Does Bill Russell Deserve a Statue in Boston?

Don Wassall

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Doing The Wrong Thing: Does Bill Russell Really Deserve A Statue In Boston?



by Matthew Richer

What do the following public statues have in common? <?: PREFIX = O /><O:p></O:p>
Fenway Park has a statue of Ted Williams, the TD Garden has a statue of Bruins star Bobby Orr, and Boston College has a statue of Heisman trophy winner Doug Flutie. <O:p></O:p>
Answer: They are all statues of white athletes in one city: Boston, Massachusetts. <O:p></O:p>
When President Barack Obama recently bestowed The Presidential Medal of Freedom on black NBA legend Bill Russell, he decided lend the prestige of the Presidency to this trivial apparent discrepancy. <O:p></O:p>
"I hope that one day, in the streets of Boston, children will look up at a statue built not only to Bill Russell the player, but Bill Russell the man."Â [<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Give him honor, Obama says[/I]<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">,[/I] By Michael Levenson, <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Boston Globe, [/I]February 16, 2011]
Suddenly, the city of Boston is in a tizzy to erect a statue of Bill Russell. <O:p></O:p>
Yes, the Boston political class is in the midst of another "Do The Right Thing moment. In Spike Lee's film, a group of black men enter a white-owned pizzeria, and demand to know "Why aren't there any pictures of black folks on the wall"Â?<O:p></O:p>
The trend is apparently contagious. Across the Charles River, Harvard University has established a "Minority Portrait Projectto create portraits of minority faculty and alumni, so that they may hang beside portraits of the Anglos who once exclusively comprised its students and faculty. <O:p></O:p>
The story on Bill Russell goes something like this: Bill Russell was a great athlete who continually endured racial slights and slurs while playing for the Boston Celtics during the 1960s. And this (we are now told) is a wrong that Boston must now right by dedicating a statue of Bill Russell. <O:p></O:p>
Granted, it's not as if there are <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">no[/I] memorials to blacks in downtown Boston. There is a statue of the poet Phyllis Wheatley on Commonwealth Avenue, a large high-relief bronze memorial to the all-black 54<SUP>th</SUP> Regiment on the Boston Common, the African Meeting House on Beacon Hill, a <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">"[/B]<B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Black Heritage Trail[/B]<B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">"Â[/B]. You get the idea. <O:p></O:p>
However, in my opinion the most interesting statue in Boston is the one in Park Square that commemorates the Emancipation Proclamation. The statue features Abraham Lincoln extending his hand over a crouched Negro slave, who is shirtless, shackled, and has a zombie-like gaze.<O:p></O:p>
I'm always surprised that no one ever complains about the benighted depiction of the slave here. But to me, the statue actually explains more about the mentality of Boston elites than it does about Lincoln or slavery. <O:p></O:p>
The politics of racial guilt have long been a part of the elite and academic culture of Massachusetts. And they never enjoy racial hand wringing more than when it's done at the expense of other whitesâ€"those that oppose mass immigration, forced busing, and who like to root for local sports teams, something many elites consider pedestrian.<O:p></O:p>
This brings us to the subject of Bill Russell. <O:p></O:p>
Bill Russell was the centerpiece of the greatest dynasty in sports history. The Russell-led Boston Celtics won eleven NBA titles in thirteen seasons (1957-1969). What was their secret? They excelled at what former NBA star Darryl Dawkins (who is black) calls "white basketball."Â <O:p></O:p>
In his book,Chocolate Thunder: The Uncensored Life and Time of Darryl Dawkins
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Dawkins describes the difference between "white basketball"Â and "black basketball."Â According to Dawkins, "white culture places more of a premium on winning"Â while black culture indulges in too much "self indulgent preening and chest beating."Â
"White guys are more willing to do something when somebody else has the ballâ€"setting picks, boxing out, cutting just to clear a space for a teammate, making the pass that leads to an assist. In white basketball, there's more of a sense of discipline, of running set plays and only taking wide open shots."Â
For decades, the Boston Celtics were the ultimate white basketball team. And few played white basketball better than Bill Russell. <O:p></O:p>
As a center, Russell excelled at rebounding, passing, setting picks, and most of all, blocking shots. His emphasis on defense virtually revolutionized the game. <O:p></O:p>
Bill Russell, of course, never could have excelled at black basketball even if he tried. A mediocre shooter, he never averaged more than 19 points per game in a season. But that didn't matter to Russell because, as one teammate put it, he had a "neurotic need to win."Â<O:p></O:p>
But however much Bill Russell may have been a great team player on the court, he was an unabashed prima donna off of it. He often refused to practice, preferring to sit in the stands and drink tea as his teammates hustled through drills. He wore fancy suits, draped himself in a grand, flowing black cape, and drove a Lamborghini. <O:p></O:p>
Most infamously, Bill Russell refused to sign autographs for the fans, even for children. He once described autograph seeking kids as "little monsters out hunting scalps"Â. <O:p></O:p>
The Boston sports media made much of Russell's refusal to sign autographs, and it led to considerable tension between himself and the fans. <O:p></O:p>
In 1964, Bill Russell told the Saturday Evening Post
