Police face criticism for Black History Month tweet
By: The Associated Press
Email: news@abc6.com
Twitter: @ABC6
BOSTON, Mass. (AP) — Boston police are facing heavy criticism online for a now-deleted post on Twitter for Black History Month that celebrated a white man.
The original post on the department’s official Twitter account Saturday night was in honor of former Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach.
The department said in the tweet it was paying tribute to Auerbach for being the first NBA coach to draft a African-American player, play an all African-American starting lineup and fire the league’s first African-American head coach.
Several Twitter users responded by calling the post “tone-deaf” and “clueless.”
The tweet was deleted less than an hour after it was posted. The department’s account later posted another tweet that night honoring Bill Russell, the first African-American head coach in the NBA.
The police department has declined to comment.
BPD realizes that an earlier tweet may have offended some and we apologize for that. Our intentions were never to offend. It has been taken down.
— Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice) February 12, 2018
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