“Bill Russell was the greatest champion in all of team sports.” (Adam Silver, NBA Commissioner)
When the great baseball Hall of Famer and African American icon Jackie Robinson died in 1972, his widow called Boston Celtics player Bill Russell and asked him to be a pallbearer at her husband’s funeral.
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When asked why, she responded that Russell had been Jackie Robinson’s favorite athlete.
All of the pallbearers were Jackie’s former teammates with the Brooklyn Dodgers, except for Bill Russell.
It’s likely that Bill Russell was Jackie Robinson’s favorite athlete – not because he was so athletic or talented – but because he was a champion, both on and off the playing court.
Many consider Bill Russell one of the greatest teammates of all time.
Jerod Ward was the #1 high school basketball player in the country in 1994. As the top recruit, he could choose to play college ball anywhere and he chose The University of Michigan. Multiple knee surgeries kept him from achieving his NBA dream but he still had a solid four year career for the Wolverines helping them beat Duke three straight years, win the National Invitational Tournament and the Big Ten Tournament. Jerod then went on to have a long career playing professional basketball worldwide. Jerod now travels across the country as a professional speaker. He has even been on stage for a Tedx Talk presenting on the topic of EATing Adversity. Even though he is retired from playing basketball, Jerod still stays close to the game he loves as he works as a college basketball analyst with networks including ESPN, FOX Sports. Jerod lives in Sarasota, Florida with his wife Tricia and daughter Violet.
In today’s episode, we discuss:
“It is better to stay silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.” (Abe Lincoln)
“The main ingredient to stardom is the rest of the team.” (Coach John Wooden)
“Be a star in your role, and for me, that’s high-energy, use my motor, just play hard. Play hard, be relentless on the glass. And that’s what I bring to this team. That’s my job. Just be a star in your role, and I try to do that every night.” (Tristan Thompson)