The Boston Police Department was forced to apologize Monday morning after facing outrage for honoring a white man during Black History Month.
The department tweeted out praise for Celtics coach Red Auerbach and his decision to hire black athletes to the basketball team, reported Fox 25 Boston.
“We pay tribute to @celtics legend #RedAuerbach for being the 1st @NBA coach to draft a black player in 1950, field an all African-American starting five in 1964 and hire the league’s 1st African-American head coach (Bill Russell) in 1966,” the department said in a now-deleted tweet.
People sharply criticized the department for being “tone-deaf on race,” questioning why the police were choosing to honor a white man’s achievements instead of a black person. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Boston chapter said it showed how far the country has to go in racial progress.
“As lovely as all those things are that Red did, black history month is not about white men. This is inappropriate,” one person said.
The department later apologized for the tweet, took it down and replaced it with a tribute to Bill Russell, the first black head coach in the NBA.
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