On 17 October 1961, five African-American basketball players of the Boston Celtics and two from the St. Louis Hawks boycotted a National Basketball Association exhibition game between the teams in Lexington, Kentucky, after facing racial discrimination in the city.
Two black players, Sam Jones and Satch Sanders, went to a coffee shop at the Phoenix Hotel on arriving in town, where a waitress refused to serve them.
"I'm sorry but we don't serve Negroes," the NBA champion Boston Celtics were told.
Jones, rookie Al Butler and Hawks players Woody Sauldsberry and Hill decided to leave Kentucky in protest.
[4] Coach Red Auerbach argued the players should stay, but ultimately agreed to drive them to the airport.