Team NBS Media
Advertisement
  • Home
  • Sports
    • NFL
      • Dallas Cowboys
      • Philadelphia Eagles
      • Washington Commanders
      • New York Giants
      • Carolina Panthers
      • New Orleans Saints
      • Tampa Bay Buccaneers
      • Atlanta Falcons
      • Minnesota Vikings
      • Chicago Bears
      • Detroit Lions
      • Green Bay Packers
      • Arizona Cardinals
      • Los Angeles Rams
      • San Francisco 49ers
      • Seattle Seahawks
      • Kansas City Chiefs
      • Las Vegas Raiders
      • Los Angeles Chargers
      • Denver Broncos
      • Miami Dolphins
      • Buffalo Bills
      • New York Jets
      • New England Patriots
      • Baltimore Ravens
      • Cincinnati Bengals
      • Cleveland Browns
      • Pittsburgh Steelers
      • Houston Texans
      • Indianapolis Colts
      • Jacksonville Jaguars
      • Tennessee Titans
    • NBA
      • Philadelphia 76ers
      • Brooklny Nets
      • New York Knicks
      • Toronto Raptors
      • Boston Celtics
      • Milwaukee Bucks
      • Cleveland Cavaliers
      • Chicago Bulls
      • Detroit Pistons
      • Indiana Pacers
      • Atlanta Hawks
      • Miami Heat
      • Orlando Magic
      • Charlotte Hornets
      • Washington Wizards
      • Portland Trailblazers
      • Utah Jazz
      • Minnesota Timberwolves
      • Denver Nuggets
      • Oklahoma City Thunder
      • Sacramento Kings
      • Golden State Warriors
      • Phoenix Suns
      • Los Angeles Lakers
      • Los Angeles Clippers
      • San Antonio Spurs
      • Houston Rockets
      • Dallas Mavericks
      • New Orleans Pelicans
      • Memphis Grizzlies
    • WNBA
    • MLB
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • New York Mets
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • Washington Nationals
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St Louis Cardinals
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Francisco Giants
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • San Diego Padres
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • New York Yankees
      • Boston Red Sox
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Indians
      • Minnesota Twins
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Houston Texans
      • Texas Rangers
    • NHL
    • NCAA
      • NCAA Football
      • NCAA Basketball
    • Soccer/Futbol
    • NASCAR
    • More Sports
      • Fantasy
      • Esports
      • PGA
      • Big3
      • Boxing
      • UFC
      • Sports Betting
      • Wrestling
  • Entertainment
    • TV
    • Movie
    • Music
  • Lifestyle
  • NBS Shows
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Sports
    • NFL
      • Dallas Cowboys
      • Philadelphia Eagles
      • Washington Commanders
      • New York Giants
      • Carolina Panthers
      • New Orleans Saints
      • Tampa Bay Buccaneers
      • Atlanta Falcons
      • Minnesota Vikings
      • Chicago Bears
      • Detroit Lions
      • Green Bay Packers
      • Arizona Cardinals
      • Los Angeles Rams
      • San Francisco 49ers
      • Seattle Seahawks
      • Kansas City Chiefs
      • Las Vegas Raiders
      • Los Angeles Chargers
      • Denver Broncos
      • Miami Dolphins
      • Buffalo Bills
      • New York Jets
      • New England Patriots
      • Baltimore Ravens
      • Cincinnati Bengals
      • Cleveland Browns
      • Pittsburgh Steelers
      • Houston Texans
      • Indianapolis Colts
      • Jacksonville Jaguars
      • Tennessee Titans
    • NBA
      • Philadelphia 76ers
      • Brooklny Nets
      • New York Knicks
      • Toronto Raptors
      • Boston Celtics
      • Milwaukee Bucks
      • Cleveland Cavaliers
      • Chicago Bulls
      • Detroit Pistons
      • Indiana Pacers
      • Atlanta Hawks
      • Miami Heat
      • Orlando Magic
      • Charlotte Hornets
      • Washington Wizards
      • Portland Trailblazers
      • Utah Jazz
      • Minnesota Timberwolves
      • Denver Nuggets
      • Oklahoma City Thunder
      • Sacramento Kings
      • Golden State Warriors
      • Phoenix Suns
      • Los Angeles Lakers
      • Los Angeles Clippers
      • San Antonio Spurs
      • Houston Rockets
      • Dallas Mavericks
      • New Orleans Pelicans
      • Memphis Grizzlies
    • WNBA
    • MLB
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • New York Mets
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • Washington Nationals
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St Louis Cardinals
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Francisco Giants
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • San Diego Padres
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • New York Yankees
      • Boston Red Sox
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Indians
      • Minnesota Twins
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Houston Texans
      • Texas Rangers
    • NHL
    • NCAA
      • NCAA Football
      • NCAA Basketball
    • Soccer/Futbol
    • NASCAR
    • More Sports
      • Fantasy
      • Esports
      • PGA
      • Big3
      • Boxing
      • UFC
      • Sports Betting
      • Wrestling
  • Entertainment
    • TV
    • Movie
    • Music
  • Lifestyle
  • NBS Shows
No Result
View All Result
Team NBS Media
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • NBS Shows
Home Featured Writers

