Go Up for Glory by Bill Russell & William Mcsweeny

Author:Bill Russell & William Mcsweeny [Russell, Bill & Mcsweeny, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2020-11-17T00:00:00+00:00

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Some Bulgarian students were in Poland and they asked to see me. They were immediately in sympathy with the cause of the American Negro and were asking me all kinds of questions, to which I was replying as truthfully as I could, at the same time fully understanding that their statements about it never happening in Bulgaria were true only because there were probably only two Negroes in the whole country.

Finally, after long protests about how they, as humanitarians, fully understood the American Negro and his problems, one of their spokesmen said: “And now, would you please sing us a song or do a dance. How about ‘Go Down Moses’?”

I broke up. To me, it was even funnier than the Heinsohn incident. But then maybe I have a warped sense of humor about the plight of the American Negro as viewed through the eyes of the “liberal” Bulgarians.

Not so funny on our trip were our visits to concentration camps like Auschwitz. A man who believes in saying what he thinks, popular or not, can learn a lesson about the value of standing up for a cause from what happened there.

Also not so funny, in my opinion, was the attitude of Auerbach, which transcended the norm. Perhaps he was working too hard.

There were several incidents among our player personnel. Finally, it came to a head in Yugoslavia.

I have a laugh which I suppose can be grating. But it’s mine. I’ve been using it for years. When I laugh, I laugh. It was nothing new to Auerbach. But someone said something funny and Auerbach started yelling: “Russell, you be quiet.”

I said it succinctly and to the point:

“——, Red. Don’t say anything to me. Not ever.”

It marked a first in my career. And a last. But no man worth his salt takes a pushing around forever.

Hence, one might say my personal relationship with Auerbach can only be considered cordial.

Throughout this, I must continue to add that I respect Auerbach as a professional coach, fully acknowledging now that we are talking in terms of professional sports, not those of the happy amateur.

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