On the final day of Black History Month, one of the greatest NBA players of all time and a major activist in his own right showed support for another athlete currently using his platform for protest, to the detriment of his own employment.
Bill Russell, who received the Presidential Medal of Honor from Barack Obama in 2011, tweeted out a photo of himself rocking a black Colin Kaepernick jersey from Nike on Thursday morning, complete with the hashtag #IMWITHKAP written above Kaepernick’s no. 7.
On the final day of #BlackHistoryMonth I wanted to make sure I show my support to @Kaepernick7 #ImWithKap #BHM @yourrightscamp @Nike #TrueTo7 @BleacherReport @espn @SLAMonline #Stoptheviolence pic.twitter.com/amg3PMMIbm
— TheBillRussell (@RealBillRussell) February 28, 2019
This isn’t the first time the Boston Celtics great has shown his support for the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback. In September of 2017, Russell tweeted out a photo of himself taking a knee with the Medal of Honor hanging around his neck, and the caption “Proud to take a knee, and to stand tall against social justice.” That photo came shortly after Donald Trump referred to NFL players kneeling during the national anthem as “sons of bitches.”
Proud to take a knee, and to stand tall against social injustice." #takeaknee #medaloffreedom #NFL #BillRussell #MSNBC pic.twitter.com/1MhinoAcW7
— TheBillRussell (@RealBillRussell) September 25, 2017
Russell has a long history of speaking out against injustice, especially during an NBA career that blossomed during the Civil Rights movement. In 1961, Russell and his black Celtics teammates were refused service at a Lexington, Kentucky restaurant ahead of an exhibition game, so the team boycotted the game completely.
Kaepernick, who recently settled his collusion lawsuit against the NFL, has been rumored to be in talks with both the XFL and AAF to suit up for one of the alternatives to the NFL. Whether that comes to fruition or not remains to be seen, but Kaepernick’s impact off the field continues to make waves.
