Latrell Mitchell spent most of his post-match press conference praising his teammates, but took the time to issue one clear warning to the rest of the competition: get ready.
“I think it just sends a message to the rest of the competition now,” he said after the Bunnies’ 26-0 win over Parramatta.
“Look over your shoulders, we’re coming. South Sydney.”
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It was at this ground two years ago where Souths’ season effectively ended – as Mitchell, in the midst of a virtuoso performance, succumbed to a hamstring injury which put him out for the rest of 2020.
The Rabbitohs’ campaign eventually ended with a close loss to Penrith, where fans were left wondering if a player of his quality would have affected the scoreline.
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Fast forward 12 months and it was the exact same situation, opponent, and thoughts of what could have been – although this time, those wounds were entirely self-inflicted, Mitchell’s season ending after a thick high shot on Joey Manu.
But right now, there’s no such concern. They’ll get star center Campbell Graham back in the next couple of weeks, Dean Hawkins showed he’s capable of deputizing admirably for Lachlan Ilias, and most importantly, Mitchell is fit and firing.
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“Everyone that stood in tonight, Dean Hawkins for instance, really turned up and played his role – and that’s what we want,” Mitchell said.
It’s still Penrith’s competition to lose – but Souths are firmly in that bunch of teams just below them, who, if things went right, could spring an upset.
As long as Mitchell is fit, the sky is the limit – particularly when Cody Walker seems to be an entirely different player when his star fullback is in the team.
“It’s really enjoyable to see him take control of the attack and really do his job. He’s so instinctive, and one of the best in the game,” Mitchell said of Walker.
“Once he’s on, we know he’s playing really good footy and there’s a knock on effect. I know he’s on, and it makes me feel good.”
Latrell Mitchell makes a break against the Eels on Friday night. (Getty)
The stats don’t lie. Since Mitchell’s return, the Rabbitohs have played seven games, won six of them, and scored 224 points along the way.
Only a golden point defeat at Shark Park has prevented them from perfection since an embarrassing loss to the Dragons, which now looms as a turning point for their season.
The games don’t get any easier from here, with their final three matches coming against Penrith, North Queensland, and finishing at the opening of the new Sydney Football Stadium against their arch-rivals, the Roosters.
A couple of months ago, with the team in danger of falling out of the finals entirely, this slate of games may have looked like a murderer’s row – but instead, the hunted have become the hunters.
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Paul Green’s life in pictures: From Sharks prodigy to premiership-winning coach
Manly Sea Eagles NRL player Manase Fainu will remain on bail over the weekend after being found guilty of stabbing a church youth leader in a brawl outside a Sydney dance.
Key points:
Fainu had pleaded not guilty
He was stood down under the NRL’s no-fault policy in 2019
Fainu played 34 NRL matches across the 2018 and 2019 seasons
The 24-year-old pleaded not guilty to wounding Faamanu Levi with intent to cause grievous bodily harm at Wattle Grove late at night on October 25, 2019.
In his evidence to the Parramatta District Court jury, he denied being the stabber saying when he heard “knife knife” he ran away scared for his own safety.
But the jurors took just over two hours to return a guilty verdict on Thursday afternoon, prompting prosecutor Emma Curran to apply for immediate detention.
Judge Nanette Williams adjourned the application until Monday because of the late hour and because Friday’s industrial strike by prison officers would mean he could not be taken into custody if she so ruled.
Fainu’s barrister, Margaret Cunneen SC, opposed the application saying he had not breached any bail conditions over the last three years.
“This obviously will be appealed as a perverse verdict in view of the evidence,” she said.
Noting it would be surprising if full-time custody was not imposed, the judge ordered Fainu to report to police daily, live with his parents and not leave the address without one of them, and not contact any witnesses.
Tony Quach testified to seeing Fainu plunge a steak knife into the back of Mr Levi in the car park brawl, referring to him looking angry and wearing a sling.
The jury was told the footballer had recently undergone shoulder surgery and had his arm in a sling that evening.
The stabbing occurred after an earlier fight on the dancefloor of the alcohol-free charity event organized by the Church of the Latter Day Saints.
Ms Cunneen had submitted that in the heat of the moment, with the darkness, chaos and speed of it unfolding, the jury could not be certain who stabbed Mr Levi.
