从凯尔特人伟大的假定报价批评 NBA 球员为他们的亲种族正义抗议。

【宣称】

前 NBA 明星说现代篮球运动员应该停止抗议，只是 ‘闭嘴玩该死的游戏。’

【结论】

假

【原文】

In August 2020, as players in the National Basketball Association (NBA) opted to boycott (i.e., refused to participate in) playoff games in order to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis., social media users circulated a meme purportedly quoting former Boston Celtics star Larry Bird as declaring “Back in my day, the game had fundamentals and honored the commander in chief. Now it’s a bunch of radical fundamentalists who dishonor the flag and cross. They only care about looking flashy! Shut up and play the damn game.”:

However, once searches in vain to turn up this statement attributed to Larry Bird (or anyone else) prior to its appearance in this August 2020 meme, or to find any real example of Bird’s speaking publicly about the issue of players’ boycotting NBA playoff games as a form of social protest.

Moreover, Indianapolis television station WTHR contacted the Indiana Pacers (for whom Bird still serves in an advisory capacity), and the Pacers responded that putative quote was “Totally false”:

There’s a false meme circulating on social media which features a supposed quote from Larry Bird concerning today’s NBA players.
I contacted the Indiana Pacers on behalf of WTHR asking if this statement is actually from Larry Bird. The Pacers’ response:
“Totally false.”@WTHRcom pic.twitter.com/kSscSpc9YR

— Carlos Diaz (@CarlosWTHR) August 30, 2020