The family of basketball legend Bill Russell has announced his passing at the age of 88, according to a statement on his Twitter account. Russell was widely regarded as the most prolific winner in American sports history. He won two state championships in high school, went on to win twice in the NCAA, captained a gold-medal winning US Olympic team and became an 11-time NBA champion, in addition to leading his team as the first black coach of any North American professional sports team to two further NBA championships. He was also a recipient of numerous individual awards, including having the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award named after him in 2009. Aside from his sporting achievements, Russell was known for his social activism, and was recognised for his work on civil rights and social justice with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver hailed him as “the greatest champion in all of team sports”. Russell was born in the segregated US South, but credited the love from his parents for giving him the confidence to shake off racist abuse.
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