Kieran Shannon: Bill Russell’s spirit was untouched by racial barriers
HONOURED: Former U.S. President Barack Obama presents Basketball Hall of Fame member and human rights advocate Bill Russell the 2010 Medal of Freedom in the East Room of the White House February 15, 2011 in Washington, DC. Pic: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
When Bill Russell passed away last week just as I was going on holidays, it prompted me to reach for and pack a book I hadn’t read fully in decades.
It was, I suppose, a basketball fan’s way of honouring the man but also from a curiosity to see if his autobiography still measured up and did justice to the towering life and personality it was meant to capture.
