美国国家公共电台 NPR--Encore: Bill Russell, basketball legend with record 11 NBA titles, dies at 88

Encore: Bill Russell, basketball legend with record 11 NBA titles, dies at 88

Transcript¹

One of basketball's great players has died. Bill Russell was a star with the Boston Celtics and won the most titles of any NBA player: 11. (Story aired on All Things Considered on July 31, 2022.)

ASMA KHALID, HOST:

Basketball has lost one of its legendary² players and coaches. Former Boston Celtics center Bill Russell died yesterday at 88. Russell had won more NBA titles than any player in history. All 11 were with the Celtics. He was also a five-time league MVP who changed the game, making shot blocking a key component³ on defense⁴. And as NPR's Tom Goldman reports, he was a Black athlete who spoke⁵ against racial injustice⁶ when that was much more difficult to do.

TOM GOLDMAN, BYLINE⁷: To understand this man and superlative athlete, it helps to remember a parent's lesson. One day, when Bill Russell was 9, he was outside his apartment in the projects in Oakland, Calif. Five boys ran by. One slapped him in the face. He and his mother went looking for the group, and when they found them, young Bill expected mom justice. Instead, Katie Russell said, fight them one at a time. He won two, lost three. In a 2013 interview for the Civil Rights History Project, Russell said his mother's message to her teary son changed his life.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BILL RUSSELL: She says, don't cry. Doesn't matter whether you won or lost. The matter is you stood up for yourself. And that's what you must always do.

GOLDMAN: He certainly did on the basketball court, where he blossomed late but ended up revolutionizing the game.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: Krebs from the corner. His outside shot blocked by Russell. And now Russell has made three big plays in the last three minutes of the game. Barnett goes in, and Russell blocks it.

GOLDMAN: By 1963, in this NBA Finals game, Bill Russell was a shot blocking menace, which represented a sea change in the game. The adage⁸ always had been no good defensive⁹ player leaves his feet. In the 1950s, his coach at the University of San Francisco believed that, but Russell didn't. He was also a track and field high jumper, and to him, it made perfect sense to elevate in basketball as well.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RUSSELL: Basically what I was doing was bringing the vertical¹⁰ game to a game that had been horizontal.

GOLDMAN: The results were convincing. Russell led San Francisco to NCAA titles in 1955 and '56. In 1956, he also led the U.S. to an Olympic gold medal and then a historic NBA run.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Basketball in Boston. It's the NBA Finals, with Bill Russell, number 6, brilliantly spearheading the Celtics before a capacity crowd of 14,000.

GOLDMAN: From 1957 to '69, the Celtics won 11 titles, including eight straight. There were great players like Bob Cousy, Tom Heinsohn, Sam and K. C. Jones and so many others, but none like Russell. He was the bridge to all 11 championships - a competitor so fierce he'd often throw up before games. Success, though, couldn't hide a difficult relationship with the city where he played. Russell didn't trust some of Boston's white fans who'd cheer the winning but then complain the team had too many Black players. In a Boston Globe documentary, former teammate Tom Heinsohn remembered how the Boston suburb of Redding, where Russell lived, held a dinner to honor him.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TOM HEINSOHN: He was so taken aback that he broke down and started to cry, and he said that he wished he could live in Redding for the rest of his life.

GOLDMAN: But not long after, people broke into Russell's house, destroyed trophies¹¹ and defecated in his bed. His relationship to those outside the Celtics locker¹² room became chilly¹³. He got a reputation for being surly. He refused to sign autographs. On the other hand, Russell loved the Celtics and the progressive white people who ran the franchise¹⁴. During the dynasty years, the Celtics became the first NBA team to have an all-Black starting lineup, and in 1966, more history as heard in this NBA TV documentary.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Here he is, the new coach of the Celtics. The best to you.

