the rest, only noise

Chapter 1583 Black Magic

2007/2/20

645 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, New York City

There is a magnificent building here, called the NBA Headquarters Building (NBA Headquarters Building), which is the main administrative and operational center of the NBA. The NBA headquarters building also houses the administrative offices of the NBA, the players union, NBA media companies, NBA International and other institutions.

It can be said that this is the "old nest" of the NBA.

The news conference initiated by Louie and facing the national media, as well as the Celtics' appeal of serious unfair penalties in recent games will also be held here.

In addition to Louie, Celtics basketball operations executives will also attend, such as Patrick Ewing, the team's small owner and president of team operations, Larry Bird, vice president and general manager. , Joe Dumas, Vice President and Director of Sales, Tara Beck, Head of Marketing, Leah Davis, Director of Finance, and Keller James, Director of Human Resources. It can be seen that, except for those in charge of the basketball business, almost all the other department heads of the Celtics management are women.

This is the result of Louis's "gender equality and diversity" strategy set out in previous years.

Before the press conference started, Louie teased Ewing: "Patrick, what do you think you have built a no-black team?"

"I don't know anything!" Ewing dissatisfied, "Besides, it's not that there are no blacks in our team, it's just that they are injured, can this be my fault?"

At this time, Tucker Bella, director of the marketing department, joked in a very thick voice: "The boss may think that you have not taken precautions."

Her voice made Ewing's hair stand on end.

In fact, Ewing really didn't like the plan that Louis implemented at the beginning. It not only made the operation department more cloudy, but also brought many monsters and ghosts, such as this "woman" with a handle - Tara Baker

She is a biologically male but gender-identifies as a female L***.

Ewing didn't know why a man would make such a complicated name when he liked a woman. He couldn't understand it, but he also recognized Tara's professional ability.Since Tara took over the marketing department of the Celtics, the marketing work of the Celtics has become better and better. While the fan base has steadily increased, it has also received the support of a large number of special groups.

Afterwards, Lynn Garcia, vice president of the NBA, who is considered to be Stern's successor, attended a press conference.

This far-reaching press conference on the NBA was first questioned by the Celtics' director of public relations Michael Carter to the league.

The Celtics need an explanation, why the penalties in the past four games can be biased to that extent?

Then, Carter tells the Celtics' history of equal rights with statesmanlike provocative force, and makes a strong case for why the Celtics are not racist.

After Carter finished speaking, Lynn Garcia said: "We are already aware of the Celtics' demands. Our staff will carefully review the penalties of the past four games. At the end of the press conference, we will give process result."

"Now, friends from the media can start asking questions."

David Brooks of The New York Times asked Louie, "Have the Celtics considered signing a few black players to increase racial diversity?"

Louie had dealt with The Times for years, but this Brooks was a stranger.

To be sure, his dabble is by no means sports.

"No." Louie explained, "According to the '2005' rule introduced by the league in the summer of 114, each NBA team can decide before the start of the season whether to break the 15-man limit on the roster. Rule 114 is not enabled. Teams that use this rule cannot sign any free agents until the end of the season."

Brooks immediately looked at Lynn Garcia: "Will the league give the Celtics a lenient so that they can temporarily sign one or two free agents to increase the racial diversity on the roster?"

Garcia shook his head and said: "The rules are not decided by the league in one word, it is a matter for the entire league to decide together. We cannot set this precedent for the Celtics."

Afterwards, several reporters in NBA circles asked a few basketball questions.

Then, a reporter named Mark Mazzetti asked Louis an extremely pointed question: "Coach Lu, since you returned to Boston, the Celtics have seen fewer and fewer black players. Is this a coincidence?" Is it a coincidence that there were only two available black players on the team until you were coach again?Isaiah Thomas once said on a TV show that you used the 'N' word racist term against him , what do you say about this?"

Louis looked at Mazzetti sharply—he had heard the name of this person before, and he specialized in national security. He was also a writer and won a Pulitzer Prize.

"I'm sorry, I didn't understand your question. What do you mean by saying that there are fewer and fewer black players in the Celtics team under my rule?"

"literal meaning."

"explain."

Mazzetti said slowly: "Do you select existing players based on fairness and team needs, or do you select players based on skin color?"

Louis sneered, do you even have this kind of problem?

"Fairness and team needs?" Louie said, "Before I returned to Boston, the Celtics had been at the bottom of the valley, ranked at the bottom for years, the market was depressed, and the fans avoided them. In my first year back in Boston, We made it to the playoffs, and in the next four years, we reached the Eastern Conference finals three times and won the championship once, thanks to these players. Mr. Mazzetti, what do you think is the most practical thing in the sports world?"

