NBA legend Bill Russell out of hospital after health scare

WASHINGTON, United States – NBA legend Bill Russell, the former Boston Celtics center who won a record 11 league titles, said Saturday, May 19, he is out of hospital after being treated for dehydration. 

The 84-year-old icon, known for his civil rights activism during and after his playing career from 1956 to 1969, was taken by ambulance from his Seattle home to a nearby hospital Friday night.

Russell dismissed an early report he had been taken due to heart trouble and shortness of breath in a Twitter posting announcing he was out of the hospital.

“Thank you everyone for the kind thoughts,” Russell tweeted. “Yes I was taken to the hospital last night & as my wife likes to remind me I don’t drink enough.”

Russell even joked about his situation, adding, “On my way home & as most my friends know I don’t have a heart to give me trouble.”

Back home got my water getting ready for the #CelticsVsCavs Go get a win @celtics @celticslife @nbcsports @si @espn @twittersports #CUsRise  @thescore @tmzsports @bleacherreport Thank You again to everyone for the well wishes strange to read them when ur still alive! @NBA @msnbc pic.twitter.com/D030VhOWvd

— TheBillRussell (@RealBillRussell) May 19, 2018

Five-time NBA Most Valuable Player Russell, inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975, played his entire career for the Celtics dynasty team after helping the United States to 1956 Melbourne Olympic gold.

From 1966-1969 Russell served as coach and player for the Celtics, becoming the first African-American coach in North American pro sports and the first to guide a championship squad.

In 2011, then-US President Barack Obama awarded Russell the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his civil rights activism, including support for boxing legend Muhammad Ali after his ban for refusing induction into the US Army and taking part in Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 March on Washington. – Rappler.com