Good Morning It’s Basketball - Bill Russell, 1934-2022
Good morning. Our regular newsletter format will return on Tuesday. Today: Bill Russell, who died Sunday at the age of 88. The greatest winner in basketball history. A staunch defender of civil rights. A man who revolutionized the sport and broke one of its biggest barriers at the pro level. Greatness personified in all its forms. That incredible laugh. I read Russell’s 1979 memoir Second Wind a decade or so ago. It’s an incredible read, if you can get your hands on it. It tells the stories you’ve heard about Russell both outside of and deep inside the Celtics glory years, but straight from Russell’s point of view. The raw honesty about the racism he faced even as he brought trophies to Boston. The deeply affecting tale of his family’s path during The Great Migration, and the family’s struggles in their new home of Oakland. His personal path to the University of San Francisco and then to the NBA and then to becoming the first Black head coach in major American sports. He stood with Ali when Ali refused to fight in a war. In 2016, Bill Russell received the Sports Illustrated Muhammad Ali Legacy Award in honor of his athletic achievements and leadership as a social activist He stood with the freedom movement IN BOSTON in 1963 in protesting the city’s school board over de facto school segregation, a year before Brown vs. Board of Education was decided. He had just brought the Celtics their sixth championship in his seven years in the league. Russell gave what reporters called a “very powerful” speech at the protest, in which thousands of students refused to attend school to instead experience a day of civil rights organization and Black history speeches. I can’t find the speech anywhere, but you can hear Russell talk about the protest at the 16:30 mark in the audio from WGBH-FM here. globe photo of kids at the STAY OUT FOR FREEDOM, a one-day protest held on 6/18/63 against segregation in boston’s public schools. kids skipped school and came instead to the st. marks center in roxbury, to hear lectures on black history and civil rights. bill russell was there He won three straight NBA MVPs and then spoke at a school segregation protest in 1960s Boston. The range is incredible. That same month, Medgar Evers, the Mississippi civil rights leader, was assassinated in front of his home. Russell was a friend of Evers, and insisted on fighting to keep Evers’ fight alive. He called Medgar’s brother Charles and asked what he could do.
Russell did it.
Can you fathom the bravery, the conviction in going beyond all reasonable duty to do what’s right? Bill Russell was also, repeatedly, victimized by racism. From an essay written by his daughter Karen Russell, published in the New York Times in 1987:
Russell was a deeply intellectual person. From a 2019 Andscape piece by Martenzie Johnson:
On the basketball side, he truly did revolutionize basketball on the defensive end. Obviously, relatively few of us saw him play in real-time. But in the footage available and given what we know about the pro game before Russell’s arrival, his singular impact is breathtaking and undeniable. The incomparable basketball IQ and (relatively) low scoring numbers make folks think Russell wasn’t also one of the greatest athletes the league has ever seen. Frankly, Russell might have been one of the greatest athletes in the modern world. This 2020 thread from the writer Michael Harriot explains the case in highly entertaining fashion. With cameos from Bill Withers and Johnny Mathis. And this photo. But here’s the thing:
Bill Russell was a TERRIBLE HIGH JUMPER!
Dude didn’t know how to do the Saddle Roll. He was out there tying the best high jumper in the world with NO TECHNIQUE.
He was literally HURDLING THE BAR There will truly never be another like him. All we can do to honor his legacy and life is to be brave, to embrace our excellence and to oppose hate and discrimination in all its forms. Bill Russell tells Shaq, Kareem, Mutombo, Mourning and David Robinson he could still kick their asses at the 2017 NBA Awards show.
And you know he could. The baddest dude on the planet. Rest in peace, Mr. Russell. Be excellent to each other. You’re a free subscriber to Good Morning It's Basketball. For the full experience, become a paid subscriber. |
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