Brad Stevens made the effort to create an open dialog with his players, and it didn't go unnoticed.
The Boston Celtics head coach wrote a letter to his team over the weekend following the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man who was murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin last Monday when Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
The intent of Stevens' letter was to tell his Black players that while he can't pretend to know their pain, he supports them as they attempt to combat racial inequality and police brutality.
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Stevens' intent rang true for Celtics wing Semi Ojeyele, who joined NBC Sports Boston's "Arbella Early Edition" on Wednesday night to say he appreciated his coach's letter.
"It's everyone's issue," Ojeyele said. "We're all together on this. ... Having him be able to reach out to us -- he didn't have to do that -- to take the time, the thought, the energy to let us know that he's with us in any way that he can help is big. We know that we have his support and we're going to need it if we're going to change this thing."
The Celtics have actively participated in calling for change in the past week: Jaylen Brown helped lead a peaceful protest in Atlanta last weekend, while Marcus Smart, Enes Kanter and Vincent Poirier joined a protest Sunday in Boston.
They've been so active in part because they know their coach supports them -- not just with empty gestures but with real conviction, according to Ojeleye.
"For me it just means that he's actually what he talks about," Ojeleye said. "He talks about family, he talks about being together, he talks about having each others' backs in more than just basketball, and this was a great moment for him to show the kind of character that he has.
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"Obviously he didn't have to take the time to do that. The letter was real. It was something that, you could tell he took the time to think about, 'How can I show these players I support them?' When he did that, I think everyone knew that Coach has our back. The organization has our back, and the city is thinking about how we can make a change as well."
Check out the video player above to hear Ojeleye's full comments about Stevens.