Bill Russell: Legend is a Celebration of a One Man Revolution

The next Netflix documentary tells the tale of one of basketball's greatest pioneers who helped redefine the role of the black athlete

by Zachary Draves
February 15, 2023
in Featured Writers
0
Bill Russell: Legend is a Celebration of a One Man Revolution
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

By: Zachary Draves

He was basketball’s greatest winner in more ways than one. Three time NCAA champion with San Francisco University, 1956 Olympic gold medalist, and eleven NBA titles with the Boston Celtics in the 1960’s as part of one of the greatest dynasties in all of sports. 

He revolutionized the game while airborne. At a time when players were told to stay grounded literally with little displays of athleticism, he would leap into the air blocking shots and rebounding the ball with a combination of finesse and ferociousness. He mastered the outlet pass and helped invent the fast break offense. 

He was a man of courage who used his platform for change at a time of heightened resistance to racial injustice. 

The man, the legend, the icon was Bill Russell. 

Bill Russell, Celtics Center Who Transformed Pro Basketball, Dies at 88 -  The New York Times

His story is being told in the new two part Netflix documentary Bill Russell: Legend that was released on February 8 and directed by renowned filmmaker Sam Pollard. 

YouTube player

With narration from actors Corey Stoll and Jeffrey Wright, who throughout recites passages from Russell’s 1979 autobiography Second Wind, the documentary chronicles a life filled with tremendous success and hardship with testimonials from KC Jones, Bob Cousey, Tom “Satch” Sanders, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Julius Erving, Jalen Rose, Chris Paul, Renne Montgomery, Dave Zirin, William Rhoden, Dr. Harry Edwards, Nelson George, and Stephen Curry 

As the Celtics went on their remarkable run at basketball supremacy and as his legendary battles with rival and friend Wilt Chamberlain intensified during that period, the film really captures the essence of who Russell was trying to become and what he ultimately became. 

A man with a huge heart to win, to love, and to be himself. 

He had an uncompromising desire to be the best which had set him apart from Chamberlain who was perceived as not having that killer instinct. Over the course of eight postseason matchups, Russell’s Celtics defeated Chamberlain’s Warriors, 76ers, and Lakers seven times. Chamberlain only won two championships compared to Russell’s eleven. 

Bill Russell Would Let Wilt Chamberlain Score so He Could Pad His Stats

(Courtesy: Bettmann Archive)

Their longstanding friendship would come to define them even though had a falling out after Russell pubicly criticized Chamberlain for stepping off the court citing an apparent knee injury during the historic Game 7 of the 1969 NBA Finals between the Celtics and Lakers. In the years later, Russell and Chamberlain would reconcile and stayed connected until Chamberlain’s passing in 1999. 

