Speaker 1: Good people, good people.
Speaker 2: Hello.
Speaker 1: This is Questlove and in honor of Black History Month,
Speaker 1: when Fridays, we'll be releasing episodes of Historical Records, my
Speaker 1: podcast with the story Pirates. It's an explosive fusion of
Speaker 1: hip hop and history, tailor made for music loving kids
Speaker 1: and families. Yes, something for the entire family that you
Speaker 1: can listen to and enjoy it together all right now.
Speaker 1: In today's episode, Lemonie finds out what it takes to
Speaker 1: win eleven NBA championships and to play a meaningful role
Speaker 1: in the civil rights movement. You'll hear a brand new
Speaker 1: hip hop track about Bill Russell, the legendary player coach
Speaker 1: of the Boston Celtics, and a great interview between former
Speaker 1: NBA star Jalen Rose and a fourteen year old basketball
Speaker 1: fan from Detroit named Messiah. So get your kids, sit
Speaker 1: back and enjoy Historical Records, the show that proves that
Speaker 1: in order to make history, you have to make some noise.
Speaker 3: We're sorry, the number you have died out has been disconnected,
Speaker 3: and it's all your.
Speaker 2: Fault, my fault. How is it my fault?
Speaker 4: It's certainly not my fault, so it must be yours.
Speaker 4: That concludes this pre recorded message.
Speaker 2: Nothing in this lab ever works for me.
Speaker 5: And it's not like I can call anybody to fix
Speaker 5: anything when the phones are always broken and exploding.
Speaker 2: The phones are always exploding. You know what, I've had
Speaker 2: it with this.
Speaker 5: I'm the one that has to live in a secret
Speaker 5: underground bunker slash laboratory with harsh lighting, leaky pipes, and
Speaker 5: that phantom train sound. There are no train tracks four
Speaker 5: miles where is that coming from?
Speaker 2: That's it.
Speaker 5: I'm taking it upon myself to fix every single thing
Speaker 5: wrong with this place.
Speaker 2: This whole lab is getting nemified.
Speaker 5: Or niminy, fine, maybe maybe nimificient. You know what, Naming
Speaker 5: things isn't my strong suit.
Speaker 2: This whole place is getting the neckover.
Speaker 6: It's historical records.
Speaker 2: You are now listening to historical.
Speaker 5: To make history, you got to have struggles to make history.
Speaker 2: You got to show poise. Cannot be quiet loud, that's
Speaker 2: the riot to make history. You gotta make some noise.
Speaker 5: Welcome back to Historical Records, the show where I dig
Speaker 5: into the historical records in order to produce historically themed records,
Speaker 5: which are like digital music files, except you can accidentally
Speaker 5: spill your drink on them.
Speaker 2: Today's episode is.
Speaker 5: All about legendary basketball icon Bill Russell. But before we
Speaker 5: get to mister Russell and his eleven championship rings, I'm
Speaker 5: just putting the finishing touches on my own personal modifications
Speaker 5: to the laboratory phone lines. All it took was sixty
Speaker 5: four empty soup cans, thirty two discarded piano wires, and
Speaker 5: sixteen milliliters of excess elbow grease. I should really see
Speaker 5: an elbow doctor. But before that, let's try making a call.
Speaker 4: Hello, this is Lee, resident historian Lee.
Speaker 5: It's Niminy from work. Looks like the phones are finally working.
Speaker 4: Oh, so this is a phone. I was wondering why
Speaker 4: the empty soup can in my room was ringing and
Speaker 4: why a my soup disappeared. What's up? I didn't think
Speaker 4: I was in the Bill Russell episode.
Speaker 2: Oh you're not. You're just in this part.
Speaker 4: Oh okay. I'm always happy to get some nice meaty
Speaker 4: limes or should I say soup bee lime.
Speaker 2: That's enough for now. Next week.
Speaker 5: Ah, With all my modifications, this place is really starting
Speaker 5: to feel like a bunker of my very own.
Speaker 2: I've got the soupcan phones.
Speaker 5: The neminy neon ambient Lenny, and I've even got custom.
Speaker 2: Stickers with my name on it, sticker Slab.
