Rick Pitino tried to crack a joke Saturday morning, but it might have missed the mark.
The former Louisville basketball head coach, who now coaches in Greece, was reacting to Marcus Smart accusing a fan of making potentially racist remarksĀ during Friday night’s game between the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets. And while Pitino’s remark was well-intentioned, it came off as a little tone-deaf.
Take a look:
I see another dumb fan got into it with @smart_MS3. I encourage any player sick of that nonsense to come play for Panathinaikos. You can go thru the Euroleague and not understand any words š
— Rick Pitino (@RealPitino) November 23, 2019
Let’s assume Smart is telling the truth about what a fan told him Friday night. We’re not sure the solution to NBA players being subjected to racist remarks from fans is to play in an area where they simply can’t understand the racist remarks. And even if you believe the comments were merely inappropriate and not racist, players shouldn’t have to flee the country to avoid abusive fans.
The better idea probably is to, you know, ensure players don’t have to deal with that kind of garbage in the league they’ve always dreamed of playing in.
