The Boston Celtics became the cornerstone franchise of the NBA because of Hall of Fame big man Bill Russell, but the iconic center's legacy cast a shadow not only over the history of the league itself, but American culture more broadly as a central figure of the US Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.
Like many of us, Rep. Ayanna Pressley is a fan of Russell's for both basketball and social justice reasons, as well as being no small part of several efforts to give the legendary figure his flowers in the form of his statue in the city of Boston and a resolution honoring his legacy of works extending far beyond the basketball court.
Rep. Pressley joined us on the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast for our most recent episode to talk about Russell's impact on the Celtics, the city of Boston, and our society writ large.
She joined your usual hosts Cameron Tabatabaie, Alex Goldberg, and Justin Quinn to chop it up about last season's Finals run, this season's team, and they even debate the relative strengths of clam chowder vs. Chicago hotdogs as arena food.
Make sure you don't miss this episode of the Lab or miscast our representative of Massachusetts seventh district as a Bulls fan -- either would be a very big unforced error indeed.