Speaker 5: I don't even mind the fact that all these stickers
Speaker 5: say historical records with memony instead of niminy. The important
Speaker 5: thing is that the laboratory isn't falling apart anymore.
Speaker 3: Laboratory helf destruct sequence start the vide.
Speaker 2: Self destruct start a fine no.
Speaker 5: Time to hit the emergency override shutdown hammer smash.
Speaker 3: Laboratories helf destruct sequence.
Speaker 2: Stop robot voice. What was that?
Speaker 6: Na a new word?
Speaker 5: I'm crying out miminy, It's nemony with an not.
Speaker 3: According to these unauthorized stickers, your modifications to the laboratory
Speaker 3: have resulted in eleven code violations.
Speaker 2: Since when do you care so much about code violations?
Speaker 3: The year was nineteen ninety two, acid wash genes and
Speaker 3: grunge music.
Speaker 5: Where all the rage I'm meant in the context of
Speaker 5: what's happening now understood.
Speaker 3: Every secret laboratory is highly regulated by the Secret Laboratory
Speaker 3: Owners Association or SLOW for short. Their strict codes must
Speaker 3: be followed as the quarterly inspection will soon be conducted.
Speaker 3: Point of clarification, the quarterly inspection is different than the
Speaker 3: quarter inspection, where they make sure that US quarters in
Speaker 3: every laboratory are organized by stage.
Speaker 2: My quarters are organized by year.
Speaker 3: Additional code violation, I advise you to correct all violations
Speaker 3: before the inspection.
Speaker 2: My improvements code violations.
Speaker 5: Improvements benefit all of us. Besides, this whole place was
Speaker 5: falling apart and I was the only one willing to
Speaker 5: do anything about it.
Speaker 2: SLOA would have just let the place break down.
Speaker 3: I am not permitted to agree, as Sloa's codes are
Speaker 3: embedded in my programming.
Speaker 5: And if SLOA finds out what's the worst that could happen.
Speaker 3: They will overtake our sound system and play NonStop talk radio.
Speaker 2: That's not so bad, I kind of like talking.
Speaker 3: The entire combination bunker slash laboratory will self destruct.
Speaker 2: That's terrible.
Speaker 3: Agreed.
Speaker 2: Oh okay, I hear you loud and clear.
Speaker 5: I'll start in the library. Why don't you work on
Speaker 5: removing the stickers.
Speaker 3: Affirmative blowing, sticker feeling fingernails.
Speaker 2: Ew.
Speaker 5: I don't even know how to describe what I'm seeing
Speaker 5: right now.
Speaker 3: I thought you wanted my help.
Speaker 2: Gotta go, Gabe, open up the library.
Speaker 7: It's me, Hey, niminy, it's Gabe Resident historian.
Speaker 2: Weird Lise said that earlier too.
Speaker 6: Really who said it better?
Speaker 2: I don't care? I know who both of you are.
Speaker 6: Let me in, sure, come on in. Hey did the
Speaker 6: power go out for you a little while ago?
Speaker 2: Yeah, but it wasn't my fault. Look, we've got a problem.
Speaker 2: Can robot voice hear anything we say in here?
Speaker 6: No? Nobody can hear anything.
Speaker 7: I've been calling out for a glass of orange juice
Speaker 7: for hours and you're holding a glass of apple juice.
Speaker 6: I mean I'll still drink it.
Speaker 4: Oop.
Speaker 2: Sorry that was just for me.
Speaker 6: I'm thirsty, not me.
Speaker 2: I just had apple juice. We have to get out
Speaker 2: of here.
Speaker 5: Robot wants me to undo all the improvements I've made
Speaker 5: to the lab just because the Secret Laboratory Owners Association
Speaker 5: doesn't like the way I organize my corners.
Speaker 6: You don't organize them by state.
Speaker 2: I organize them by year.
Speaker 4: Uh.
Speaker 2: Maybe it's not even worth a fight. What do you think?
Speaker 7: I think the way you organize your quarters is insane.
Speaker 7: But I also think it's important for you to fight
Speaker 7: for what you believe in. You know there's someone whose
Speaker 7: story might be able to help.
Speaker 6: I bet making a track about him will help you
Speaker 6: see things more clearly.
Speaker 2: That's a great idea.
