Doc Rivers went on the Woj pod and this was a particularly fascinating portion of the interview, which centers on the butting of heads between him and Austin Krell last year: 

Doc:

“…There was no relationship between me and the media. The other part was the second guessing that I thought went on. I asked the one guy (Austin Krell) the question, and I probably should have used another coach, and that was more, being honest, a racial thing when I said ‘would you ask Pop that question?’ Because I felt like the question was disrespectful. I’ve been great with the media overall, but there are times where I can be feisty too, because that’s who I am. I thought last year was feisty most of the year, which I didn’t like, honestly.”

Funny line at the end there about the Philly media being crazy. I’d argue that the Sixers beat is one of the most reasonable and fair on the entire East Coast. It’s a more quiet and thoughtful and cerebral beat, less “gotcha” kind of shit and no yelling over each other.

But anyway, Doc is saying that he’s not sure if the media would have asked that same question of a white coach.

It’s a tricky subject to talk about, as is anything with a racial component, but if Rick Carlisle or Mike Budenholzer was coaching the Sixers, I absolutely think they would have gotten the same questions as Doc. Truly. White coaches and white players in Philly have been obliterated in the media as badly as any black player or black coach. Just look at Carson Wentz, Gabe Kapler, and the tail end of the Chip Kelly and Andy Reid tenures for examples of that. I would honestly say that the criticism Carson took was just as bad as anything Donovan McNabb ever got. I think Philly fans and media are “colorblind” when it comes to ripping players and coaches that they don’t think are getting the job done, but that’s just like, my opinion man.

Regardless, good to hear Doc speak on this publicly. Most of this has been litigated behind the scenes and off the record. He makes good points about not being able to meet anyone or develop any relationships during COVID, so maybe this offseason kind of served as a media “reset button” and we’ll avoid unnecessary conflict like this moving forward, at least until Paul Reed is benched again.