Racially charged phrase caused tension in team meeting66-year-old says he meant to call his players ‘slugs’The Cleveland Cavaliers coach, John Beilein, has apologised to his players after describing them as a “bunch of thugs” during a team meeting on Wednesday.
Sources told
ESPN that the room became hushed after Beilein used the description, and several players were visibly uncomfortable. The 66-year-old coach, who is white, later acknowledged the effect of using a racially loaded phrase to describe a group of young black men, although he insisted he had meant to say “slugs”.