I have to admit that I pulled back from watching pro sports years ago in part due to its hyper-wokification, the massive egos and bad behavior, and because, well, Charlotte teams (like the NFL's Panthers and the NBA's Hornets) haven't given us much to cheer about over the last several seasons. 

As a result, watching them and hoping against hope just became unbearable.

But every once in a while a team, and/or some of its players/staff, come along and make people sit up and take notice for the right reasons, and that's where I found myself after hearing about Boston Celtics Head Coach Joe Mazzulla.

We've written about him before, and for those who are unfamiliar with Mazzulla, suffice it to say he ain't woke. He's just not. Reporters throw race-based "how does it feel?" questions at him from time to time, and almost always he pivots to his Catholic faith.

READ MORE: Boston Celtics Head Coach Joe Mazzulla Has No Time for Those Who Can’t See Past Skin Color

So it is with that thought in mind that we turn to how Mazzulla responded in the aftermath of the franchise's historic 18th NBA Championship victory Monday night against the Dallas Mavericks. 

As one would expect, he was elated, gratified, and proud. And thankful - not just to his coaching staff and players, but to God:

Win a championship and the first thing on Joe Mazzulla’s mind is putting on this shirt and putting God in the center of the conversation. We need more men like Joe. pic.twitter.com/ZqnnnVKPwR

— T.J. Moe (@TJMoe28) June 18, 2024

“Praise and criticism are both just as dangerous, if you don’t handle them well. Winning is just as dangerous as losing if you don’t handle it well. Our guys handled winning the right way. Whether we won or lost, we just moved onto the next game,” Joe Mazzulla

Humility wins. pic.twitter.com/9i5kYVOQSa

— The Winning Difference (@thewinningdiff1) June 18, 2024

The shirt - and, more importantly, the message - has been immortalized:

First-time NBA CHAMPION as a Head Coach... Joe Mazzulla! pic.twitter.com/SY5UAVAyRZ

— NBA (@NBA) June 18, 2024

Mazzulla has also become known for doing what he calls "prayer walks" around the Celtics court well ahead of game time before the crowds get there. But on Monday night going into Tuesday, he did another one, this time with his wife, Camai, who used to coach college volleyball in West Virginia (the state where they met and would eventually marry):

It’s 3:20 a.m. and Joe Mazzulla and his wife are holding hands, walking around the parquet. They’ve done a few laps already. Mazzulla is pointing to a few places around the arena.

Soaking it all in. pic.twitter.com/iU5kRqPcL8

— Andrew Callahan (@_AndrewCallahan) June 18, 2024

Like Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, Mazzulla is unafraid to wear his faith on his sleeve, or in this case, his chest, saying in December 2022 that his faith was perhaps even more important than his race in terms of defining who he was and how he could reach others and connect with them:

After the 2019-20 NBA season, there were only four African American head coaches in the predominantly Black league. With you, there are a record 16 Black NBA coaches. What are your thoughts on that progress and the state of Black coaches in the NBA as a mixed-race Black and Italian man?

It’s one part and it’s not the whole me. So, my identity and who I am as a person is important and knowing who I am is important. And I think being a part of that is important for society. It’s important for the league. It’s important for the players. It’s important for people to understand that it doesn’t matter what you look like or where you come from, you can get to where you want to go. That fundamental principle is extremely important. And so, being a part of that is huge. But I don’t want to be just defined by that. That’s also important to me.

My faith is just as important as my race, if not more important. But I understand that in order to reach different people, you have to be your whole self and you can’t put yourself in a box. And so, I want to be able to reach Black people, Christians, non-Christian. Whoever it is, I want to be able to be an opportunity for that person.

In a world gone full-blown cray-cray, we do indeed need more people like Joe Mazzulla.

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