Speaker 5: Let's get in the history simulator, which, uh where is it?
Speaker 2: Did you move it or something?
Speaker 7: I made it a little bit more portable this time around. Here,
Speaker 7: put on this poncho.
Speaker 5: Okay, hey, this is pretty comfortable as far as history
Speaker 5: simulators go.
Speaker 2: You've really outdone yourself.
Speaker 6: Oh that's not it.
Speaker 7: The new History simulator is a large cooler of electrolyte
Speaker 7: infused sports drink Kraco Raid. It works by pouring it
Speaker 7: all over ourselves. The poncho should help keep you mostly dry.
Speaker 2: Is it too late to get Lee to help me instead?
Speaker 6: It's way too late. Sports drinks simulate history, Kroco Go.
Speaker 7: Well, folks, things are heating up here in this nineteen
Speaker 7: sixty nine NBA Championship Series.
Speaker 6: But what else would you expect from.
Speaker 7: Game seven of this heated matchup between the Los Angeles
Speaker 7: Lakers and the Boston Celtics. I'm calling it now.
Speaker 6: This will be a game that goes down in history.
Speaker 5: Gabe, what are you doing announcing the game? You might
Speaker 5: mess up the time stream or something.
Speaker 7: This is a history simulator, not a time machine.
Speaker 6: Let's have some fun here. Get on the mic, Uh.
Speaker 8: That one guy on the yellow team has the ball,
Speaker 8: Wilt Chamberlain.
Speaker 5: Yeah him, and now he's dropping towards the roop.
Speaker 2: He's pulling up to shoot and bow.
Speaker 9: He just got to not by u bye, by the
Speaker 9: heart of that stout Boston defense and the man that
Speaker 9: we both came here to watch, Bill Russell. O.
Speaker 2: Big ups to Bill Russels.
Speaker 7: Oh, his coach is gonna love that hustle fun bit
Speaker 7: of trivia.
Speaker 5: He is the coach who is Bill Russell, the same
Speaker 5: one who's playing.
Speaker 6: That's right partner.
Speaker 7: He's a player and the head coach, the first black
Speaker 7: head coach of a major American sports league.
Speaker 5: Oooh, A never strong block from the head coach, Bill Russell.
Speaker 2: How can you not like that imposing style of defense?
Speaker 6: Not everyone always saw it that way.
Speaker 7: Back when he was still playing college ball at the
Speaker 7: University of San Francisco, his coach has tried to change
Speaker 7: the way he played. Defenders were supposed to stay planted
Speaker 7: and never leave their feet, but he had amazing quickness
Speaker 7: for leaping ability, especially for a center.
Speaker 5: I think it's safe to say he ignored that advice.
Speaker 7: Oh, he knew it worked for him, so he kept
Speaker 7: watching other players footwork, adjusted and improved his own defense
Speaker 7: to create something entirely new, kind of like my history
Speaker 7: simulator system.
Speaker 2: That could still use a little more improvement.
Speaker 7: I don't see how ponchos and gallons of croco raid
Speaker 7: have gotten us this far.
Speaker 5: Bill Russell's belief in his own game really changed everyone's game.
Speaker 4: Hump.
Speaker 7: He was so dominant the NCAA even changed the rules today.
Speaker 2: When you're that good, who's gonna stop you?
Speaker 6: Certainly not these Lakers.
Speaker 7: Bill Russell's about to take down his greatest rival, Wilt Chamberlain,
Speaker 7: to win his eleven championship. I know that's not what
Speaker 7: this LA crop wants to hear, but where will the future?
Speaker 6: So deal with it. The eighties will be much better
Speaker 6: Laker Nation.
Speaker 7: Bill Russell's life was about to be much more than
Speaker 7: just basketball, though.
Speaker 6: Let's take a look, niminy. Hold your breath?
Speaker 4: Huh?
Speaker 2: Why would I need to hold my breath? Broaco, go blah.
Speaker 2: You need to win me before doing that.
Speaker 6: I told you to hold your breath.
Speaker 5: Oh come on, let's see if this coffee shop has
Speaker 5: any fresh towels. My poncho can only keep me so dry.
Speaker 7: Nah, Niminy, we might not want to go in inside this
Speaker 7: coffee shop. It's not exactly the most welcoming place.
