On 17 October 1961, five African-American basketball players of the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

and two from the

St. Louis Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

boycotted a

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

exhibition game between the teams in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

, after facing racial discrimination in the city.

Background

Two black players, Sam Jones and

Satch Sanders Thomas Ernest "Satch" Sanders (born November 8, 1938) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played his entire professional career as a power forward for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). ...

, went to a coffee shop at the

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

Hotel on arriving in town, where a waitress refused to serve them. “I’m sorry but we don’t serve Negroes,” NBA champion Boston Celtics were told. Later, Hawks player

Cleo Hill Cleo Hill (April 24, 1938 – August 10, 2015) was an American professional basketball player who was selected by the St. Louis Hawks in the first round (8th overall) of the 1961 NBA draft. A guard from Newark, New Jersey and the Winston-Salem S ...

was also denied service. The Celtics players informed

Bill Russell William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most V ...

of this incident, and the three along with K.C. Jones,

Al Butler Elbert J. "Al" Butler (July 9, 1938 – July 12, 2000) was an American basketball player who played four seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in Birmingham, Alabama, he played basketball for East High School (Rochester, New ...

and Hawks players

Woody Sauldsberry Woodrow Sauldsberry Jr. (July 11, 1934 – September 3, 2007) was an American National Basketball Association (NBA) player. Sauldsberry was born in Winnsboro, Louisiana and graduated from Compton Union High School, where he was the star of his ...

and Hill decided to leave Kentucky in protest. Coach

Red Auerbach Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach (September 20, 1917 – October 28, 2006) was an American professional basketball coach and executive. He served as a head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Boston Celtics. ...

argued the players should stay, but ultimately agreed to drive them to the airport. On arriving in Boston, Russell stated to the media: "Negroes are in a fight for their rights – a fight for survival in a changing world... I am with these Negroes."

References

{{Boston Celtics Boston Celtics Boycotts of events Politics and sports Civil rights movement Celtics boycott Celtics boycott Celtics boycott Celtics boycott History of Lexington, Kentucky

Background

See also

References