Boston Celtics fans are just being Boston Celtics fans, according to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
On Thursday, Silver praised Celtics fans when he was asked about the behavior at TD Garden, where fans allegedly yelled obscenities about Draymond Green in front of his children during Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
“I love the energy Boston fans bring to the game,” Silver told WCVB-TV. “I want fans to enjoy themselves, of course from the league office you want to see it done with respect, but I get it.”
Anna Horford, sister of Celtics veteran Al, has been proudly outspoken about the Boston big man and Green’s aggressive style of play. She defended Boston fans in a series of tweets on Thursday.
“People try so hard to villainize Boston’s fan base when the behavior from our fans is pretty much on par with just about every other team in the NBA,” Anna tweeted. “Passion is everywhere. Vulgarity is everywhere. Like it or not, it’s part of the game — always has been.”
“Slurs & threats are obviously never okay, but you’re going to hear the word b*tch and you’re going to hear f bombs. It is what it is,” she added in a second tweet.
Anna also addressed her attention-grabbing tweets in recent interviews, and said her big brother has no problem with her posts.
“I’m just one of those really vocal people and I know a lot of people are like ‘maybe you should keep your opinions to yourself,’ or ‘how does this impact your brother and your family?’ They know exactly who I am. Who I am on Twitter is who I am in real life,” Anna told Rhody Vault.
Anna said her loyalty to Boston is partly due to the city embracing her and the Horford family “since Day 1.”
“They’re gritty and they enjoy candor which is why I think I have such a good relationship with them,” she said, laughing. “The funny thing is, Al is so much more conservative as a human than I am. Al has just always kind of been the dad of the group. I think he kind of goes with the flow and he’s like she’s going to be who she is and I’m going to do my job and you know, we’re going to go from there.”
Anna will be present in Boston for Game 4 on Friday night.
