Boston Celtics Present Local High School Basketball Teams With 2003-04 MAPS Sportsmanship Award

BOSTON (April 12, 2004) - The Boston Celtics, on behalf of MAPS (Massachusetts Alliance for the Promotion of Sportsmanship), honored the Bartlett High School boys’ basketball team and the Georgetown High School girls’ basketball team with the 2003-04 Sportsmanship Award at halftime of the Celtics’ game against the Miami Heat.

During the halftime ceremony, the captains and head coach of both teams accepted the award at center court from Celtics forward Walter McCarty.

MAPS is an unprecedented union of law enforcement, professional sports teams and academia, all with the common goal of furthering the values that are gained through healthy sportsmanship in competition.

“It is a pleasure to recognize theses high schools,” said Meghan Wright, the Celtics’ Senior Director of Community Relations. “Through their selfless actions, they are shining examples of sportsmanship at its best, and we are proud to salute them.”

The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Basketball Committee appointed a selection committee comprised of the MIAA Basketball Committee Chair and committee members representing the North, South, Central and West sections of Massachusetts. The committee members reviewed copies of all the nomination forms and voted independently for Sportsmanship Awards in each of four divisions for both boys and girls. Those winners were recognized in ceremonies conducted at the MIAA State Basketball Championships.

MAPS was first conceived in 2001 by Attorney General Tom Reilly and then-Suffolk County District Attorney Ralph Martin. MAPS members include: Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA), the District Attorney’s Offices of Suffolk and Middlesex County, the Boston Bruins, Boston Cannons, Boston Celtics, Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots and New England Revolution.