Health & Fitness
Embracing Excellence and Diversity
Bill Russell gets a well-deserved statue in Boston, a city that embraced the performance, but not the man, in another era.
Melrose has a long basketball tradition, from boys basketball winning a state championship in the 60's, to the Melrose Lady Raiders winning a quartet of sectional titles over the past dozen seasons. The Celtics had a presence in Melrose in the past, including scrimmages with Melrose teams during the John Killilea era.
The greatest Celtic of them all, Bill Russell, finally gets honored by the city with a statue. During Russell's early days, fans embraced his performance but not his color, as he struggled to find acceptance both in the city and in the suburbs.
Russell has an almost mythical legacy, a pair of NCAA titles at UCSF, Olympic Gold, eleven NBA titles, almost twenty-three rebounds a game in a thirteen year career, and appearance in eleven deciding games (including ten seventh games) - all Celtic victories.
Find out what's happening in Melrosewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Boston represented a symbol of racial divide during the days of school integration by busing, but seems to have overcome a reputation (deserved or not) of prejudice. Looking around Melrose and its institutions, we see greater diversity as culture catches up with sport. Although a statue means less than attitude, it's another step in the right direction.
