Thread by @TimInHonolulu

1. On the passing of #BillRussell. I've been a @Celtics fan for a long time. Prior to that I was a kid in St Louis and my dad was the @AP photographer who covered the #StLouis, now @ATLHawks. My two favorite players were Bob Pettit and Cliff Hagen. I recall my dad bought me a

2. small giftshop basketball and got them to autograph it. I've long since lost it and it was the only autographs he ever got for us from St. Louis players. We would never ask for one though we were around the teams on several occasion. There was a story recounted by Bob Pettit

3. about a ride home from the @NBA Allstar game. Bill Russell had been picked and his dad travelled from #Louisiana to St. Louis to watch his son play. After the game the Pettits were driving back to their home in Louisiana and offered Bill Russell and his dad a ride.

4. This was still during the Jim Crow era and travel for Americans Blacks was difficult. They accepted. During the ride, Bob Pettit's dad was making small-talk and asked Bill Russell's dad something to the effect of, "Mr. Russell, you must be very proud of your son making

5. the Allstar team." Mr. Russell said he was. Then Bob Pettit noticed that Mr. Russell had tears streaming down his face. Asked why he was crying he said, "That's the first time a White man has ever called me Mister Russell." Many have judged Bill Russell for his steadfast

6. views about discrimination and his unwillingness to play a role that they thought he should play in regard to fans and the NBA. When people who never felt the string of discrimination seek to school those like Bill Russell who have, they should remember that ride home to

7. Louisiana and remember that there are still people in America who want to return to that past by erasing our history.