"It's victory, Mr. Mazzetti. Victory is the most practical, most in line with the team's needs and fairness. These players not only proved their own strength, but also proved the vision of me and my colleagues." Louis asked rhetorically, " Mazzetti, with what the Celtics have achieved, do you think we are picking players based on fairness and practicality?"

In the face of the facts, Mazzetti couldn't continue to dwell on it, so he turned to the last question, "About Isiah Thomas."

"Isaiah Thomas? Is there anything to say about this man?" Louis asked with a sarcastic smile. Professional basketball, almost 1978 years ago, who else thinks I'm a racist but Isiah Thomas?"

Mazetti looked at Ewing beside Louis, "Patrick Ewing was in the book "When the Garden Was Eden"."

"Don't mention that book to me!" Ewing spoke for Louie, "I can say this, (pointing to Louis) I wouldn't be where I am today without this man, I can't thank him enough, this is not a book, something Rumors and a bunch of gossips can change!"

A great man once said that the more the truth is debated, the clearer it becomes.

The longer the press conference went on, the less credible were the accusations of alleged racism by Louie and the Celtics.

More and more journalists stood up to ask questions, but there seemed to be no more provocative ones like Mazzetti.

However, Louis believes that there must be a few people in this group who are ready to wait until the end to ask questions.

So he answered various questions with a relaxed expression and waited patiently.

About half an hour later, Jason Stanton, a black reporter with a "Black Pride" dog tag, stood up and asked, "Coach Road and the Celtics may not be racist, but Boston conservatives And the influence of segregationism on the Celtics has undoubtedly continued to this day. (He said a lot of cases of Boston and the Celtics being conservative and biased towards whites) Today, the fact that there are no black players in the Celtics team has been established, for To avoid such a thing from happening, in order to break this backward conservatism and segregationism, do the Celtics have a plan to break these old practices?"

"Jason, what you said is only half right. Boston is indeed conservative, and there are a lot of conservatives in the city, but the Celtics are different." Louis asked, "You are from the 'Black Pride' newspaper, I would like to ask you, How many female reporters and writers are there in the newspaper?"

Stanton hesitated. "I'm not sure, but at least 20 percent."

"Do you think this is conservative and open enough?"

Stanton looked at Louie suspiciously.

Louis sneered and said: "The conservative and closed Celtics basketball operation department you mentioned has more than [-]% female employees. Just the staff around me, they are all the heads of various departments of the team. They are excellent players in the new era. Women, in terms of ability, are by no means inferior to those men who call themselves elite, but they are not appreciated in other companies."

"This is the conservative and closed Celtic you say. Although we have 50% female employees, we are still conservative."

Stanton was speechless.

Louis continued: "Apart from this, have you paid attention to any vulnerable groups that need more attention?"

The scene fell silent.

They didn't know what Louie was going to do.

Louis looked at his marketing manager Laura Baker, "Laura, please introduce yourself."

Afterwards, Baker, who was completely dressed as a woman, opened her mouth, causing some reporters who had a little interest in her to give up: "My name is Laura Baker. As a L***, I used to be discriminated against and suppressed. I used to Working at a company where my co-workers not only discriminated against me for my gender identity, but also routinely mocked me for my sexuality, I felt very hurt that they would discuss demeaning remarks about L*** in front of me.

This kind of discrimination and oppression makes me feel depressed and helpless.I tried to work on my abilities, but they still thought my gender identity and sexual orientation was abnormal, luckily I got a job offer from Celtic.Here, my colleagues are very supportive and acknowledging my gender identity and sexuality.They appreciate my abilities and contributions as a person rather than judging me based on my gender identity and sexual orientation.Here, I feel like I can truly express myself without fear of discrimination and oppression.

The Celtics have given me new hope and opportunities to work and live in a more inclusive and respectful environment.I believe that as long as we keep working hard, we can find a place to accept and recognize ourselves in this world, and we should not be discriminated against or suppressed in any form. "

The scene was silent.

Louis suddenly discovered that it wasn't Yugi Muto who summoned the black magister at all, but that he gathered five cards from Exodia to seal the victory directly.

"Thank you, Laura." Louie immediately looked at the reporters at the scene and said loudly, "We have 50% female employees and 20% LBGT employees. In addition to Americans, there are also Chinese, Greeks, Georgians, Russians, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Argentines, Spaniards. The Celtics are not only the best equal rights team in NBA history, but also the most diverse and inclusive team in sports history. In any case, we vow not to accept any accusations of racism and for this reason we will use all means to preserve the club's reputation! This is why we are sitting here today!"

(End of this chapter)