More athletes should decry Jew-hatred, former NBA players, coaches say, emphasizing Project Max’s mission. Byron Scott, a former professional basketball player and coach, greets new people with a “how you doing, my brother,” he told JNS, because “we are all the same.”
“Our skin color might be different but we’re the same race, which is the human race,” said the three-time NBA champion for the Los Angeles Lakers during its “showtime” era in the 1980s, and coach of five teams, including the Lakers.
Scott was one of the speakers at an event last week on building connections through sports and faith at Sinai Temple, a Conservative synagogue in Los Angeles. The event preceded the NBA all-star game in Los Angeles, which saw the first Israeli-born all star, Deni Avdija, of the Portland Trail Blazers.
Scott, who is Catholic, told JNS at the synagogue event that “if you’re really a faithful person and you really believe in our heavenly Father, he didn’t ever teach anything about hate.”
“It’s all about love,” he said. “Kids learn from an early age, so it’s very important for parents not to teach bigotry and racism and things of that nature.” Read more here.