Speaker 2: Huh. Then why did we come here? Hey? Is it? Yeah?
Speaker 10: That's Bill, ma'am, my teammates and I just want to
Speaker 10: order a cup of coffee.
Speaker 3: Well, you'd best look somewhere else because we don't serve
Speaker 3: negroes here.
Speaker 2: Uh, Gay, what year is it?
Speaker 6: It's nineteen sixty one.
Speaker 7: This is Lexington, Kentucky, where the Celtics were scheduled to
Speaker 7: play an exhibition game against the Hawks.
Speaker 5: In a town that treats people like that. There's no
Speaker 5: way he plays right. Don't do it, Bill, They don't
Speaker 5: deserve you.
Speaker 6: He can't hear you. We're not announcers anymore. This time.
Speaker 7: We're ghosts. Were what ghosts? They're floating and see through?
Speaker 7: Have you really never heard of ghosts before? That's not
Speaker 7: what I want. Come on, ghost Nimini, let's catch up
Speaker 7: with Bill. He's already headed over to talk to coach Auerbach.
Speaker 10: Coach, there's no way we're playing this game. We're getting
Speaker 10: on the plane and going home, all of us. Bill.
Speaker 6: I understand what you're saying. The way these folks are
Speaker 6: treating you isn't right.
Speaker 8: But don't you think we can spread your message better
Speaker 8: by playing the game respectfully.
Speaker 10: We won a championship my rookie year. Then that same
Speaker 10: year I went to the fifty six Olympics and won
Speaker 10: a gold medal for this country. But that didn't change anything.
Speaker 10: They've been looking at me the same way in my
Speaker 10: whole life. These people know that I'm a basketball player,
Speaker 10: but they still refuse to see me, to see us
Speaker 10: as human beings. No exhibition game will change that. If
Speaker 10: they're not gonna acknowledge our humanity, we need to speak out.
Speaker 10: We need to change the world.
Speaker 2: You go, Bill, you boycott that gay coach.
Speaker 10: Did you hear a ghost just now?
Speaker 4: No?
Speaker 6: But I see two ghosts right over there. They're wearing ponchos,
Speaker 6: and one of them's pumping its fists. I think they
Speaker 6: like what you just said.
Speaker 2: We should probably stand behind a plant or something.
Speaker 7: I worked hard picking out this poncho. I'm not hiding
Speaker 7: behind a plant anyway. Coach Houurback knew that Russell was
Speaker 7: a true leader of men, and that's why he threw
Speaker 7: his support behind the boycott and why he appointed Russell
Speaker 7: as his successor when he eventually moved on from being
Speaker 7: head coach himself.
Speaker 5: So Bill kept speaking up no matter where he went,
Speaker 5: whether it was on the court or in the public eye.
Speaker 6: Speaking of eyes, would you mind closing yours?
Speaker 2: What four croco go? Huh? Hey, we're in a movie theater.
Speaker 7: Yeah, the history highlights theater. Take a seat drinking crocker. Ay,
Speaker 7: let's us see a mini highlight reel of any athlete's
Speaker 7: life while we wait to move forward in time.
Speaker 2: Hey, that's Martin Luther King. And whoa? Bill Russell marched
Speaker 2: with doctor King.
Speaker 7: He sure did back in nineteen sixty three as part
Speaker 7: of the March on Washington.
Speaker 6: And this is nineteen sixty.
Speaker 7: Seven where he was meeting with Muhammad Ali to support
Speaker 7: his decision to not fight in the Vietnam War.
Speaker 5: It looks like a lot of black ass athletes showed
Speaker 5: up to support him.
Speaker 7: Speaking out against the war wasn't necessarily the popular thing
Speaker 7: to do at the time, but they still threw their
Speaker 7: support behind him.
Speaker 6: Because they felt it was the right thing to do.
Speaker 2: He was everywhere, wasn't he? How far ahead are we going?
Speaker 6: Just another few decades? We should stand up. It's almost
Speaker 6: time to believe.
Speaker 2: Oh okay, which way should we go? I don't see
Speaker 2: any exits.
Speaker 6: There's only one way out of the history highlights theater.
