By BILL REYNOLDS
Bill Russell was at a symposium at Brown the other night, but what he said at a small dinner before might have given us our most significant look at this man who is arguably the greatest winner in the history of American sport.
His 11 championship rings and his storied career with the Celtics certainly are the most visible part of his legacy.
But it’s not the only part.
Russell was also an activist, one of the first black athletes to speak out on social issues, something that took courage and conviction back there in the ‘60s, when the country was starting to charge, but not easily, and not without pain.
For years one of the great unwritten stories of Russell’s early years in Boston was his dissatisfaction with the city, his belief that Boston was a racist city. He never had a problem with his coach, Red Auerbach. It was Boston he had a problem with.
There is the infamous story of the time people trashed his house in suburban Reading and defecated in his bed, the most visible experience of the racial animosity he dealt with both in Boston and on some of his travels in the NBA, back when to be black in America was too often like being a stranger in a strange land.
In a sense, he was a sneak preview of the new breed of black athlete, no longer content to be seen as a stereotype. He once said, ``I owe the public nothing, and I will pay them nothing,’’ and even by 1960, after only a few years in the league, it was apparent he had little patience for the hypocrisy he saw around him. In the parlance of the times he was militant and made no secret of it.
His public face was of a scowling, almost menacing presence, full of anger and old hurts. He had little use for the sports establishment, and when approached in hotel lobbies he often blew people off, maybe the classic scene coming when someone came up to Russell and said, ``I’m sorry to bother you, but ….
"Then don’t,’’ Russell snapped.
But within the group that was the Celtics he was loyal to his teammates, as they were to him.
His 11 championship rings and his storied career with the Celtics certainly are the most visible part of his legacy.
But it’s not the only part.
Russell was also an activist, one of the first black athletes to speak out on social issues, something that took courage and conviction back there in the ‘60s, when the country was starting to charge, but not easily, and not without pain.
For years one of the great unwritten stories of Russell’s early years in Boston was his dissatisfaction with the city, his belief that Boston was a racist city. He never had a problem with his coach, Red Auerbach. It was Boston he had a problem with.
There is the infamous story of the time people trashed his house in suburban Reading and defecated in his bed, the most visible experience of the racial animosity he dealt with both in Boston and on some of his travels in the NBA, back when to be black in America was too often like being a stranger in a strange land.
In a sense, he was a sneak preview of the new breed of black athlete, no longer content to be seen as a stereotype. He once said, ``I owe the public nothing, and I will pay them nothing,’’ and even by 1960, after only a few years in the league, it was apparent he had little patience for the hypocrisy he saw around him. In the parlance of the times he was militant and made no secret of it.
His public face was of a scowling, almost menacing presence, full of anger and old hurts. He had little use for the sports establishment, and when approached in hotel lobbies he often blew people off, maybe the classic scene coming when someone came up to Russell and said, ``I’m sorry to bother you, but ….
"Then don’t,’’ Russell snapped.
But within the group that was the Celtics he was loyal to his teammates, as they were to him.
Read Full Stoty
0 comments:
Post a Comment