'Celtics City' highlights Hall of Famer Bill Russell's challenges in Boston

While he might be the greatest Boston Celtics player of all time, when Hall of Fame big man Bill Russell was suiting up for the Celtics, he had anything but an ideal relationship with many of the white fans of the city he played and lived in. And while it has become fashionable (as it ought to be) to look back on what Russell did on his way to earning an NBA-record 11 rings, to divorce them from the contentious context he won them all in does not do the man justice.

The new HBO "Celtics City" documentary series does not, in fact, shy away from that complicated history, instead leaning into all the details -- both good and bad -- of that dynastic era the man was the engine of in the midst of the US Civil Rights struggle.

The hosts of the CLNS Media "Bob Ryan, Jeff Goodman, and Gary Tanguay!" podcast recently put together a clip diving into all of these aspects of that era, Ryan having arrived in Boston just after that time in Celtics history himself. Check it out below.

If you enjoy this pod, check out the "How Bout Them Celtics," "First to the Floor," "Celtics Lab," and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

Listen to the "Celtics Lab" podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: 'Celtics City' highlights Bill Russell's challenges in Boston

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