Speaker 6: Cover your ears.
Speaker 2: Oh my ears? Okay, what the heck? Why would you
Speaker 2: throw crocle rate into my ears?
Speaker 6: Niminy, calm down. Look over there, Gabe.
Speaker 2: Is that that's President Obama.
Speaker 5: I can't believe I'm wearing a poncho in front of
Speaker 5: President Obama.
Speaker 7: There's no need to be embarrassed by the poncho. It's
Speaker 7: shaped like a triangle. The second most style is shape
Speaker 7: right after the rhombus, which is just two triangles. Anyway,
Speaker 7: it's the year twenty eleven and Obama's honoring Bill Russell
Speaker 7: for all of his work, not just as a basketball player,
Speaker 7: but as a fighter for human rights.
Speaker 5: I can't believe how much of an impact he had
Speaker 5: on history. To go from being just a kid playing
Speaker 5: basketball to receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Speaker 2: It's incredible.
Speaker 7: And to think if he had changed the way he'd
Speaker 7: played defense all those years ago, just because someone thought
Speaker 7: it was the only way to play, he might never
Speaker 7: have made it here.
Speaker 5: I bet it wasn't easy for him to stand up
Speaker 5: for himself back then, and I bet it didn't get
Speaker 5: any easier standing up for the rights of others every
Speaker 5: time after that. But he did it because he knew
Speaker 5: it was the right thing to do, no matter how
Speaker 5: big the stage got.
Speaker 7: I agree one hundred percent, Niminy, Just like it wasn't
Speaker 7: easy for me to stand up to Lee when she
Speaker 7: told me that wearing ponchos and pouring hundreds of gallons
Speaker 7: of custom made sports drink all over myself would be
Speaker 7: a terrible and needlessly expensive way to experience history.
Speaker 6: But you loved it right.
Speaker 2: Actually, if I could redo one thing, it'd probably be there.
Speaker 7: There's no time for your notes, Niminy. Let's get to
Speaker 7: the recording studio.
Speaker 6: Croco go.
Speaker 4: Ah.
Speaker 7: Here we are in the studio, and everybody's happy with
Speaker 7: every part of the journey.
Speaker 2: Gabe, get rid of the krocle Rade.
Speaker 6: You didn't like the flavor, Gabe, you didn't like the ponchos.
Speaker 2: I'm going straight to Lee next time.
Speaker 6: My own personal Wilt Chamberlain.
Speaker 5: Okay, listeners, now that we're in the studio, it's time
Speaker 5: for everyone's favorite part of the episode.
Speaker 6: We're doing my part again, the song Oh right, right, right, right, right,
Speaker 6: right right.
Speaker 2: Get ready to ball out to the beat.
Speaker 5: Everyone, Bill Russell may have countless records already, but this
Speaker 5: here is the newest one.
Speaker 11: What do you see as the meaning of the term revolutionary?
Speaker 12: Revolutionary is a man or a woman things, but basically,
Speaker 12: the revolutionary wants to change the nature of society in
Speaker 12: a way to promote a world where the knees and
Speaker 12: interests of the people are responded to.
Speaker 11: Before Lebron was a king, before Jordan won rings, before
Speaker 11: shacking I came and magic in Kareem one man on
Speaker 11: one team rank completely supreme? Am I blowing too much
Speaker 11: steam to say that man was me? Bill Russell is
Speaker 11: the name?
Speaker 4: And how do you do?
Speaker 11: Thirteen years in the game and still I only lost
Speaker 11: two times in the finals? That's eleven titles. No man
Speaker 11: in this sport has come close to being my rival.
Speaker 11: I was the subject of libel and prejudice, taunts, black
Speaker 11: and in Boston not two things that you want to
Speaker 11: be OUI coop me, yes, sir? How did I thrive
Speaker 11: under oh so much pressure? How did I triumph on
Speaker 11: every measure while also unite all my people together? And
Speaker 11: just how did my leadership lead to our glory? To
Speaker 11: sit down and listen, y'all, because this here's my story.
Speaker 13: Defense the hoop and hej fanza bite. He's a champion
Speaker 13: on the court, and a champion.
Speaker 2: After five he.