But they could be certain the NRL hooker, never before in trouble for any violence, did not, she said.
The jurors were told Fainu and his friend Uona Faingaa were involved in the dancefloor fight and ushered outside by Mr Levi who told them not to fight on church grounds.
CCTV footage showed Fainu with a white towel draped over his head and his four friends jumping back over a fence and into a car park where the brawl occurred with Mr Levi.
Ms Curran contended that when things looked like they were getting out of hand, Fainu pulled out the knife and plunged it into Mr Levi’s back.
“Not content with having stabbed him once … [Fainu] moved around to the front of Mr Levi and swung the knife upwards towards [his] face cutting him across the eyebrow,” Ms Curran said.
“Then he ran back to the car.”
Another witness involved in the brawl told the court that he saw a male in a sling approach his brother holding a knife.
“The accused was the only person in a sling. And a sling is quite a distinctive feature,” Ms Curran said.
She argued that Fainu was an unimpressive and evasive witness who gave contradictory and occasionally fanciful answers.
She asked the jury to reject such evidence including his reason for scaling a three-metre tall brick fence to get back onto the church grounds, rather than entering through the front gate, because “it was easier”.
He told the jury the white towel draped over his head was a “security blanket” doused in cold water because he had a headache, not to hide his identity.
Fainu also denied holding, seeing, or knowing of a weapon being brought that evening.
He was stood down under the NRL’s no-fault policy when charged in late October 2019.
Fainu played 34 NRL matches across the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
The Warriors have powered home with three tries in the last six minutes to demolish the Bulldogs 42-18 at Mt Smart Stadium on Friday night.
With Tohu Harris and Addin Fonua-Blake turning on the power and Shaun Johnson turning back the clock, the Warriors sent the parochial Auckland crowd home happy with the seven-tries-to-three win.
The Warriors opened the scoring after seven minutes when Johnson put center Viliami Vailea into a huge hole and the youngster celebrated his return from a broken jaw with a try.
Just four minutes later the home side were in again when Dallin Watene-Zelezniak intercepted a Matt Burton pass and raced 85 meters to post his eighth try of the season. Reece Walsh’s conversion made it 12-0.
The Bulldogs were able to strike back in the 17th minute when Burton was cut down a meter short and a quick play-the-ball gave Jake Averillo the chance to power over from close range.
An error in the first set after points by the Bulldogs handed the Warriors field position and Edward Kosi made them pay when he finished off slick lead-up by Johnson and Walsh.
The Bulldogs struck first after the break when Walsh spilled a ball meters from his own tryline and Kyle Flanagan picked up the scraps to post his third try of the season. Burton’s conversion cut the margin to six.
Euan Aitken looked to have extended the Warriors’ lead in the 49th minute when he held off three defenders and reached out to plant the ball but replays showed he had lost control.
Just two minutes later the Bulldogs drew level when Josh Addo-Carr picked off a Johnson pass and sprinted 90 meters to score but the Warriors continued to mount pressure and crossed for their fourth try through Eliesa Katoa in the 57th minute to lead 24-18.
With 12 minutes to play the Warriors seemed to have extended their lead when Freddy Lussick found Josh Curran after collecting a Johnson bomb but replays showed a knock on by Watene-Zelezniak in the leap.
Fittingly it was one of the Warriors’ favorite sons Johnson who put the game out of reach with a trademark solo try in the 75th minute and Stacey Jones’ men were home at 30-18.
Kosi then finished off slick lead-up work by Reece Walsh to complete his double and the score had blown out to 36-18.
Fonua-Blake capped a superb game when he grabbed his first try of the season to round out a big win.
Match Snapshot
Bulldogs center Braidon Burns was placed on report in the seventh minute after a late challenge on Warriors kicker Daejarn Asi.
Bulldogs five-eighth Matt Burton went on report in the 35th minute for a shoulder charge.
Addin Fonua-Blake put in an outstanding 33-minute stint to start the game for the Warriors with 104 meters from nine runs.
Bulldogs winger Josh Addo-Carr has scored 16 tries in his past 15 games.
Warriors winger Edward Kosi has scored seven tries in his past four games.
