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BPD facing backlash after tweeting Black History Month tribute to a white man

BOSTON — The Boston Police Department is facing intense backlash from Twitter users after they honored a white man in a post intended to celebrate Black History Month.

The tweet, posted from the Boston Police Department's official account, begins by saying "in honor of #BlackHistoryMonth", but celebrates the accomplishments of Auerbach, who was white.

In the tweet, Boston Police paid tribute to Red Auerbach for being the first NBA coach to draft a black player in 1950, field an all-African American starting lineup and hire the league's first African-American coach.

The tweet, which was posted on Sunday night, was up for less than an hour before it got deleted after users criticized it for being tone-deaf, inappropriate and wrong.

Some people were even calling for a public apology from the department.

Boston 25 News reached out to Boston Police, but they declined to comment.

Later, the department issued another tweet celebrating Black History Month, this time celebrating Bill Russel, the first African-American head coach in the history of the NBA.