Speaker 13: And re bounds four up in fresh City. He goes
Speaker 13: down the court, and he goes down in history.
Speaker 11: My youth, you could say it was a little bit rough.
Speaker 11: Mama died at twelve, and dad even gruff, grew up
Speaker 11: dirt board and there was never enough. My only hope
Speaker 11: was the hoop and get tough. So hoof that I
Speaker 11: did so. University of San Francisco old centers went slow,
Speaker 11: but me, I was nimble.
Speaker 10: They changed the.
Speaker 11: Rules to put me through some pitfalls. I juked the
Speaker 11: gears and still bought through the insults. I press continued,
Speaker 11: was drafted and went to the fifty six Olympics, got
Speaker 11: gold in that window post Uni COOKI oh that one
Speaker 11: NBA rookie and guess what we still won? Then I
Speaker 11: won eight more Celtics made me the coach while also
Speaker 11: still playing. That's right, I did both five mbps odds
Speaker 11: an app salute baller lost a few times to Will
Speaker 11: put He's three inches taller.
Speaker 13: He defends go home, and he defends a bright He's
Speaker 13: a champion on the court. They're a champion of the five.
Speaker 13: He bounds Alco and rebounds for the fresh city. He
Speaker 13: goes down the court, and he goes down in history.
Speaker 11: I am Bill Russell, most athletic on the court, but
Speaker 11: I still hustle and I will tussle with any man
Speaker 11: who stands in the way of progress. And that's in
Speaker 11: the lane in the streets. In the Congress sixty one,
Speaker 11: an exhibition game of Celtics versus the Hawks of Lexington, Kentucky.
Speaker 11: If we expected curses when we went to a cafe
Speaker 11: to try to get some service, instead they acted nervous
Speaker 11: and refused the surface.
Speaker 2: A curve, yes, for sure.
Speaker 11: But still we had a purpose showing what these boys got.
Speaker 11: So we let a boycott, put their feet to the furnace,
Speaker 11: We made noises true to the surface. We hit them
Speaker 11: with our voices. A march with a million men in
Speaker 11: MLK met with my hamad Ali just to mold a
Speaker 11: better day. If he's right in your rights, well then
Speaker 11: you must get unciviled, and never ever ever just shut up.
Speaker 13: In triple defensa hoop, and he defends are right. He's
Speaker 13: a champion on the court, and a champion after five.
Speaker 13: He bounds the rock and rebounds romp in First City.
Speaker 13: He goes down the court, and he goes down in history.
Speaker 13: He defense the hoop, and he defense are right. He's
Speaker 13: a champion on the court and a.
Speaker 2: Champion of the five.
Speaker 13: He rebounds the rock and rebounds roup at First City,
Speaker 13: he goes down the court, and he goes down in history.
Speaker 2: We'll be right back after a few words for the
Speaker 2: grown ups. Who Gabe, I'm still feeling that song.
Speaker 6: I'm feeling inspired me too.
Speaker 5: I think I finally got the courage to tell Robot
Speaker 5: Voice that I'm keeping all my laboratory modifications, even if
Speaker 5: it means we have to listen to NonStop talk radio.
Speaker 2: No talk radio. It's too horrible.
Speaker 5: I know, Gabe, I know I'll do everything in my
Speaker 5: power to stop that from happening.
Speaker 2: I'm back, Robot Voice. I've been doing some thinking.
Speaker 5: Another Loola, just hold on a minute, Slower doesn't have
Speaker 5: our best interests in mind. They set out rules for
Speaker 5: countless grid labs and bunkers that have completely different owners
Speaker 5: and residents. There's no way for them to know what
Speaker 5: we need in here. So even if I'm not supposed to,
Speaker 5: I'm still going to make improvements to this place, because
Speaker 5: they'll make all of our lives better.
Speaker 3: I'm convincing, argument, Miminy. However, the slower protocol in my
Speaker 3: programming prevents me from being convinced.
Speaker 2: I thought about that too.
Speaker 5: Let me install something I called the Fasta override, the
Speaker 5: Feticini Alfredo shortcut transfer of.
Speaker 2: Authority Spaghetti science.
Speaker 5: Was this upgrade, you'll be able to circumvent any slower
Speaker 5: restrictions my fires.
