Bill Russell becomes the first player to have his number retired across the NBA, Vanessa Bryant sues LA deputies for sharing Kobe's crash scene photos, and the NBA gets an "A" from annual diversity study.

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BILL RUSSELL

Bill Russell Becomes the First Player to Have His Number Retired Across the NBA 

The NBA announced that legendary Hall of Famer and civil rights pioneer Bill Russell’s number will be permanently retired. Russell is the first player to be awarded such an honor and is every bit deserving.

As a basketball player, Russell was as prolific as they come. He earned 5 NBA Most Valuable Player awards, 12 NBA All-Star selections, and 11 All-NBA Team honors. Russell is perhaps best known though, for his eleven championships in his thirteen-year career, winning two of those titles while also coaching.

However, Bill Russell was far more than just an incredible basketball player; he was a warrior for civil rights. In 2010, Russell was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the U.S.’s highest civilian honor, for his spectacular career and lifelong commitment to social justice.

The NBA will pay tribute to one of the pillars of the NBA in multiple ways this upcoming season, including a commemorative jersey patch and a clover-shaped logo with the No. 6 on every court.

During the 2021-22 season, sixteen players wore Russell’s number 6, including LeBron James. These players will be grandfathered in and permitted to continue wearing the number.

VANESSA BRYANT

Vanessa Bryant Sues LA Deputies for Sharing Kobe's Crash Scene Photos

Vanessa Bryant is suing LA County officials for invasion of privacy. She is accusing them of exploiting the late Kobe Byrant’s death by sharing photos from his helicopter crash scene “for a laugh.” 

In a pre-trial legal filing, Bryant described how the existence of these photos has directly led to her trauma: “These deputies and firefighters took the worst thing that has ever happened to me… and made it worse.” She also added: “I will never be able to shake the anguish from knowing that the officials who are supposed to keep us safe treated Kobe and Gianna with such callous disrespect."

The civil trial began on Wednesday and featured a tearful Bryant and some strong words from her attorney. Bryant's attorney Luis Li argued that by sharing camera-photo images of the deadly crash, the county “poured salt in an open wound and rubbed it in.”

The county's representation has countered that while said photos do exist, the department worked diligently to ensure they would never be distributed. This was echoed by Los Angeles Sheriff Alex Villanueva confirming that his deputies took photos and shared them in personal settings, but ultimately deleted them.

NBA

The NBA Gets an "A" From Annual Diversity Study

The NBA undergoes an annual review from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, and the results came back with a great win! The study revealed nearly across-the-board increases in minority and women hiring, giving the NBA an A+ and B+ in each category, respectively. These grades were based on the 2021-22 NBA season’s hiring for positions with franchises and in league leadership.

The league received a B+ last year, its first score lower than an A- since 2006. This score was mainly attributed to a methodology change that included team ownership. As for this past season, they most notably found an increase in leadership positions by people of color. These figures included 15 head-coaching jobs, 12 general managers, and 50% of assistant coaching positions.

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