Ain’t Nothing But a Menino-thing

When we here at Boston Daily think of menacing gestures, we typically think of deploying the middle finger to someone who cuts us off in traffic. But Celtics star Paul Pierce has been dealing with a furor after he flashed a hand signal during Saturday’s game against the Hawks.

Was it a gang signal? An innocent call to arms? Whatever it was, Mayor Tom Menino is down with it.

After youth advocates denounced Pierce for his maybe-gang sign, he issued a statement saying the gesture was “misinterpreted.”

“In sports, emotions run high and playing 10 years in Boston, I think Celtics fans know I am a passionate player. I 100 percent do not in any way promote gang violence or anything close to it[.]”

In the locker room last night, Kendrick Perkins corroborated the team’s assertion that the gesture stands for blood, sweat, and tears. “It never was gang-related. Maybe (the NBA) thought differently. We’ve been doing that all year.”

Perhaps the most concrete evidence that the sign isn’t gang-related appears in today’s Herald. The paper found a picture of the most powerful man in Boston happily flashing the same signal that cost Pierce $25,000 in an appearance with hip-hop group Special Teamz. Menino spokeswoman Dot Joyce gives the tabloid the quote of the week.

“I think he thought he was speaking in Italian,” said Menino’s spokesgal Dot Joyce. “Either that or he was making shadow puppets.”

Way to ruin Hizzoner’s cred, Dot.