Cleveland Cavaliers Head Coach Says He Meant To Say ‘Slugs,’ Not ‘Thugs,’ When Addressing His Players
Cleveland Cavaliers head coach John Beilein had an apparent slip of the tongue during a film session with his team on Wednesday (January 8), in which he said they were no longer playing "like a bunch of thugs,” according to ESPN.
Beilein later reached out to his players saying the word he intended to use was “slugs,” as in slow-moving.
"I didn't realize that I had said the word 'thugs,' but my staff told me later I did and so I must have said it," Beilein told ESPN on Wednesday night. "I meant to say slugs, as in slow-moving. We weren't playing hard before, and now we were playing harder. I meant it as a compliment. That's what I was trying to say. I've already talked to eight of my players tonight, and they are telling me that they understand."
The film session was held at a Detroit hotel on Wednesday and the coach got on his players for poor decision-making and execution, according to the report.
Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman was made aware of the issue and reached out to Beilein for clarification, shortly after is when the coach began to contact his players.
Beilein is 66 years old and in his first year coaching in the NBA after being a college head coach and that has brought some challenges. Dealing with professional players of varying years of experience who are getting paid versus unpaid college kids in an environment where you are the ultimate authority are two completely different things.
He is finding out the hard way as the Cavaliers are 10-27 and he’s had a rough time connecting with his players.
Using the word thugs, even by accident, when addressing a team that is largely Black is bad optics.
But we should give Beilein the benefit of the doubt here as there is no known track record of him harboring any kind of racial animosity.
He did reach out to his players to say it was a slip of the tongue and if they are telling him they understand, let’s leave it there.
