Legendary NBA Hall of Famer and Civil Rights activist Bill Russell dies at age 88

Unscripted
By Keith Edmonds
Ink Spot Contributing Writer

“Success is a result of consistent practice of winning skills and actions. There is nothing miraculous about the process. There is no luck involved.”

~Bill Russell

When an iconic sports figure passes it’s always tough to find a premise to begin writing about them simply because even if you wrote 10,000 words that would not even begin to explain their greatness and contributions to the game, they chose to compete in. How can you describe the feats of athletes like Muhammed Ali, Kobe Bryant, Joe Louis… These are just a few names that come to mind when the topic of the “Greatest Ever” comes up.

Unfortunately, the sports world was again hit by a tremendous blow with the passing of Boston Celtic great Bill Russell. There were so many ways that I could have chosen to go with this piece, but I wanted to make sure that I conveyed how this man touched those that were around him on so many levels that in todays UNSCRIPTED to keep this authentic, I will only touch on the areas that I feel he impacted the most… It is my sincere pleasure to have you read this story and though there may be many things that I will leave out, the essence of who Bill Russell was will be revealed in the space and constraints that I am allowed to share them in.

As a young man, I used to enjoy sitting and talking with my father and grandfather about basketball, baseball, and football. I was a fanatic and really liked to compare my limited knowledge of sports figures with my elders just to show them that I had at least some “remedial” knowledge of what I was talking about; and who I was promoting as the absolute BEST in the sports world. These discussions would inevitably end up coming back to basketball because that’s where I felt that I could at least “hold my own” as my dad and grandad tried to bury me with facts! As I discussed my list, usually the same guys, of greats (Michael Jordan, Dr.J, and Magic) my elders would always start and end with one name: Bill Russell. My father would start in with his “fact sheet” of accomplishments: 11 NBA Championships (2 as a coach), 5 MVP’S, 2 Olympic Gold Medals, and 1st ballot Hall of Fame distinction to which I could not debate (especially the 11 championships... what!) My only recourse was “Russell had a lot of help winning those championships, give MJ or Magic those types of players and they would have done the same thing” to which he replied “those guys had teammates as well right? So why didn’t they make them better like Russell did with the Celtics? My grandfather would hit me with… “Boy, do you know what Bill Russell went through in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s just to play for the Celtics? “Sit down, let’s talk about it” …

It was at this point that I was all ears and soaked up the information that I am about to share with you…

Bill Russell was also a force for social change. He marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1963 March on Washington and supported the legendary boxer Muhammad Ali when he opposed the United States military draft in 1967. Bill Russell played in a city where he was despised, hated, feared, and ridiculed. Bill Russell was after all a Black man growing up in an extremely tough time in our country so racial slurs were a common place for him. He’d sometimes hear slurs shouted to him from fans, yet he still played with a passion that may never be rivaled again. Growing up in Monroe, Louisiana, Bill often sat in the back seat of his father’s car and saw or heard white people deny service to his father in gas stations or restaurants until ALL of the white people had been served. Young Bill also remembered walking outside once with his mother, who wore a sharp white dress and a white policeman accosted her and ordered her to go home and change out of what the cop called “white women’s” clothing. “Now my son, do you see why your father and I look at Bill Russell a little differently than just a basketball player?

Russell in his life would become the greatest “winner” in American team sports history but his contributions as an activist for social change and his unwavering support of those trying to affect change in our society far outweighed his NBA contributions. Though he mellowed with age, the scars that were cut deep into his moral fabric were always evident when he spoke or presented himself publicly. His principles never flinched and though his trademark raspy laugh remained, Bill Russell was a man that understood what he was fighting for, and against whom he was fighting. His most consequential victories didn’t happen on the court but rather off of it where he used his celebrity platform to confront racism at its core even if it meant risking his own life. He never cared about what his stance did for his public popularity while marching with Dr. King or leading the boycott of Boston’s public-schools segregation. Russell left a legacy that many of today’s athletes can continue to pursue through their social media outlets and forums (are you listening, LeBron, Steph & KD?) and became a pioneering force for sports and social justice. In a very fitting tribute towards his impact in sports and beyond, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stated, “Bill Russell’s unparalleled success on the court, and pioneering civil rights activism deserve to be honored in a unique and historic way. We have made the decision to permanently retire his No. 6 across every NBA team, ensuring that Bill’s transcendent career will always be recognized.”

Thanks to Bill Russell for a life well lived  reaching far beyond a career where he was globally loved.