With the Bulldogs down by six and desperately defending their line Josh Addo-Carr came up with a huge play when he anticipated Shaun Johnson’s long cut-out pass and swooped on an intercept. From a standing start ‘The Foxx’ slipped into overdrive and raced 90 meters to post the 118th try of his 147-game career. After failing to score a try in his first five matches in Canterbury colors Addo-Carr has exploded into action with two hat-tricks and three doubles in the ensuing 15 games.
“It was a big focus for us all week around attitude. A change in mindset to what we had the week before. You can fix attitude in a week, you can’t fix a lot of structure, and obviously coming home, there’s a good sign there that it really boosts this group. [next year] and these guys are in a good mood with their family around them. Today’s performance was off the back of the players bringing energy but also off playing in front of your crowd and what they bring.” – Warriors coach Stacey Jones
“I wasn’t happy with a lot of things we did defensively, we need to be a lot better there. We’re not building pressure on the opposition enough to wear them down and they’re building pressure on us, and it’s all to do with our defence. We need to fix that up and stop them making as many meters as they are making.” – Bulldogs coach Mick Potter
The Warriors head to Townsville to face the Cowboys in Round 23 before a daunting trip to face Penrith in Round 24 and a final round celebration in front of their own fans against the Titans on September 3. They should have Jesse Arthars and Chanel Harris-Tavita back on deck next week and enforcer Ben Murdoch-Masila the following week.
The Bulldogs face a tough run home with clashes against the Eels (a), Sharks (a) and Sea Eagles (h).
– This article originally appeared on stuff.co.nz and is reproduced with permission
Cricket great Ross Taylor says he edited sections of racially insensitive comments out of his new autobiography to protect the identity of some Black Caps players.
Taylor has revealed, in Ross Taylor Black & White, that he was a victim of casual racism and inappropriate comments around race during his iconic cricket career.
He grew up learning about his Samoan and European heritage but Taylor always saw himself simply as a Kiwi.
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But he admits he was looked upon differently, at times.
During the editing process for Ross Taylor Black & White, co-written by Paul Thomas, Taylor removed some stories involving racist comments for two reasons.
“I didn’t want it to detract from a lot of the other good stories that are out there,” Taylor told Sky Sports.
“But at the same time, a few of the stories involved a few of the players who are still (around) the team, so I didn’t want it to compromise them or put them in a compromising position because they’ve still got to have their career.”
Ross Taylor celebrates a century against England. (Getty)
Taylor said of racially insensitive comments: “You are subject to it at different stages. The changing room banter, as I talk about, is almost the barometer.”
In the book, Taylor wrote: “A teammate used to tell me, ‘You’re half a good guy, Ross, but which half is good? You don’t know what I’m referring to’. I was pretty sure I did
“Other players also had to put up with comments that dwelt on their ethnicity. In all probability, a Pakeha listening to those sorts of comments would think, ‘Oh, that’s okay, it’s just a bit of a banter’.
“But he’s hearing it as a white person, and it’s not directed at people like him. So, there’s no pushback; no one corrects them.
New Zealand’s Ross Taylor. (AP)
“Then the onus falls on the targets. You wonder if you should pull them up but worry that you’ll create a bigger problem or be accused of playing the race card by inflating harmless banter into racism. It’s easier to develop a thick skin and let it slide, but is that the right thing to do?
“Maybe not but that’s the way I dealt with it at the time.”
Taylor noted the New Zealand team management had also unwittingly touched a nerve.
“Not long after Mike ‘Roman’ Sandle became Black Caps manager, he said to Victoria (Taylor’s wife) that, when he was manager of the Blues rugby team, he’d observed that the Māori and Island boys struggled with managing money, ‘ so if Ross wants to talk about it…’
“Victoria laughed it off, and it probably didn’t take Mike long to realize that, however well-meaning, he’d been a bit hasty in his assumptions.
Kane Williamson’s New Zealand team were crowned the inaugural Test champions. (Getty)
“When I came back into the team after the captaincy drama, I found myself sitting next to (coach) Mike Hesson in the Koru Lounge at Dunedin Airport. He’d come straight from his house. ‘My cleaner’s Samoan,’ he said. ‘She’s a lovely lady, hard-working, very trustworthy’.
“I have no doubt that Roman and Hess and the guys who engaged in the ‘banter’ would be dismayed to learn that their remarks landed with a thud.