The film also showcases Russell’s heart in another area that he probably wanted to be more known for than his exploits on the court. 

He made it clear from the get go that he was a proud black man who operated by his own rules and stood firm in the face of a palpable whitelash to his ascendance, even in his adopted hometown of Boston. 

Russell was subjected to constant racist threats and assaults which included being denied service at restaurants and hotels and having his suburban Boston home burglarized and smeared with feces. That plus the circumstances of the civil rights movement propelled him into action. 

After the assassination of civil rights leader Medgar Evers in 1963, Russell traveled to Misssissppi to conduct basketball clinics for black and white children. That August, he sat in the first row at the March on Washington to hear Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” Speech. He worked with the NAACP, advocated for racial quotas in the NBA, and supported an effort behind the hiring of the first black referee. 

Bill Russell Speaks for the NAACP - Boston Celtics History

(Courtesy: The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Bill Russell: Legend

(Courtesy: Netflix)

In 1967, he joined Jim Brown, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, then known as Lew Alcindor, and civil rights leaders in Cleveland to support Muhammad Ali’s refusal to join the US Armed Forces during the Vietnam War in what became known as the Ali Summit. 

The Cleveland Summit and Muhammad Ali: The true story

During this period, the media would characterize Russell as “angry” and “arrogant” a common trope used to delegitimize black athletes who were their own person. 

Russell was a man who in later years would refuse to sign autographs citing his uncomfortability with the idea of fans owning a piece of him and especially against the backdrop of all that he and his family had to endure. Whenever or if ever a white athlete were to take that approach, they would be perceived as being an individual and taking ownership of their career, whereas the same grace is rarely extended to black athletes. 

But Russell was unwilling to bend on his principles and his proud blackness helped shape him into the icon he became. It also became the model for future athlete activists such as Colin Kaepernick, LeBron James, Malcolm Jenkins, Craig Hodges, Mahmoud Abdul Rauf, and the players in the WNBA to not only speak up on pressing social injustices but to take control over their narrative. 

After Russell’s passing last July at the age of 88, many of the tributes that poured in touched upon this aspect of his being as he most likely would have wanted it. 

When asked what he feels the legacy of this brave man is, Pollard told Team NBS Media in an email interview in the most simplistic way imaginable. 

“ He was more than a basketball player, he was a man who saw his responsibilities were bigger than Basketball” he said.

Bill Russell: Legend. Nothing more to say.

Post Views: 56

Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Tags: Ali SummitAthlete ActivismBill RussellBill Russell: LegendBoston CelticsDr. Martin Luther King Jr.Medger EveNBASam PollardSocial JusticeWilt Chamberlain
Share199Tweet125
Zachary Draves

Zachary Draves

Covers the intersection of sports, social issues, society, history, and culture. Covers Iowa Hawkeye Football and Baseball, Chicago Red Stars, Olympic Sports, and Auto Racing. Host of Beyond the Game and Game Recognize Game. Associate producer for an upcoming documentary about Coach Ricky Byrdsong, and executive producer for an upcoming podcast docuseries Reimagining a Dynasty: The Story of the Houston Comets. Credits: SB Nation Swish Appeal, MTV News, First and Pen, and The Source.

Related Posts

The Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons Have Next

The Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons Have Next

by Joe Cardoso
May 1, 2025
0

By: Joe Cardoso  The NBA Playoffs are moving along and we have gotten some good basketball and new playoff moments...

NBA Playoffs

Sunday NBA Playoff Menu

by Joe Cardoso
April 20, 2025
0

By: Joe Cardoso The 2025 NBA Playoffs are in full swing, and April 20 brings four thrilling Game 1 matchups...

NBA Playoffs

NBA Western Conference Saturday Preview

by nutsandb
April 19, 2025
0

By: Joe Cardoso   Hey! NBA fans we get some SERIOUS hoops today! The NBA is serving up a spicy...

