Mayor Martin J. Walsh says it was “inappropriate” for the Boston police to send a Black History Month tribute message on Twitter that honored a white man. 
 
 “Yesterday’s tweet from the Boston Police Department was completely inappropriate and a gross misrepresentation of how we are honoring Black History Month in Boston,” Walsh said Monday in a statement. 
 
 The Police Department, facing mounting criticism, apologized earlier in the day for the post, which celebrated former Boston Celtics coach and president Red Auerbach, who was white. “BPD realizes that an earlier tweet may have offended some and we apologize for that,” said a tweet from the department. 
 
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 “I am personally committing to the people of Boston that we will always honor our black leaders, activists, and trailblazers with the respect they deserve, not just in February, but every day and every month of the year,” Walsh said. 
 
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 He cited the accomplishments and contributions of the black community, noting the achievements of abolitionist Harriet Tubman, recently retired state Supreme Judicial Court chief justice Roderick Ireland, artists like New Edition and Michael Bivins, longtime activist and one-time mayoral candidate Mel King, and Superintendent Lisa Holmes, the first black woman to lead the Boston police academy training program. 
 
 Likewise, Police Commissioner William B. Evans released a statement Monday: “On behalf of the Boston Police Department, I offer my sincerest apologies for last night’s social media post on Black History Month. The tweet was insensitive and does not reflect the values of the Boston Police Department.” 
 
 A Police Department spokesman said Evans personally reached out to community leaders on Monday to express his apologies. 
 
 The Police Department tweet, which was deleted less than an hour after it went up Sunday night, was posted on the department’s official account “in honor of #BlackHistoryMonth.” 
 
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 The tweet credited Auerbach with being the first NBA coach to draft a black player, field an all-black starting five, and hire the league’s first black coach. 
 
 The pushback to the tweet was swift, with many people saying the post was tone-deaf, inappropriate, and missed the point of Black History Month. 
 
 A coalition of civil rights organizations released a statement that said the tweet “amplifies the need for continued work to deepen our collective understanding of our shared history and the role that Black people have played in it especially in this City where we consistently stumble on issues of race.” 
 
 The group, which included the city branch of the NAACP, the Urban League, the Anti-Defamation League, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice, the Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers, and state Representative Russell Holmes, called for bias training for all managers within city government. “All of us, regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender deserve this to be a top priority,” the group wrote. 
 
 Shortly before 9 p.m. Sunday, the department’s account reposted a Black History Month tweet that was originally posted on Feb. 3, honoring Bill Russell, the first African-American NBA coach. 
 
 Sean Smyth of the Globe staff contributed to this report. ||||| BOSTON (CBS) – Mayor Marty Walsh is blasting a Black History Month tweet from the Boston Police Department that honored a white man. 
 
 The now-deleted tweet posted Sunday evening paid tribute to legendary Celtics coach Red Auerbach. Police noted that he was the first NBA coach to draft a black player, put together the first all-black starting five and hired the league’s first black head coach, Bill Russell. 
 
 Walsh released a statement Monday calling the tweet “completely inappropriate and a gross misrepresentation of how we are honoring Black History Month in Boston.” 
 
 “We are celebrating the accomplishments and limitless contributions of the Black community to our city and the entire country, from Harriet Tubman to great leaders of today such as Chief Justice Ireland, artists like New Edition and Michael Bivins, powerful activists including Mel King and Superintendent Lisa Holmes, the first African-American woman to lead the Boston Police Academy training program,” Walsh said. “I am personally committing to the people of Boston that we will always honor our Black leaders, activists and trailblazers with the respect they deserve, not just in February, but every day and every month of the year.” 
 
 Several people responded to the tweet on Sunday, suggesting the department should have honored someone else. 
 
 “As lovely as all those things are that Red did, black history month is not about white men. This is inappropriate,” one person responded. 
 
 “Is this a joke?” another asked. 
 
 One user called the tweet “tone-deaf,” while another called it a “swing and a miss.” 
 
 Later in the evening, Boston Police shared a tribute to Russell, calling him “one of the greatest Celtics of all time.” 
 
 #ICYMI: In honor of #BlackHistoryMonth we pay tribute to Bill Russell, one of the greatest @celtics of all time and the first African-American head coach in the history of the NBA when he was named @celtics coach on November 15, 1966. pic.twitter.com/gKX7zpcUQt — Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice) February 12, 2018 
 
 Boston Police later apologized for the Auerbach tweet, saying, “Our intentions were never to offend.” On Monday, police tweeted out a statement from Commissioner William Evans, acknowledging the tweet was “insensitive.” 
 
 Statement from Police Commissioner William B. Evans, "On behalf of the Boston Police Department, I offer my sincerest apologies for last night's social media post on Black History Month. The tweet was insensitive and does not reflect the values of the Boston Police Department." — Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice) February 12, 2018 
 
 Cedric Maxwell, whose number hangs in the rafters at TD Garden, said there was no need to be offended by the tweet. 
 
 “This is called Black History Month, not black people’s month. Red Auerbach advanced the cause,” Maxwell said. 
 
 “John Brown is a great abolitionist who fought against slavery at the time. He was white. They celebrate that.” 
 
 Darnell Williams, Urban League of Eastern Mass. president, believes the tweet never should have been sent. 
 
 “There should be some level of review or scrutiny and diversity and inclusion that would have prevented it from going out in the first place,” Williams said. ||||| # ICYMI: In honor of # BlackHistoryMonth we pay tribute to Bill Russell, one of the greatest @ celtics of all time and the first African-American head coach in the history of the NBA when he was named @ celtics coach on November 15, 1966.pic.twitter.com/gKX7zpcUQt ||||| BPD realizes that an earlier tweet may have offended some and we apologize for that. Our intentions were never to offend. It has been taken down.
– Boston's police department is taking all kinds of criticism over a tweet meant to celebrate Black History Month. The problem? The since-deleted tweet praised the accomplishments of a white man, reports WBZ. The offending tweet went out Sunday night, and it lauded the late Boston Celtics coach and exec Red Auerbach for being the first to draft a black player, to put an all-black starting five on the floor, and to hire the first black head coach in Bill Russell. Criticism came quickly, notes the Boston Globe, and one tweet sums things up: "Well done. Everyone knows black history month is all about honoring white guys." On Monday, Mayor Marty Walsh joined the criticism, calling the police tweet “completely inappropriate and a gross misrepresentation of how we are honoring Black History Month in Boston." The police, meanwhile, issued a tweet of apology, saying, "BPD realizes that an earlier tweet may have offended some and we apologize for that." The department added another that celebrates the accomplishments of the aforementioned Russell.