“Let me be clear: I don’t think for one minute that they were coming from a racist perspective. I think they were insensitive and lacked the imagination and empathy to put themselves in the other person’s shoes.
“What to them is a bit of harmless banter is actually confronting for the targets because it tells them they’re seen as being different. Instead of the message being, ‘You’re one of us, mate,’ it is, in effect , ‘You’re one of them’.”
Players, including teammates, would ask questions about Taylor’s ethnicity, especially given the fact he had a European-sounding name.
He told Sky Sport: “Knowing my name was Luteru, was something … when you start flying internationally and you get to your room as it’s Luteru Taylor and your teammates are going ‘who is this guy’?”
Ross Taylor in action for New Zealand. (APA)
Taylor said talking about racism, when he first burst onto the Black Caps scene 16 years ago, might not have been frowned upon but would not be as well received as what it is today.
“We’ve moved on a lot that I can even talk about, I think,” Taylor said in the interview.
Growing up in Masterton, Taylor said there weren’t many Māori children playing cricket, and even fewer of Samoan heritage.
One of the country’s greatest ever batters, Taylor has now called on New Zealand Cricket to “put more resources into the Polynesian community”.
“Cricket in New Zealand is a pretty white sport. For much of my career I’ve been an anomaly, a brown face in a vanilla line-up. That has its challenges, many of which aren’t readily apparent to your teammates or the cricketing public,” Taylor said, revealing people assumed he was Māori or Indian.
Ross Taylor batting against Australia. (Getty)
Taylor noted that former All Black and league star Sonny Bill Williams felt young Māori and Pasifika who were held back by a lack of confidence and their personal circumstances, and therefore didn’t fulfill their potential.
“I know from personal experience how true that is,” Taylor wrote.
“I’d hope that one of the takeaways from my career is that good cricketers can emerge from a Polynesian background.”
He admitted cricket gear could be expensive compared to other sports “which probably puts some Polynesian parents off the game”.
“But maybe New Zealand Cricket should be putting more resources into the Polynesian community because there must be more where I came from,” he wrote.
New Zealand Cricket said initiatives were under way in this area and Taylor, with his experience, was involved in these.
“Ross has been a fantastic player for the Black Caps; his contribution to cricket in New Zealand has been immense,” a NZC spokesperson said.
“He currently sits on an NZC working group aimed at improving the game’s engagement with Pasifika communities, and we greatly value his input.”
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Bailey Humphrey is emerging as a top-10 draft bolter, according to AFL Media’s draft guru Cal Twomey.
The Gippsland Power captain has dealt with a knee injury in 2022, which forced him to miss the Under-18 National Championships, but when he has been in action he has been superb.
Twomey says Humphrey plays as a forward who spends time in the midfield and possesses dynamic traits, similar to Collingwood’s Jordan De Goey.
Humphrey, 17, is now in the mix for an unlikely top-10 spot in this year’s draft.
“Put this name down in your book – Bailey Humphrey,” Twomey said on SEN Breakfast.
“I have started the year in red-hot form. I saw his Round 1 game for Gippsland Power and he starred.
“He continued to play good footy at NAB League level, then he got injured with a knee issue. He missed the under-18 carnival for Vic Country, but he’s back in a big way the past couple of weeks.
“I have kicked four goals and five behinds from 31 disposals a couple of weeks ago. Last week I kicked 1.4 from 16 touches and missed a bit of the second half with a head knock.
“He was everywhere in the first quarter. All the talk amongst the recruiters during that game was about Bailey Humphrey and how good this guy could be.
“A 185-centimeter forward/midfielder, genuine power, explosiveness, excitement. A lot of clubs were there on Sunday watching him and seeing what he could do given he’s missed some carnival time.
“There’s a bit of Jordan De Goey to the way he plays, so think about that type of player.”
Humphrey is likely to play for Vic Country against Vic Metro in the decider of the National Championships in AFL Grand Final week.
North Melbourne are reportedly set to land the man they covet with the news to be announced next week.
The bottom of the ladder club have offered master coach Alastair Clarkson a monster five-year contract, according to The Age’s Jake Niall.
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Clarkson’s signature has been the hottest commodity around the league with multiple clubs said to be chasing his services.
