Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday took part in the Playbook Initiative launch event in partnership with New Balance last weekend.
The program was inspired by members of the 2016-17 Celtics roster and focuses on “anti-discrimination and bias-prevention.” It focuses on the creation of a “social playbook” that provokes “a dialogue on race, religion, gender, disability, and sexual orientation and ultimately equips kids with the tools to intervene in challenging social situations.”
“I think if you’re in that position and you have the heart for it, you’re comfortable with it. It’s always good to put yourself out there and put out what you believe in,” Holiday said.
Holiday took part in group activities with the group of high schoolers who applied and were accepted to take part in the program.
The activities involved the concept of being presented with a question or social situation and discussing potential outcomes and/or reactions.
“As a high schooler, I’m not sure I would have been in this group,” said Holiday. “I mean, they applied for it. So that really goes to show how much of an initiative they’re taking [and] how much they care about other people and people that might be different from them. So, this is a really cool experience.”
One of the topics posed to the students, as well as Holiday and former Celtic Dana Barros who also partook in the initiative, was whether or not people can “act black” or “act white,” etc.
The group split up into sections: Agree, disagree, or in the middle.
Students then took turns giving their perspectives, and Barros told a story about his experience when he attended Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood, Massachusetts.
The first day, he didn’t say a word. But once he made his debut for the basketball team, everything changed.
Holiday attended Campbell Hall School, a private school in Los Angeles. He spoke about his experience there, detailing his experience as a minority and the challenges he faced.
One of the student responses to the question stated that people can act black and white, but it’s a result of their culture rather than the color of their skin. Holiday was impressed by the response and nearly switched his stance.
“It’s kind of how the world is,” Holiday said of the concept of being immediately judged based on race. “So, I think you either get used to it or accept it, or you decide to tell people what it’s like, and how different it is, and how it might not make you feel too welcome.”
He also explained how perspective may change based on where a person is at in life.
“I think there are different phases,” Holiday said. “I think kind of in high school, you just kind of accept it, or maybe in the beginning for me, I kind of accepted it, and I was like, ‘Alright, this is just how the world is.’
“But then at the same time, later on maturity, I’m like, ‘Well, I’d like to change that because I have black kids.’ And right now, they go to private school. They are gonna be going through similar situations that I am. I want the world to be better.”
Holiday and his wife, Lauren, started the JLH Social Impact Fund in 2020 in response to “the uprisings of the global pandemic and the epidemic of racial and social injustices.” In July of that year, they committed to donate the remainder of Holiday’s NBA salary to the cause.
At the 2023 ESPYs, Jrue and Lauren won the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award for their work.
Over the past few years, and even before, the NBA and many of its players have set a high standard for helping the community and fighting against racial and social injustice.
“There are a lot of foundations out there that do great things. Matter of fact, Marcus Smart is huge. Really great,” Holiday said with a smile, giving a nod to the former Celtic. “Obviously, Jaylen. Russell Westbrook is one of my favorites. He does a lot for his city. He does a lot for not only just the culture of basketball but outside for minorities. So, you do have quite a few athletes out there who are putting themselves out there.”
Holiday used the Playbook Initiative event as a way to get familiar with his new city.
“Really to kind of get introduced into Boston and kind of see what it’s about, what they’re about,” said Holiday. “And you can tell that they really care, and not just about their situation. They care about the world and the worlds of other people. So, [it’s] really cool to be here.”
When Jaylen Brown inked his contract extension with the Celtics over the summer, a promise to improve the city came with it. “I want to launch a project to bring Black Wall Street to Boston,” Brown said. “I want to attack the wealth disparity here.”
Brown’s commitment to improving the city has been evident through community events and his 7uice Foundation, and Holiday has spoken with him about his future plans in Boston.
“We’ve had a couple of conversations,” Holiday said. “We have the same agent. So, it’s been fun to hear about what he wants to do. And [I’m] really just excited to see how he puts it into place.”
As for himself, Holiday and those he’s spoken to have some plans of their own.
“We got some ideas,” Holiday said of ways to improve the community. “We got some ideas. Hopefully coming to fruition soon.”
