talking Boston basketball with Rep. Ayanna Pressley https://t.co/bQdqt3EZPB
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 7, 2022
“I think it’s important, it’s imperative really,” added the Georgia native.
“(I)t’s a responsibility from my parents for me in order to pull others up as you continue to move forward. What good is it if I make it to a certain platform and only think about myself? It’s important to think about others and think about the community that I come from.”
“Because a lot of times there’s a disconnect as I navigate and make it through these barriers,” Brown continued.
Celtics’ Marcus Smart cracks Sports Illustrated’s top 50 NBA players list for 2022-23 https://t.co/3fZmH32tXj
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 7, 2022
The Celtics star isn’t just speaking at a macro level encompassing the US as a whole either; after more than a half-decade in the community, it has become home to him — and an imperfect one he’d like to help improve.
“My family is here, so I consider myself a part of the community,” Brown explained.
Celtics’ Jayson Tatum cracks Sports Illustrated’s 2022-23 top 10 players in NBA list https://t.co/KZrsSQbWV0
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 7, 2022
Citing the racial wealth disparity in the city, the disproportionate rate of incarceration of people of color and several other issues, the Cal-Berkeley product challenges his neighbors’ understanding of their city.
“I know a lot of people are like, ‘Boston is great’, ‘Boston is wonderful,’ ‘what are all these complaints about, why would anybody want to change anything?’” shared Brown.
“I would push for them to see the other side of the coin. There’s a lot of alarming statistics that jump off the page when you look at Boston on paper.”
Three Boston Celtics land in Nos. 100-51 of Sports Illustrated’s 2022-23 top 100 players list https://t.co/tidF1Dkh4r
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 7, 2022
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