Along with North Melbourne, the GWS Giants were in hot pursuit of the mastermind who led Hawthorn to four premiership victories.
The Giants have not yet offered Clarkson a contract and while Niall reports Clarkson has not yet responded to North’s offer – Triple M’s Tom Browne says otherwise.
“Coaching update, this is just dot joining according to sources you speak to. There’s not a lot of leaks coming from North Melbourne or the Giants coaching process,” Browne said on Triple M.
“It’s certainly the strong view of sources that I speak to that Alastair Clarkson will end up as soon as next Friday at North Melbourne.
“That remains to be seen but that’s the consistent view that I’m getting is that North Melbourne is very much in the box seat to land Alastair Clarkson for a whole host of reasons.
“The Giants are now looking closely, very closely, at Adem Yze and I think they will also sound out Ross Lyon at some point in their process as well.
“Yze Giants, Clarkson North is the jungle drums in terms of the sources that I speak to at the moment.”
Journalist Mark Robinson believes a Clarkson-North Melbourne deal is “past the post”.
“Everyone’s a little bit scared to declare it because Alastair Clarkson has got the ability to change his mind and say: ‘I’m not coaching’,” he said on 3AW.
“But the further this goes on, I find that can’t happen.”
North have been the reported front runner for Clarkson’s signature for multiple weeks. A report in late July indicated he was seeking an eye-watering contract of $1.6ma year. Clarkson rubbed those reports.
Clarkson and Gerard Whateley co-hosted a function where the Hawks mentor put rumors of his big payday to join North Melbourne to bed.
“How explicit do you want me to be?” Whateley said on SEN when asked about Clarkson’s response from her.
“(He says it’s) bulls**t.
“That was Alastair Clarkson’s reaction to what’s in the public domain about $1.6 million to join North Melbourne.”
Brisbane have enhanced their AFL top-four prospects and all but buried St Kilda’s finals hopes with a hard-fought 15-point win at Docklands Stadium.
Hugh McCluggage (23 disposals) and Cam Rayner (four goals) starred for the Lions, who dominated the first half on Friday night and resisted a stunning fightback from their hosts.
Mason Wood (four goals) and Tim Membrey (three) helped drag the Saints back into the contest as Brad Crouch, Seb Ross and Jack Sinclair lifted during the third term.
But a string of wasted chances in front of goal — most notably by Max King, who finished with 0.5 — ultimately proved costly for St Kilda as Brisbane steadied to post a 12.9 (81) to 9.12 (66) victory on Friday night.
Rayner kicked three goals in a decisive final-quarter contribution, with the Lions adding 4.1 to 0.5 for the term.
The result lifted Brisbane to second spot on the ladder, though Collingwood, Melbourne and Sydney have games in hand and can leapfrog the Lions with wins over the weekend.
Cam Rayner played an inspired last quarter to steer Brisbane to victory.(Getty Images: Daniel Pockett)
St Kilda now have to rely on a string of other results falling their way in order to keep alive their chances of gatecrashing the top-eight.
The Saints will likely take on Sydney in the last match of the home-and-away season without midfield accumulator Crouch, who is in trouble for a high bump on Brisbane defender Darcy Gardiner.
And Jimmy Webster is also set to missing after being substituted out of the Lions clash with a hamstring injury before quarter-time.
Webster’s setback came as the Saints’ back-line dealt with a deluge of opposition forward entries that Brisbane couldn’t make count on the scoreboard.
The first goal was against the run of play when St Kilda livewire Jack Higgins made the most of an open forward line to bounce through a drop punt from 60 meters.
There were four lead changes in the opening term, with Eric Hipwood’s goal on the siren giving the Lions a one-point advantage.
The Saints brought the physical heat from the outset against the Lions.(Getty Images: Daniel Pockett)
The visitors dominated the second quarter, building a 26-point lead off a 32-17 advantage in inside-50s through the first half as McCluggage pulled the strings in midfield.
The Saints flipped the script in the third quarter as Wood and Membrey kicked two goals each, briefly putting the home side back in front.
King’s tally included three behinds during the third quarter, including two from set shots about 20 meters out.
He had a chance to level the scores during the final term but missed from 40 meters, with the Lions going coast-to-coast from the kick-in that resulted in a Joe Daniher goal.
