Bill Russell stories rang widely this week as the world in 2020 reflects on the activism of the 1960s. The atrocities Russell faced, including rejection in Boston, paralleled his leadership after Martin Luther King Jr. died and when the KKK flanked his basketball camps in the south.
Jaylen Brown wants to fill those shoes, befitting a moment where basketball players consider whether this moment demands them being in the streets more than on the court. Brown drove 15 hours during the first week of the George Floyd protests, which continue into their third week following the death of Rayshard Brooks in Brown’s hometown of Atlanta.