BOSTON (RNN) - The Boston Police Department is facing backlash for what it tried to pass off as a celebration of Black History Month on Sunday.
The department tweeted a photo of a statue of Red Auerbach along with the following:
In honor of #BlackHistoryMonth, we pay tribute to @celtics legend #RedAuerbach for being the first @NBA coach to draft a black player in 1950, field an all African-American starting five in 1964 and hire the league's 1st African American head coach (Bill Russell) in 1966.
The tweet stayed up for about an hour before it was finally deleted.
Important moments in the history of the game, no doubt. But there’s a problem: Auerbach was not black.
Twitter users quickly pointed out to the department that it wasn’t their best moment. Police deleted the tweet about an hour later.
They have not yet offered an apology, but have opted for a do-over. The department later tweeted a photo of Bill Russell praising him for being the first African-American head coach in NBA history.
#ICYMI: In honor of #BlackHistoryMonth we pay tribute to Bill Russell, one of the greatest @celtics of all time and the first African-American head coach in the history of the NBA when he was named @celtics coach on November 15, 1966. pic.twitter.com/gKX7zpcUQt
— Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice) February 12, 2018
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