Rayner iced the result with a superb curling shot from the boundary.
Daniher and Hipwood finished with two goals each, while Brownlow medalist Lachie Neale (16 disposals) was outplayed by impressive minder Marcus Windahger (21).
Isaiah Papali’i’s management has reportedly confirmed the Eels backrower will honor his Tigers contract, ending speculation surrounding his future.
According to the SMH, Tim Sheens, who will take the coaching reins in 2023, spoke to agent Dan O’Loughlin regarding Papali’i’s doubts.
The merger club were reportedly assured the 23-year-old would land in Leichhardt for the club’s pre-season training alongside star recruit Apisai Koroisau.
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Papali’i previously explained he wants to have “no regrets” regarding his decision.
“Obviously people ask me about it, just even on the street or family and friends are hitting me up but that’s kind of for my manager look after and even if I don’t stay here or I do go next year, I want to make sure that this year has no regrets,” he said to 9 News.
When asked why he had doubts about making the move, Papali’i said it was Maguire’s axing that made him question his decision.
“I think it was the coaching axing that went on,” Papali’i said.
“When I did sign it was talking to Madge — he’s an awesome coach. That rattled the cage a bit and I guess you have to have those conversations and I guess that was a massive factor for me.”
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Papali’i will be a key player for the Tigers, who are hoping to rebuild under Sheens, Marshall and Farrah’s tutelage.
“The only thing I will say is I’m looking forward to coaching him,” Sheens said.
Sheens’ Tigers rebuild is underway, with reports suggesting the club will make a play for former Raiders backrower John Bateman.
The Tigers have also reportedly spoken to Papali’i’s management regarding their vision for the club under the new coaching structure.
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BROWN’S LUCRATIVE CONTRACT TALKS
Parramatta star Dylan Brown’s management has reportedly urged the table a lucrative contract extension to keep the young gun at the Eels as rivals circle.
According to The Daily Telegraph, the 22-year-old’s agent met with Parramatta powerbrokers this week as the five-eighth was reportedly labeled a retention priority.
While Brown’s management is hard at work, the New Zealand international expressed his desire to stay out of any negotiations until after this year’s World Cup.
“My manager would have communicated that (to the Eels) to leave me alone until the season is done,” Brown said.
“I just don’t like it. I’d rather not sort that stuff out (during the season).
“Any distraction is a bad distraction when you are playing footy.”
Brown’s preference to put extensions talks on hold could worry Eels bosses, with rivals being able to make a play for the in-form playmaker come November 1.
Reports suggest Brown’s preference is to stay in Sydney’s west and the Eels mass player exodus has left them in a strong position to offer Brown an upgraded deal.
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Brown has enjoyed the best season of his four-year career in 2022, recording 14 tries assists with a new-found confidence.
The young gun explained coach Brad Arthur has been instilling that confidence in him, and fans have been treated to a full display of his running game this year.
“The last couple of years … I have always been, not afraid, but I would second guess myself,” Brown said.
“I feel like you have got to go with your gut feeling sometimes and just be confident in what you are doing.
“You’re not getting selected in an NRL team to second guess yourself and not be confident.
“I’m in the team for a reason. Brad is trying to drive that into me. I feel like the more ball I get the better the left edge will go.”
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US basketball legend Bill Russell’s number 6 jersey is being retired across the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Key points:
The NBA will permanently retire the jersey number for all teams
Players like LeBron James, who currently wears the number, can continue to wear it until their careers end
Russell, an 11-time NBA champion, died on July 31 at age 88
The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association made the announcement on Thursday, permanently retiring the number worn by the 11-time champion and civil rights activist, who was good enough to have been enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach.
Russell is the first player to have his number retired league-wide.
The Boston Celtics star died at age 88 on July 31.
“Bill Russell’s unparalleled success on the court and pioneering civil rights activism deserve to be honored in a unique and historic way,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said.
“Permanently retiring his number 6 across every NBA team ensures that Bill’s transcendent career will always be recognised.”
Players who currently wear number 6 — including the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James — may continue doing so.
But the number cannot be issued again, the league said.
Bill Russell was the most prolific winner in the NBA’s history. (AP Photo: Michael Dwyer)
All NBA players will wear a patch on the right shoulder of their jerseys this season, the league said, and every NBA court will display a clover-shaped logo with the number 6 on the sideline near the scorer’s table.
