Basketball great Bill Russell displayed his backing of the National Anthem protests being taken up by players across the NFL in a photo that has been posted to social media, showing him taking a knee with the Presidential Medal of Freedom dangling from his neck.
Russell, 83, who aside from being the all-time winningest NBA Finals Champion (with 11 Boston Celtics titles to his name) was a recognized participant in the Civil Rights movement, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama in 2011. The medal is the nation's highest civilian honor and was granted to him for his dual contributions in sports and to social progress. “Proud to take a knee, and to stand tall against social injustice," the photo's caption reads.
Russell's presence is a testament, too many, that athletes using their platform to speak on social matters has in fact affected change. He became the first player in the league to visit Africa in 1959, and he is noted as having been a part of the '67 Summit to back Muhammad Ali, along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jim Brown, and other great Black athletes of their day. Ali was, of course, expelled from boxing and stripped of his titles for refusing the Vietnam draft; a decision which may resonate for many who lived through that time, and see parallels with Trump encouraging NFL owners to cut protesters loose.