"What I'm resentful of, you know, is when they say that you owe the public this and you owe the public that. You owe the public the same thing it owes you. Nothing! . . . I refuse to smile and be nice to the kiddies."Â [I Owe The Public Nothing, January 18, 1964]<O:p></O:p>
Let's face it: that <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">"public"Â[/B] was largely made up of white people. And their support for the Celtics made Bill Russell the league's highest paid player, and one of the wealthiest black men in the country. <O:p></O:p>
In an interview the previous year with Sports Illustrated, Bill Russell was even blunter: "I dislike most white people because they are people. As opposed to dislike, I like most black people because they are black." [We Are Grown Men Playing A Child‘s Game, by Gilbert Rogin, Sports Illustrated, Nov 18, 1963]<O:p></O:p>
In the wake of his controversial statements, some thugs broke into Russell's home, sprayed racist graffiti on the walls, and even defecated into his bed.<O:p></O:p>
Bill Russell blamed white racism for the crime, and who can argue? Still, when you express such hostility for the fans, you shouldn't be surprised when some of them reciprocate. No other black Celtics had their homes vandalized. <O:p></O:p>
Incidentally, despite Bill Russell's professed disdain for whites, he has always preferred to live in white neighborhoods, and to date white women. He even married two white women, including Miss USA 1968. <O:p></O:p>
Despite such controversies, the Celtics made Bill Russell the first African-American to coach a major league professional sports team in 1966.<O:p></O:p>
Russell initially planned to retire to Liberia. He had been involved in the Black Power Movement and even named his daughter after Kenyan dictator Jomo Kenyatta, a leader of the Mau Mau rebellion against British rule. But he abandoned the idea after he lost a fortune investing in a Liberian rubber plant.<O:p></O:p>
In 1972, the Celtics wanted to retire Russell's number during a game he was covering as a television commentator. But Russell insisted that the Celtics do so before the game in an empty Boston Garden so that no fans could attend. <O:p></O:p>
In 1975, when the NBA Hall of Fame made Bill Russell its first black member, he again refused to attend the ceremony. Russell called the Hall of Fame <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">"racist"Â[/B] and then later complained that his uniform had been displayed on a <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">white[/I] mannequin.<O:p></O:p>
In his book, Second Wind: Memoirs Of An Opinionated Man,
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Russell says this about Boston:<O:p></O:p>
"To me, Boston itself was a flea market of racism . . . If Paul Revere were riding today, it would be for racism: ‘The ******s are coming! The ******s are coming!' He'd yell as he galloped through town to warn neighborhoods of busing and black homeowners." [Links added].<O:p></O:p>
Unfortunately, Bill Russell's many aspersions have helped to exaggerate Boston's reputation as a racist city, and the Celtics reputation as a racist team. <O:p></O:p>
The truth is that while the Boston Celtics became a dynasty by playing <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">"white basketball"Â[/B], they were a virtually color-blind organization. In 1950, the Celtics drafted the NBA's first black player and in 1962 they had the league's first all black starting five. <O:p></O:p>
On one occasion, Bill Russell brought his grandfather into the Celtics locker room after a game, and the man broke down into tears as he witnessed the genuine camaraderie between the black and white players. <O:p></O:p>
During the 1980s, the Boston Celtics formed another great white ball team led by Larry Bird. <O:p></O:p>
Boston's elites often speak as if fan enthusiasm for Larry Bird's Celtics was based on the team's whiteness. They tend to overlook the fact that the Bird-led Celtics won three NBA titles in one decade. <O:p></O:p>
Besides, why is it racist to cheer for Larry Bird because he is whiteâ€"but perfectly fine to root for Bill Russell or Jackie Robinson because they are black? <O:p></O:p>
And it's not hard for a player to be popular when he doesn't insult the fans and actually signs autographs for children. <O:p></O:p>
Nevertheless, the Boston political class and the local media continually lecture the public on how Bostonians just won‘t root for black athletes. <O:p></O:p>
So after Bird's retirement in 1992, the Celtic ownership relented and made the switch to black basketball. They spent the next two decades floundering in the NBA. <O:p></O:p>
The famous "Celtic Mystiquevanished and the team did not win another NBA title until 2008â€"a 22-year title drought. <O:p></O:p>
As for Bill Russell, he actually does sign autographs nowâ€"for a price. In recent years Russell has made millions in the sports memorabilia business. <O:p></O:p>
Not once has Bill Russell ever once apologized for the way he has disparaged the city that made him rich and famous. <O:p></O:p>
Does it not seem strange for a city to dedicate a statue to a man who clearly loathes it? <O:p></O:p>
The obvious location for a statue of Bill Russell would be outside the TD Garden where the Celtics play. But I doubt that will happen. <O:p></O:p>
Instead, in the manner of the statue of Lincoln freeing the slaves, Boston's elites will place the Bill Russell statue somewhere downtown so that no one will be able to miss it. <O:p></O:p>
They will do this not because they seek to applaud Bill Russell, but to applaud themselves for recognizing him. <O:p></O:p>
Around here, they consider this <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">"[/B]<B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Doing The Right Thing[/B]<B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">"Â[/B].


