On Bill Russell, the Boston Celtics, and good trouble

Russell’s greatness stems not from what he did on the court, but from what he did off of it in spite of what he could have lost.

Basketball and an activism that became accompliceship have been two threads in my life that have tied my identity as a person together long before I knew how closely intertwined they actually were. I mention this today after hearing the news of the man who embodied both more than anyone I have ever known passed away in one William Felton Russell.

My heart, like many, is heavy. But it is also full of joy that there was a man like Russell in this life to have guided us, to show us what is possible when one fights with everything they have, regardless of the context. That such struggles don’t require one to throw oneself against the rocks but to be careful with where one spends one’s energy, to walk with others who share your principles and energy.

Like so many others, Russell’s life changed how I looked at what was possible.