Basketball legend Bill Russell, 11-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics, died Sunday at the age of 88. This was announced by his family on their Twitter channel. There it was said that his wife Janine was next to the former center when he died peacefully. Russell played exclusively for the Celtics in the 1950s and 1960s. To date, no player has won more championship titles in the world’s top league than the All-Star Championship 12 times.

Russell was also known for his participation in the civil rights movement in the United States and spoke on social and political issues. On and off the field, he repeatedly campaigned for anti-racism and demonstrated with Martin Luther King, among others. In 1961, he boycotted a game to draw attention to racial discrimination in basketball.

He became the first African-American in American sports history to coach a team for the championship title, winning the title as player and coach with the Celtics in 1968 and 1969. NBA president Adam Silver praised “Bill Russell was the greatest champion in all of team sports.” “Bill championed something much bigger than sport, which are the values ​​of equality, respect and inclusion that are immortalized in the DNA of our league.”

From: APA / sda / Reuters