Before Friday night's In-Season Tournament game against the Brooklyn Nets, the Boston Celtics focused on an issue bigger than basketball.
Players took the court in "Raise the Age" shirts to raise awareness for the "Raise the Age" bill in Massachusetts. The bill aims to gradually raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction to include 18 - 20-year-olds.
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Celtics star Jaylen Brown addressed the TD Garden crowd before Friday's opening tip with a message about the "Raise the Age" initiative:
"Before we tip-off tonight, I want to bring attention to a bill of legislation that we, the Celtics, are advocating for. The name of this bill is called the Raise the Age bill. If you want to learn more, please visit Celtics.com/raisetheage to learn more. Thank you."
C's head coach Joe Mazzulla also spoke about the bill during his pregame press conference.
"I think it's important in general. Not just the organization, but for humanity," Mazzulla said. "But I know the Celtics have done a great job building awareness to that and working on a bill trying to change that.
"My wife was in criminal justice and she was a probation officer and we saw, just sometimes how the system can put people back and how it can hold people back and put them in even tougher situations in where they're at. And so, this bill is important to a lot of people because of what it can offer. So just grateful to be a part of an organization that's doing that, and the campaign starts tonight, and hopefully people can learn more about it."
To learn more about the "Raise the Age" initiative, visit Boston Celtics United's page or watch the video below:
