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Thursday, May 8
Updated:
May 9, 6:19 PM ET
Scott criticizes Boston fans heading into Game 3
ESPN.com news services
Nets coach Byron Scott called Boston Celtics fans "crazy" during a radio interview Wednesday.
In an interview with host Mike Francesa of New York station WFAN, Scott agreed that Boston fans have been slow to embrace the African-American athlete. Scott also said Celtics fans come to games "juiced up" from "drinking."
When Francesa asked Scott if "Boston is still a backwoods town when dealing with black athletes?" Scott replied, "I think there's a part of that up there. They're not very good fans. You could be a great fan and have a great tradition without being crazy and hostile.
"I think Sacramento has the best fans in basketball," Scott said. "They don't get outrageous like the fans in Boston."
The issue of Celtics fans' behavior came up during last year's NBA playoffs when Jason Kidd's wife, Joumana, was verbally abused at FleetCenter. Scott's Nets are leading the Celtics 2-0 in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series. Game 3 is Friday night -- in Boston.
Scott said his wife asked to go to Boston this weekend and the coach told her to stay home.
"We were talking about it the other day and I said, 'You can't come up there, not to Boston,' " Scott told WFAN. "Players and wives understand. It's a tough town to play in, a tough arena. The people are crazy, to say the least.
"The fans, they're very cruel and they're crazy. They come into the game, a 7 o'clock, 7:30 game, they come into the game pretty juiced up. These guys are drinking. They've had their share of beers already before the game has started, and they can get pretty hostile."
Joumana Kidd just recently responded to derogatory comments made by Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan, who was suspended by the newspaper. In a television interview Sunday, Ryan said he wanted to "smack" Joumana Kidd because of the way he believes she exploits her children.
"I don't even know this guy," she told the New York Daily News. "It is one of those things you have to hear [for yourself] to believe. The guy is an intelligent guy. I honestly feel very sorry that I offend him. He has a lot of passion behind the hatred he has toward me. It is really hard for me to think what I could have done."
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