OBAMA CALLS RUSSELL A “WINNER”

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US President Barack Obama spoke highly of NBA legend Bill Russell, who is one of the 15 honorees awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Russell is one of the first great black athletes to excel in an American major league sport. The ex-University of San Francisco Dons star center played in the gold medal winning US squad in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and led the Boston Celtics to an unprecedented eleven championships in thirteen seasons. Current Celtics stars Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen also shared their thoughts on the well-respected Basketball Hall-of-Famer, acccording to ESPN.

US President Barack Obama: “When Bill Russell was in junior high, he was cut from his basketball team. He got better after that. He led the University of San Francisco to two championships. In 13 seasons with the Boston Celtics, he won 11 championships -- a record unmatched in any sport. Won two while also serving as the team’s coach. And so happens, he also was the first African American ever to hold such a position as a coach in a Major League sports team of any sort. More than any athlete of his era, Bill Russell came to define the word "winner."

Kevin Garnett: “When I think of Russell, I think of transcending. Just how on, you take Bill Russell out [and] a lot of the young bigs don't even exist. I think if you take someone out of history a lot of us are not even here. Not only did he transcend on the court, but off the court, being pro-righteous in what he believed in and speaking up and standing up for that right. But [they were] different times back in the day, man, you know? I respect a lot of the [old players] just because of what they went through in order for us to be here today. So, Bill Russell is everything and I just want to say congratulations.”

Ray Allen: “I ran into [Russell] from time to time. He's so funny and interesting because he'll tell you a story -- and he's got a lot of stories -- and no matter whether the story is funny or not, he's going to laugh, and then since he laughed you laugh, and it ends up being a great story that he told. I've always enjoyed talking to him because I do end up walking away with a laugh, with a smile on my face.”