GOLDMAN: When legendary head coach Red Auerbach retired¹⁵, he named Russell to take his place - the first Black head coach in the NBA. It was historic, but Bill Russell said he didn't care. He simply believed he was the best man for the job, although a reporter questioned that at a press conference after the announcement.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The first Negro coach of a major league sport - can you do the job impartially¹⁶ without any racial prejudice in reverse?

RUSSELL: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How?

RUSSELL: Because the most important factor is respect. In basketball, respect a man for his ability, period.

(SOUNDBITE OF SPEECH)

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR: I have a dream...

GOLDMAN: The Celtics dynasty dovetailed with the civil rights movement of the 1960s, and Bill Russell fully¹⁷ engaged. He sat in the front row at Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic "I Have A Dream" speech. He and Black teammates boycotted¹⁸ a game in Kentucky when a restaurant denied them service. He joined other prominent Black athletes in supporting boxer¹⁹ Muhammad Ali, who refused to join the military during the Vietnam War. And Russell wrote a book, "Go Up For Glory."

DAMIAN THOMAS: It really changed how athletes wrote about themselves and society.

GOLDMAN: Damian Thomas curates the sports exhibition at the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture. He says Russell's book, part of the exhibit, was a transformational autobiography²⁰.

THOMAS: Rather than just merely sticking to sports, we began to see athletes offer opinions about race, opinions about politics and things of that nature.

GOLDMAN: Bill Russell's life was long - at times profound, at times messy. He had a falling out with longtime friend and fierce competitor Wilt²¹ Chamberlain. Russell didn't like the word rival. Later in life, they reconciled. Russell also reconciled his feelings, somewhat, about the city of Boston. Through it all, there was this constant.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RUSSELL: (Laughter).

GOLDMAN: A laugh for the ages - as recognizable a part of Bill Russell as the image of him in his number 6 Celtics jersey²² rising above the court, grabbing a rebound²³ or swatting a shot. The laugh came from another Katie Russell lesson. His mother told him, never hold back on anything. Once again, her son listened well. Tom Goldman, NPR News.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

3 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 adage   

n.格言，古训

参考例句：

• But the old adage that men grow into office has not proved true in my experience.但是，根据我的经验，人们所谓的工作岗位造就人材这句古话并不正确。
• Her experience lends credence to the adage " We live and learn!"她的经验印证了一句格言: 活到老，学到老！

9 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

10 vertical   

adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。
• Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。

11 trophies   

n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖

参考例句：

• His football trophies were prominently displayed in the kitchen. 他的足球奖杯陈列在厨房里显眼的位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hunter kept the lion's skin and head as trophies. 这猎人保存狮子的皮和头作为纪念品。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 locker   

n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人

参考例句：

• At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker.在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里。
• He moved into the locker room and began to slip out of his scrub suit.他走进更衣室把手术服脱下来。

13 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。

14 franchise   

n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权

参考例句：

• Catering in the schools is run on a franchise basis.学校餐饮服务以特许权经营。
• The United States granted the franchise to women in 1920.美国于1920年给妇女以参政权。

15 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

16 impartially   

adv.公平地，无私地

参考例句：

• Employers must consider all candidates impartially and without bias. 雇主必须公平而毫无成见地考虑所有求职者。
• We hope that they're going to administer justice impartially. 我们希望他们能主持正义，不偏不倚。

17 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

18 boycotted   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Athletes from several countries boycotted the Olympic Games. 有好几国的运动员抵制奥林匹克运动会。
• The opposition party earlier boycotted the Diet agenda, demanding Miyaji's resignation. 反对党曾杯葛国会议程，要宫路下台。

19 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

20 autobiography   

n.自传

参考例句：

• He published his autobiography last autumn.他去年秋天出版了自己的自传。
• His life story is recounted in two fascinating volumes of autobiography.这两卷引人入胜的自传小说详述了他的生平。

21 wilt   

v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱

参考例句：

• Golden roses do not wilt and will never need to be watered.金色的玫瑰不枯萎绝也不需要浇水。
• Several sleepless nights made him wilt.数个不眠之夜使他憔悴。

22 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

23 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。