The Celtics coach's faith comment isn’t that witty

To each their own — if Mazzulla’s religion is important to him, then good for him. I like Brussels sprouts, for example — good for me. We’re free to reveal our preferences and lifestyles.

However, I think Mazzulla received more praise for his comment than it deserved. The episode in the press conference was this:

Question: “For the first time since 1975, this is the NBA finals where you have two Black head coaches,” the reporter said. “Given the plight, sometimes of Black head coaches in the NBA, do you think this is a significant moment?”

Mazulla’s reply: “I wonder how many of those have been Christian coaches”.

There is then silence, for ten seconds.

I saw several social media posts from different publications admiring how Mazzulla responded and left the press room speechless. He’s portrayed as the wise and humble hero, while the journalists are seen as fools. He identifies with Christ, not race.

At first, I liked Mazulla’s response. There is no doubt that the man is very composed. However, I revisited this episode several times and it didn’t sit well with me.

Disclaimer: This whole territory — the NBA, race, faith — isn’t very familiar to me. I follow the sport, and the U.S. has been my home for many years, but at the end of the day, I’m an immigrant and don’t have an intimate understanding of some of the social and cultural themes. Nonetheless, I want to express an opinion.

So what bothered me? Well, a couple of things.

First, I am an atheist, or at best, I’m agnostic. My spiritual journey has been a winding road, and the details are reserved for a different story. Over the years, I’ve abandoned my faith, at least in the form of a specific confession. Thanks to my international experiences in work and education, I’ve met and gotten to know people from vastly different cultural backgrounds. One consequence of this exposure has been the realization that there is no superior faith or religion. I can rationalize why different religions exist — to help different cultures organize their spiritual beliefs — but to substantively differentiate…