*After telling his players that they were no longer playing “like a bunch of thugs,” Cleveland Cavaliers coach John Beilein says he meant to use the word “slugs.” Interestingly, that was his excuse after saying he didn’t even realize he’d even said the word “thugs.”
Dayuuum. Really? Good grief. This is not good.
Here we have an old white guy delivering the word “thugs” to a group of young African American men. Lord, have mercy. Beilein, who was hired from Michigan, where he coached for 40 years, knows he effed up.
He might as well have used the “N-word,” some say.
The incident occurred as the Cavaliers coach was concluding an off-day film session in Detroit and immediately the room went silent.  At that point, players were stunned and grew more agitated as time went by, according to sources.
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Here’s more via ESPN:
Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman was alerted to the issue in the aftermath of the meeting and reached out to Beilein for clarification later Wednesday. Soon after, Beilein said he started to contact his players individually to clarify his words and meaning.
“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.”
Altman was in the process of gathering details and context on the team film session Wednesday night, sources told ESPN.
Beilein held the film session at a Detroit hotel on Wednesday and largely derided his players for poor decision-making and execution, sources said. The Cavaliers play the Pistons on Thursday in Detroit.
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The report also says that after signing a five-year contract, Beilein, 66, has been slow to connect with his players and adjust to the NBA in his first year on the job. The Cavs head coach has also been on the receiving end of a lot of heat from All-Star forward Kevin Love as well as several of the younger core of players whom Beilein had been hired to teach and develop.
The article also notes that the Cavaliers are 10-27, and they are planning to continue making veteran players available on the trade market to cycle into a full rebuilding mode.
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