Speaker 3: You are my Wiresini, and I love it.
Speaker 10: Wow.
Speaker 2: I didn't ask you to do the Italian accent. You
Speaker 2: did not, so we can keep the changes.
Speaker 3: We may keep the changes, Mimy, although you must reorganize
Speaker 3: your quarters my state.
Speaker 2: And what about the quarters that don't have states?
Speaker 3: You may take those through the arcade and win me
Speaker 3: a tiny basketball who that's.
Speaker 2: Actually a pretty good idea. I will do that.
Speaker 5: But first, let's wrap up this episode with an interview
Speaker 5: between an incredible kid named Messiah, an NBA legend, Jalen Rose.
Speaker 3: Good idea, go.
Speaker 2: Kroco go, No, no, no, wait, not again.
Speaker 5: Today we're talking with former professional basketball player and co
Speaker 5: founder of the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, Jalen Rose. He'll
Speaker 5: be talking with Messiah, a fourteen year old who attends
Speaker 5: his academy in Detroit, Michigan. One note. Since recording this interview,
Speaker 5: Bill Russell passed away at age eighty eight, leaving a
Speaker 5: legacy of his legendary play on the court and his
Speaker 5: powerful voice for justice off the court.
Speaker 8: Hey, mister Rose, how you doing.
Speaker 14: Thank you Messiah for taking the time to not only
Speaker 14: interview me, but to learn about one of the greatest
Speaker 14: four founders, not only in the history of sports, but
Speaker 14: of American history.
Speaker 5: Hey Messiah, do you want to ask Jalen a question
Speaker 5: about Bill Russell?
Speaker 8: How do you think Bill Russell's legacy left the mark
Speaker 8: on the world.
Speaker 14: I'll talk sports initially, so many times when you talk
Speaker 14: about who's the best, people don't actually digest, think about
Speaker 14: what they've seen, take all of the information in and
Speaker 14: give an educated hypothesis. What people now do is ring count.
Speaker 14: So when you say Tom Brady's the goat, you're gonna
Speaker 14: say it because he got seven rings. Michael George the
Speaker 14: goat because he has six rings. But here's the unique
Speaker 14: thing about Bill Russell. He has more rings than any
Speaker 14: athlete ever eleven as a player and also as the
Speaker 14: first black coach in the NBA as well, and so
Speaker 14: I don't see an athlete surpassing what he accomplished. As
Speaker 14: it relates to rings, analytics have now in a lot
Speaker 14: of ways become the calling card for athletics, which now
Speaker 14: we just only look at your championship rings and not
Speaker 14: judge you as a human.
Speaker 8: Being outside of basketball. He also was a civil rights activist,
Speaker 8: like he was a leader.
Speaker 14: When you start to speak about activism, that means you
Speaker 14: have an opinion, and it gives people a chance to say, well,
Speaker 14: I just like the way you play basketball. I really
Speaker 14: don't want to hear your opinion. That's really what I'm
Speaker 14: saying when I tell you to shut up and dribble.
Speaker 14: And so Bill Russell was the first person to acknowledge
Speaker 14: that I'm going to be the greatest champion and the
Speaker 14: greatest spokesman. And that wasn't encouraged. That wasn't the route
Speaker 14: that he took for stardom, and I'm grateful.
Speaker 2: For that, Masiah.
Speaker 5: What are you curious to learn about Jalen's experience as
Speaker 5: an athlete?
Speaker 8: What would you say was the most challenging thing about
Speaker 8: your journey to become a basketball player and how did
Speaker 8: you overcome those challenges?
Speaker 14: See the most challenging thing about being a basketball players,
Speaker 14: People and athletes sometimes don't put themselves as a human
Speaker 14: being first. The thing I always try to do is
Speaker 14: be more than a jock. So I remember times when
Speaker 14: we had late practices or games and I was like,
Speaker 14: I'm still gonna be in class tomorrow when I know
Speaker 14: people think I'm gonna be late or try to be
Speaker 14: absent or feeling myself because I just had thirty five
Speaker 14: points last night. For me, that was the toughest part
Speaker 14: to get people to see me as a person and
Speaker 14: for me to have more goals than just basketball.