Matthew Richer (email him) is a writer living in Massachusetts. He is the former American Editor of Right NOW magazine.
http://www.vdare.com/richer/110301_bill_russell.htm
 

white lightning

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The obvious answer would be no. The guy may have been a great player but his attitude on and off the court is more important. Unless he can ever apologize for a life time of hatred, I don't think he deserves it. Why are they not asking why Bob Cousy doesn't have one? He was even more important than Russell. They used to call him the Houdini of the Hardwood. Edited by: white lightning
 

white is right

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I think he deserves a statue, but if they build a statue for him, what about Bird? Soon the entrance to the TD Garden will look like Moscow's Red Square circa 1979...
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Edited by: white is right
 

Colonel_Reb

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I knew Russell hates Whites and made some controversial statements, but I've never read those. Wow! Just goes to show how far the guilt complex goes. I'm sure Russell is laughing at the irony of it all.
 

Bart

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Colonel_Reb said:
I knew Russell hates Whites and made some controversial statements, but I've never read those. Wow!

Wow is right! I've never read them either.No statue for that goof -- ever!
 

DixieDestroyer

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Ol' "Chocolate Thunder" had it right on the way Whites & afroletes approach basketball. Woody Harrelson's "Billy Hoyle" character also had it right in the (BS caste named) "White Men Can't Jump"...the bruthas are all about looking good, whereas the Whites want to win (above all).

If any Celtics player deserves a statue it's Larry Bird...the greatest player of all time (bar none). Russell's a piece of trash.







Edited by: DixieDestroyer
 
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Wow, sounds like Russell was a total jackass.
Red Aurbach put all those teams together and maybe he could have found
another guy who did what Russell did.
The best comment is the difference to white and black basketball according to Darryl Dawkins. However, Russell relied on length, athleticism and point-blank shots to win and he wasn't a refined player. I think he may
have been the first "black black player." With his passing flair and dribbling, Cousy was the first "white black player."
Russell's game sounds more like Dwight Howard, with some Dennis Rodman and Ben Wallace mixed in.
Kareem, on the other hand, had more of a "white game" with finesse, versatility and great post moves. He is closer to Bill Walton, Sabonis, Pau Gasol, and Tim Duncan than Russell, Wilt, and Shaq.
The 69 win Lakers championship team featured a great white center performance when Wilt concentrated on rebounding and defense, and passed the ball. He did the little things and also hit a very high percentage of shots. Wilt had some good post moves, including a finger roll, and even led the league in assists one year.
Mr. Russell can thank his several Hall of Fame teammates for his handful of NBA titles. The league was smaller then too. He and wilt were two of only a few great big men, but Boston had the better supporting cast and coaching.
The amount of teams has tripled since then, so Kareem's six titles and MJ's six titles can easily rival Russell's totals.

Russell sounds like a guy who really only blocked shots, dunked, and got rebounds over smaller players, helped out by his teammates who boxed out. Doesn't sound like a very "white game" to me.
A "white game" for post players, to me, is a guy who can mix power with finesse, has a vast array of low post moves with some trickery mixed in. Also, he can step out and hit a mid-range jumper. On defense he can block shots, alter shots, rebound, and defend bigger opponents. He's quick on both ends of the floor and willing to hit the open man on offense. He also puts the team on his back and wins championships. He also carries himself with class and dignity.
In this case, if Bill Russell's game is white then Hakeem Olajuwon is David Duke. lol

... Or at the very least what Bill Walton would have been had he not gotten hurt.
 

Westside

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I never knew Russell was such a malcontent, A Hole. Two things I liked about that excellent articale was the vandal taking a huge dump on his bed!
smiley36.gif
The second, him losing a fortune on rubber. In the words of Charlie Sheen, "Not Winning".

F Russelll, If the White libatards in Boston hoist a statue of him there, I hope all of the reincarinated libs as pigeons take 1000s of little dumps on his bronze likeness.
 

j41181

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Thanks for this info, never knew Russell was such a RACIST douche!

Winning 11 NBA rings made everyone turn their backs from the truth. While his impact on the game is unquestionable, the way he conducted himself off the court is inexcusable. Just because he won 11 NBA rings, doesn't mean he deserves a statue, not after his extensive history of being a racist white-hater.
 
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