NBA

Warriors On The Come Up, Hello, Houston: NBA Courtside Chronicles

by Joe Cardoso
April 4, 2025
0

By: Joe Cardoso  A fresh edition of NBA Courtside Chronicles coming at you now! With an eye toward the playoffs...

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

  • raymond reddington

    The Blacklist: Raymond Reddington Was Indeed Katarina Rostova

    35182 shares
    Share 14073 Tweet 8796
  • Keep Russell Wilson Out Of Atlanta For Personal Reasons

    9083 shares
    Share 3633 Tweet 2271
  • Karen Read Shouldn’t Face A Second Trail

    2732 shares
    Share 1093 Tweet 683
  • Karen Read’s Defense Is Too Strong

    2589 shares
    Share 1036 Tweet 647
  • The Free Karen Read Movement Is Growing

    2336 shares
    Share 934 Tweet 584

Team NBS Media Mission Statement

“With a gift for story telling and solid content creation, we are Team NBS Media. A talented team from across the globe bringing passion and professionalism. Join the squad. “

teamnbs
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Team NBS Media Opportunities

Team NBS Media © 2022

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Sports
    • NFL
      • Dallas Cowboys
      • Philadelphia Eagles
      • Washington Commanders
      • New York Giants
      • Carolina Panthers
      • New Orleans Saints
      • Tampa Bay Buccaneers
      • Atlanta Falcons
      • Minnesota Vikings
      • Chicago Bears
      • Detroit Lions
      • Green Bay Packers
      • Arizona Cardinals
      • Los Angeles Rams
      • San Francisco 49ers
      • Seattle Seahawks
      • Kansas City Chiefs
      • Las Vegas Raiders
      • Los Angeles Chargers
      • Denver Broncos
      • Miami Dolphins
      • Buffalo Bills
      • New York Jets
      • New England Patriots
      • Baltimore Ravens
      • Cincinnati Bengals
      • Cleveland Browns
      • Pittsburgh Steelers
      • Houston Texans
      • Indianapolis Colts
      • Jacksonville Jaguars
      • Tennessee Titans
    • NBA
      • Philadelphia 76ers
      • Brooklny Nets
      • New York Knicks
      • Toronto Raptors
      • Boston Celtics
      • Milwaukee Bucks
      • Cleveland Cavaliers
      • Chicago Bulls
      • Detroit Pistons
      • Indiana Pacers
      • Atlanta Hawks
      • Miami Heat
      • Orlando Magic
      • Charlotte Hornets
      • Washington Wizards
      • Portland Trailblazers
      • Utah Jazz
      • Minnesota Timberwolves
      • Denver Nuggets
      • Oklahoma City Thunder
      • Sacramento Kings
      • Golden State Warriors
      • Phoenix Suns
      • Los Angeles Lakers
      • Los Angeles Clippers
      • San Antonio Spurs
      • Houston Rockets
      • Dallas Mavericks
      • New Orleans Pelicans
      • Memphis Grizzlies
    • WNBA
    • MLB
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • New York Mets
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • Washington Nationals
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St Louis Cardinals
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Francisco Giants
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • San Diego Padres
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • New York Yankees
      • Boston Red Sox
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Indians
      • Minnesota Twins
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Houston Texans
      • Texas Rangers
    • NHL
    • NCAA
      • NCAA Football
      • NCAA Basketball
    • Soccer/Futbol
    • NASCAR
    • More Sports
      • Fantasy
      • Esports
      • PGA
      • Big3
      • Boxing
      • UFC
      • Sports Betting
      • Wrestling
  • Entertainment
    • TV
    • Movie
    • Music
  • Lifestyle
  • NBS Shows

Team NBS Media © 2022

-
00:00
00:00

Queue

      Update Required Flash plugin
      -
      00:00
      00:00
        %d