What was supposed to be a nice moment during the Boston Celtics’ season opener against the Philadelphia 76ers quickly turned sour this week.
Russell, regarded by many as one of the greatest athletes of all time, passed away this past summer at the age of 88.
In honor of all he has done for the sports world, the Celtics paid tribute to both him and his wife by having her in attendance at Tuesday’s outing.
Unfortunately, some NBA fans were displeased when they found out who Russell’s wife was:
Bill Russell’s wife in attendance 🙏
(h/t @taylorcsnow ) pic.twitter.com/xQHnr1iNL7
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) October 19, 2022
White washed
— TheBird🦅 (@TheBirdAccount) October 19, 2022
Oh shoot they got married in 2020 and it’s his fourth marriage 💀 She made sure to secure the bag before he passed 😭
— Alex 🔮 (@0toHerr0) October 19, 2022
now i ain’t sayin she a gold digger… but cmon
— Kyle Orchard (@k_orchard05) October 19, 2022
Dwayne Casey Energy pic.twitter.com/JP5E8AJFdv
— Cheese (@DevinDrake19) October 19, 2022
Come on Bill…
— HeatedQ (@heated_q) October 19, 2022
It ain’t showing if it ain’t snowing ❄️
— MAC-10 (@ymburnerr) October 19, 2022
Of course she’s white pic.twitter.com/PaYVd12caB
— Worxthy (@Worxthy) October 19, 2022
Hold up. So he was wit all that black power stuff and was married to a white lady. pic.twitter.com/qScX6CCIuA
— 👀 (@Dawalla75) October 19, 2022
Lmaoooo that’s what I’m saying like I know you lived in Boston but come on
— pris (@channel_hulse) October 19, 2022
Yikes.
NBA fans have been particularly brutal this summer. The backlash Malika Andrews got just this week over her take on who will win a championship in 2022-23 was telling. Folks are big mad – and it’s hard to decipher why.
The bitterness is super unappealing and a turnoff for non-insane hoops fans.
Russell was an icon both on and off the court. This is a man who, despite being a Celtics legend, was unafraid to detail why he hated Celtics fans. They don’t make stars like him anymore.
Yikes Russell Wilson. https://t.co/vTv0Vo8OJI
— Game 7 (@game7__) October 18, 2022
It’s unfortunate that on a night where he was supposed to be celebrated, fans chose to be so cruel to someone who mattered a lot to him.
Hopefully all parties involved ultimately do some self-analyzation and then do better next time around.
Related: Alabama Star’s Encounter With Female Tennessee Fan Goes Viral (Video)
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
