Celtics legend Bob Cousy earns Presidential Medal of Freedom

Celtics legend Bob Cousy earns Presidential Medal of Freedom

Celtics fans are probably thinking: it's about time he got the recognition he deserved.

We're talking about Bob Cousy here. That's right, the Boston Celtics legend, He is back in the news--and for good reason. He got honored at the White House on Thursday for being a good man.

At 4:30 p.m., he became the latest recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest honor a civilian can receive as CBS Boston points out.

The 13-time NBA All-Star was not only a strong player on the court, but a close friend of Bill Russell. Cousy advocated for the NBA to become more integrated, going for the best talents possible as opposed to just the white guys. He spoke out against quotas teams had, which hurt the league's overall product and excluded athletes from being able to make a serious living playing the game.



He also showed support for Russell when the NBA legend was subjected to racism. According to NBC News, he'd also take overnight busses and trains with his African American teammates if they were in a place where they were being discriminated against and could not find somewhere to stay. Keep in mind, there were parts of the country where racial segregation was not only legal, but the norm when these guys started their careers.

Also, on a side note: this doesn't get talked about enough, but Cousy used to coach at Boston College after his Celtics career ended (1963 to 1969). Just imagine how cool it'd be if BC had a legit former Celtics superstar as its coach--like Paul Pierce or something. That'd be quite something now, wouldn't it?

But yeah. This was a solid pick. Cousy is a good man who had his teammate's backs. Truly a prime example of what it is to be a good teammate.

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