Cleveland Cavaliers head coach John Beilein has publicly expressed regret over the term he used during a film session with his players this week, and he has apologized to the team privately as well.
Beilein met with his players prior to Thursday’s shootaround and delivered what was described to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski as an “emotional apology.” Cavs general manager Koby Altman was also at the meeting, and the team is standing behind the first-year head coach.
Sources: Cavaliers coach John Beilein met with team in what was described as an emotional apology prior to shoot-around in Detroit today. He’s coaching Cavaliers tonight and franchise plans to continue with him on the job. https://t.co/BEhvH4xOuc
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 9, 2020
Cavaliers GM Koby Altman traveled to Detroit and met with Beilein and players. Altman talked individually with players to get a sense of how they viewed verbiage in yesterday’s film session and how accepting they were of today’s apology, per sources.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 9, 2020
Beilein told Cavs players during a film session on Wednesday that they were no longer playing “like a bunch of thugs.” He later explained to Wojnarowski that he meant to say “slugs” and was complimenting his players on no longer moving slowly on the court. Since “thug” is a term with negative racial connotations, players reportedly did not react well to Beilein’s use of it.
The drama from this week’s film session is just the latest in what has been a rough first season for Beilein in Cleveland. The Cavs are 10-27 on the year, and Kevin Love recently blew up at Altman during a practice over his frustration with the team. A report last month also said Cavs players are unhappy with the way Beilein is running the team, so there will likely continue to be tension in Cleveland even if players accepted Beilein’s apology for the “thugs” remark.
