88 years old
Basketball legend Bill Russell passed away
Bill Russell has passed away at the age of 88. photo
© Michael Dwyer/AP/dpa
American basketball legend Bill Russell has passed away. The most successful NBA professional in history passed away peacefully at the side of his wife Jeannine at age 88, his family said on his official Twitter channel.
American basketball legend Bill Russell has passed away. The most successful NBA professional in history passed away peacefully at the side of his wife Jeannine at age 88, his family said on his official Twitter channel.
The number 6 man of the Boston Celtics was one of the greatest and most influential basketball players. As a center, he won the NBA Championship 11 times between 1957 and 1969 — more than any other premier league player in the world — and an Olympic gold medal with the U.S. team. In addition to being a player, he also coached the Celtics in 1968 and 1969, becoming the first black head coach to win two NBA titles.
“Bill Russell was the greatest champion in all team sports,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who also acknowledged his commitment off the field. “Bill represented something bigger than sport: the values of equality, respect and inclusion that he infused into the DNA of the competition.”
On and off the pitch, Russell has repeatedly championed the fight against racism, demonstrating with the likes of Martin Luther King. In 1961, he boycotted a game to draw attention to racial discrimination against blacks in basketball.
His family’s released statement continued: “We hope that with Bill’s uncompromising, dignified and always constructive commitment to principles, we can all find a new way to act or speak out. It would be a final and lasting victory for our beloved number 6. “
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