How the media originally covered Rick Pitino’s famous Celtics rant
"Pitino said he would not 'succumb to negativity.' But he soon did just that."
On March 1, 2000, Celtics coach Rick Pitino delivered one of the most famous rants in Boston sports history. It came after a crushing loss to the Raptors in which Vince Carter (who’s still playing in 2018) nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Toronto a 96-94 win. The loss was the Celtics’ third in a row, and 11th in 14 games.
A defiant Pitino challenged the “negativity” he perceived from the fans and media. And the 47-year-old coach, then in his third losing season in Boston, unleashed a piece of famous commentary about the state of the Celtics:
From the #WBZ archives: Rick Pitino’s “through that door” rant; March 1, 2000 #Celtics pic.twitter.com/bSW2MLeKNB
— Joe Giza (@JoeGiza) March 31, 2017
As the Associated Press noted in its recap of the game, Carter’s game-winning shot “sent his teammates into a frenzied celebration and even drew cheers from the Boston fans.”
And it was on the fans that much of the weight of Pitino’s tirade fell. The contentious nature of the quotes, and the image they conveyed of aging Celtic greats, was immediately recognized by the media coverage.
The Hartford Courant wrote that Pitino “seemed less upset with the loss than he was with fans and media, who he blamed for excessive expectations.”
Arguably the most astute observation came from an AP report. “Pitino said he would not ‘succumb to negativity,'” it read. “But he soon did just that.”
The Globe’s Michael Holley offered a measured but forceful take in his column titled, “All rant but no raves: Solutions exist for Celtics coach, but is he willing to listen?”
On Day 2 of Pitino v. Boston, the plaintiff (or is he now the defendant?) got off to a horrible start. I kept expecting someone to call for a recess, pull the coach of the Celtics aside and say, “Dude, what are you doing?”
Rick Pitino was not arrogant when he spoke yesterday, but he did not retract a word of his absurd Boston sports rant from Wednesday night. He would not relent on even the simplest issues.
Longtime Globe Celtics reporter Peter May made a historical reference of his own in explaining Pitino’s reaction to Carter’s game-winner:
Across the floor, Celtics coach Rick Pitino was in a crouch, unwilling to move, staring at the recently replaced parquet floor, which had been around for the franchise’s 16 NBA championship banners. The optimism for a 17th is now long gone.
And May was unsympathetic in considering Pitino’s complaint about not being able to “buy the world,” noting of the assembled roster:
It also is a team loaded with too many mediocre players pulling down big salaries, most of them signed by Pitino and many of them untradeable. He frequently complains about being unable to compete with big-spending teams in the league while neglecting to note that several teams with better records – Toronto, Charlotte, San Antonio – are spending much less than Boston.
Most outlets simply ran Pitino’s quotes about past Celtics “not walking through that door,” correctly identifying it for what it was. The diatribe became an instant classic, albeit for dubious reasons.
Pitino would last into January of the following season before resigning with a combined 102-146 record in his Celtics tenure.
