There was one noticeable absence from the 2008 Celtics reunion on Monday night — Ray Allen. On Tuesday morning he didn’t issue a big statement about the snub, or slam his former teammates — but he did pick a pretty curious image to kick the day off with.
Ray Allen responded to his Celtics reunion snub with a passive-aggressive Facebook post
There are still a lot of hurt feelings.
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
A simple image of Allen, mid-game, elbowing Rajon Rondo, or perhaps he’s pushing past him, or sticking his armpit in his face — there are a lot of different symbols here. All of them point to one thing: There’s still a lot of bad blood between the 2008 Celtics and Ray Allen.
How did it get this way? It’s a fairly intricate series of fascinating arguments, fallings out, and general dislike — but the crux of the issue stems from Allen spurning the Celtics in 2012 and turning down a $6 million offer to sign with the Miami Heat for half that price. His teammates were understandably upset.
Now, five years later, the hatchet still hasn’t been buried. Three former teammates, all with championship rings and destined for the Hall of Fame, formed a Big 3 — but with all that success and fame they still haven’t been able to put the beef of five years ago behind them when Garnett and Pierce felt like Allen left the fold.
That’s why Allen got passive aggressive on Tuesday, and why he’s not a part of 2008 Celtics reunions.
