Boston Celtics' legend Bill Ru sell's NBA accolades speak for themselves.Playing 13 years in the league, Ru sell led theCeltics to 11 championships along with five Most Valuable Player awards,12 All-Star selections andan Olympic gold medal in 1956.Ru sell revolutionized the gamewith his supreme athletic ability, defensive prowe s and relentle spenchant for winning, cementing himself as one of the greatest players in NBA history.He thought that any team he plays on should win every single game," said Ru sell's Celtics teammate Tom Satch Sanders. So that kind of permeated the whole team. That was Ru sells gift.Go into the to watch 's game-changing offensive and defensive ability. NBA History (@NBAHistory) While his dominance on the court is unmatchedin NBAhistory, his impact off the floor has been felt for generations to come as he continually fought for racial Josh Rosen Jersey justice in America throughout his playing career. Even stillto this day, Ru sell remains a Civil Rights icon.In 2011, former United States President Barack Obama awardedRu sellwith the Presidential Medal of Freedom,describingthe Hall of Famerassomeone who stood up for the rights and dignity of all men. Not only did Ru sell change the game of basketball, he redefined therole of the Black athlete, utilizing his platform for the betterment of others. Fast forward to 2021 where it has become commonplace thatNBA players use their voices to provoke social change, with the league's biggest stars likeLeBron James, Chris Paul, Stephen Curry and many more taking an active role in the fight for racial justice, following in the footsteps of the Hall of Famer and Civil Rights activist Ru sell. Ru sell was a star in the NBA during the era of Jim Crow laws designed to marginalize African Americans by denying them education, Atlanta Falcons Polos the right to vote and employment but the Celtics legend stood tall in the face of racism.In 1961, Ru sell led a player protest refusing to playafterseveral Black players on the Boston Celtics were refused service at the Phoenix Hotel coffee shop in Lexington, Kentucky, while they were in town to play theSt. Louis Hawks.I dont think we ought to play, Ru sell told his four other Black Celtics teammatesSam Jones, Satch Sanders, K.C. Jones and Al Butler, who met with Ru sell in his hotel room.The Hawks' Black players joined them in protest as their white teammates played the game.When he returned to Boston, Ru sell told the media, I will not play any place again under those circumstances. In 1963, Ru sell stood alongsideDr.Martin Luther King in the March on Washington and in 1967 he was one of the most vocal players at the Cleveland Summit, a meeting of influential Black athletes joining together in their support of Muhammad Ali.Ali, the boxing heavyweight champion of the world, faced intense backlash andpublic scrutinyover his refusal to be drafted for the Vietnam war. Facing jail time and having his boxing titles stripped, Ali was joined by athletes including Ru sell, NFL stars Jim Brown and Bobby Mitchell,Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and others, holdinga pre s conference in Cleveland.It is the first time in four centuries that the American Negro can create his own history Lee Smith Jersey , Ru sell wrote in the 1960s. To be part of this is one of the most significant things that can happen. In 1964, Ru sell's Celtics were the first NBA team to ever start fiveAfrican-American players, 14 years after becoming the first franchise to ever draft an African-American when they selected Chuck Cooper in the 1950 NBA Draft.MORE: "I wasn't even aware of it," Celtics head coach Auerbach once said about the first all-Black starting five ( ). "They brought it to my attention later on. All we were trying to do here, all the time, is play the guys that, in our opinion, whether I'm coaching or someone else is coaching, is going to win the ballgame. That's all."WhileAuerbach and the Celtics were putting their best available team on the floor, they created history in the proce s.Shortly after in 1966, Ru sell and the Celtics broke another barrier as he succeeded Auerbach as the head coach of the Celtics, becoming the first Black head coach in all four major sports leagues in the United States,doing so as a player-coach.MORE:"I wasn't offered the job because I am a Negro," of succeeding Auerbach. "I was offered it because Red figured I could do it."In 2021, nearly 25 percent of the league's head coaches are Black, but in a league where Black players make up 80 percent of the players, there is still much work to do to close the gap, but Ru sell's trailblazing opened the door for generations to come. In the wake of George Floyd's murder by Minnesota police officers in 2020, which sparked Tony Gonzalez Jersey worldwide protests of racial injustice, NBA players took a leading role in using their platforms for change, with many joining protesters in cities around America. During the NBA bubble in Orlando, the Milwaukee Bucks led a league-wide protest as players refused to play following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin.The actions of players in the NBA sparked a movement in profe sional sports around the world, following the lead of Ru sell all those years ago.In 61 I walked out if an exhibition game much like the players did yesterday. I am one of the few people that knows what it felt like to make such an important decision. I am so proud of these young guys. It reminded Matt Hennessy Jersey me of this Pls RT TheBillRu sell (@RealBillRu sell) Because of you, it is okay to be an activist and an athlete, Celtics guard Jaylen Brown said ina recent tribute video to Ru sell.Because of you, kids that look like you believe that they can win. Because of you, there is a standard for being a human beingandbeing an athlete. Because of you, it is okay to be more than just a basketball player. Because of you, I am proud to be a Celtic.You are succe sfully significant, and , so many lives have been changed for the better.Thank you for paving the way. Boston Celtics (@celtics) NBA players of the past, present and future will forever carry the legacy that Bill Ru sell has embedded into the league's pursuit in raising awarene s to create change in the fight for racial justice.