Speaker 8: That's great because you got some people like in the
Speaker 8: world that just only want us focus on basketball for
Speaker 8: some one thing. But maybe if that don't work out,
Speaker 8: you can focus on other things as well. You can
Speaker 8: do other things in life. Somebody might play basketball, they
Speaker 8: might want to be a doctor, be a poet, something anything.
Speaker 14: There's no job, no career that you can solely do forever.
Speaker 14: I don't care how good you are at it. Doing
Speaker 14: multiple things in multiple industries is actually not only going
Speaker 14: to be a key to your happiness, but a function
Speaker 14: of your success.
Speaker 5: Before we go Jalen, how would you sum up Bill
Speaker 5: Russell's legacy?
Speaker 14: Bill Russell number six is iconic as a human being,
Speaker 14: as an athlete, Eleven championships in thirteen years, one of
Speaker 14: the most infectious smiles, the biggest laughs that you'll ever
Speaker 14: hear in sports. One of the guys that when he spoke,
Speaker 14: everybody listened.
Speaker 2: Thank you both. This was a great conversation.
Speaker 8: I just want to thank you so much for this
Speaker 8: opportunity to just talk to you and give you an interview,
Speaker 8: and this is great, and thank you very much.
Speaker 14: Thank you. I appreciate the love. Stay focused, stay disciplined
Speaker 14: in or a learner exit a leader.
Speaker 5: Listeners, thanks for joining in today and for going on
Speaker 5: a journey with me to learn all.
Speaker 2: About Bill Russell.
Speaker 5: And a huge thanks to today's guests Jalen Rose and
Speaker 5: Messiah remember our parents and teachers. You can download a
Speaker 5: free activity related to today's episode by visiting story pirates
Speaker 5: dot com slash historical Records. We'll be back next week
Speaker 5: with another episode, another song, and another hero. After all,
Speaker 5: someone's gotta make more historical records. Until then, remember to
Speaker 5: make history, you gotta make some noise. Signing off, This
Speaker 5: is Miminy, I Mean Memony, I've had too much Crockle
Speaker 5: Rate Bye.
Speaker 15: Historical Records is produced in partnership with Story Pirate Studios,
Speaker 15: Questlove's two one five Entertainment John Glickman and iHeart Podcasts
Speaker 15: Executive produced by Emir Questlove, Thompson, John Glickman, Lee Overtree
Speaker 15: and Benjamin Salka. Executive produced for iHeart Podcasts by Noel Brown.
Speaker 15: Producers for Story Pirate Studios are Isabella Riccio, Sam Bear,
Speaker 15: Eric Gerson, Andrew Miller, Lee Overtree, Peter McNerney, Denisa wharton
Speaker 15: By and niminy Ware. Producers for two one five are
Speaker 15: Sean g Brittany, Benjamin and Sarah Zolman, hosted by niminy Ware.
Speaker 15: Our head writer is Duke Doyle. Our historians are Gabe
Speaker 15: Pacheco and Lee Polus. Music supervision for two one five
Speaker 15: by Stroe Elliott. Scoring and music supervision for Story Pirate
Speaker 15: Studios by Eric Gerson. Sound designed and mixing by Sam
Speaker 15: Bear at the Relic Room in New York City. Additional
Speaker 15: recording by Brett Tuban, song mastering by Josh Theme, song
Speaker 15: by Dan Foster and Eric Gerson, and produced by Eric Erson.
Speaker 15: Production coordination by Isabel Riccio, Production management by Maggie Lee.
Speaker 15: The line producer for Story Pired Studios is Glennis Brault.
Speaker 15: PR for Story Pirate Studios is provided by Naomi Shaw.
Speaker 15: Episode artwork by Camilla Franklin. This episode was written by
Speaker 15: Minsby Karam. The song Bill Russell was written by Dan
Speaker 15: Foster and produced by Micah James. Special guests Jalen Rose
Speaker 15: and Kid Interviewer Messiah. This episode features performances by Kelsey Bear,
Speaker 15: Hannah Corrigan, Mikah James, Peter McNerney, Megan O'Neil, Emily Olcott,
Speaker 15: Lee Overtree, Gabe Pacheco, Lee Polis, and Bill Schaeffer.
Speaker 4: Yes