"As far as playing, I didn't care who guarded me - red, yellow, black. I just didn't want a white guy guarding me, because it's disrespect to my game"

This quote by Larry Bird speaks with the bigotry that was prevalent in the NBA during his playing profession. Bird was a white player, and he understood the bigotry that existed in the league. He was not scared to speak up versus it, and this quote is a testimony to that. Bird was saying that he did not care what color the player was that was securing him, as long as it was not a white player. He felt that it signified disrespect to his video game if a white gamer was safeguarding him. This quote speaks to the bigotry that existed in the NBA during Bird's playing career, and it is a pointer of how far the league has can be found in terms of racial equality.