On July 20, retired shooting guard Ray Allen seemingly enjoyed his 42nd birthday, and the future Hall of Famer reached out to his fans on Instagram to express his thanks for the well wishes.
On the same occasion, a Boston Celtics fan account (@bostonceltics4ever) reached out to send their best to Allen and encourage fans to join them in doing so. In short order, things spiraled in the wrong direction with various fans and trolls sending hate in Allen’s direction and that prompted a response from Allen.
https://twitter.com/CelticsJunkies/status/888220457165631488
Since that time, Allen deleted his comments but the initial reaction reads as follows:
“Y’all need to get over it!!! where were you all when the team tried to trade me. It’s a business, we go where it’s necessary just like you all do in your jobs!!!! I will always be a Celtic no matter what any of you say. Get over it!!!”
It comes as no surprise that at least part of the Celtics fan base would take issue with Allen, simply because it is clear that his former teammates still do. During an on-air reunion during the 2017 NBA Playoffs, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and company expressed real concern with how Allen chose to leave Boston in favor of the Miami Heat and it has been (very) clear for a long time that there is no love lost between Allen and his former crew.
In a lot of ways, Allen’s points are valid in that sports fans often remove some realities from the way that players move around the league and forget that, at the end of the day, it is a business with employees that are trying to maximize value and situational happiness. Still, this is probably the wrong way to go about it and, given that Allen deleted his comments, there is a possibility that the former All-Star, or someone close to him, realized that. Unfortunately, it was a little bit too late and nothing, as we know, evaporates from the internet.