The Celtics have “separate and unique recognition for him on their uniforms” planned, the NBA said.
Russell was the most prolific winner in NBA history, an 11-time champion during a 13-year career — winning the last two of those titles as a player-coach — and the first Black coach in any of the major US pro sports to win to championship.
He marched with Martin Luther King Jr, stood with Muhammad Ali and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama.
And having his number retired league-wide puts him in a very exclusive club.
Major League Baseball (MLB) retired civil rights icon Jackie Robinson’s number 42 jersey across the league in 1997.
Jackie Robinson’s number 42 was retired by Major League Baseball.(Supplied)
Robinson broke professional baseball’s color barrier 50 years earlier by becoming the first Black player to play in the major leagues in the modern era.
On April 15 each year, every MLB player wears the number 42 in honor of Robinson.
The NHL, upon Wayne Gretzky’s retirement in 1999, said his number 99 would be retired league-wide in honor of that sport’s all-time scoring leader.
And now, Russell gets the same treatment.
Russell called Robinson a hero, once saying that “he showed me the way to be a man in professional sports.”
Robinson held Russell in high esteem as well.
Rachel Robinson, her widow, asked Russell to be a pallbearer at her husband’s funeral in 1972.
Tyson Fury has once again announced his retirement from boxing, despite revealing plans to return to the ring only four days ago.
The Gypsy King has fluctuated in and out of retirement he first announced following his stunning knockout victory over British rival Dillian Whyte in April.
Only as recently as Monday did Fury publicly announce his intention to return as he called out fellow heavyweight Derek Chisora, later stating long-term friend Isaac Lowe will replace SugarHill Steward as his new coach.
Tyson Fury has once again announced his decision to retire from boxing, on his 34th birthday
Fury first revealed his decision to retire after emphatically stopping Dillian Whyte (left) in April
Fury also publicly called out strongman Hafthor Bjornsson ahead of a proposed exhibition bout on Thursday, having flown out to Iceland to confront the 33-year-old in person – only to end up at the pub after finding out he was in a different country.
The Briton, on his 34th birthday, has performed a sudden U-turn, however, now revealing he will never return to the ring.
‘Massive thanks to everyone who had an input in my career over the years and after long hard conversations I’ve finally decided to walk away and on my 34th birthday I say bon voyage,’ he posted on his social media platforms.
Fury also thanked a number of those close to him for their help throughout his career, including promoter Frank Warren, his father John, trainers SugarHill Steward and Ben Davison, and wife Paris.
The Gypsy King – who has both claimed it would take £500million to return and that he wants to fight Anthony Joshua for free – gave no mention to the WBC belt he still owns, with president Mauricio Sulaiman previously insisting the world champion would be provided ample time to come to an official decision.
Fury revealed his latest update on social media as he thanked a number of those close to him
It comes after promoter Frank Warren (right) insisted Fury is itching to return to the ring
Fury’s announcement, which has been met by fierce scrutiny on social media, also comes just days after Warren insisted his fighter has ‘itchy feet’ and will likely return to the ring soon.
Warren admitted the outcome of the highly-anticipated August 20 rematch between Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk would impact his decision, with Fury widely expected to face the winner next in an historic undisputed showdown.
‘I think what’s going to happen is, see what happens on 20 [August] and the outcome of that, and that’ll determine what he intends to do in the future,’ Warren told talkSPORT.
‘My opinion – this is not from him, it’s from me: I think he will [return], because he’s a fighting man and he misses it. That’s what he does, he wants to fight.’
Warren insists Fury is awaiting the outcome of the rematch between Anthony Joshua (right) and Oleksandr Usyk (left) on August 20
Fury, who made his debut back in 2008, has claimed memorable victories over Wladimir Klitschko and Deontay Wilder, with his record currently standing at 32 wins, one draw and no defeats.
The champion has over the years been criticized for the lack of elite names on his resume, however, and the failure to secure an undisputed showdown against either Joshua or Usyk would not help his case.
Few believed Fury’s initial retirement claim, and few will believe his latest update, however, with US promoter Bob Arum earlier this week insisting the Gypsy King should not be taken seriously.
‘The truth is that he gets up in the morning and he figures how he can best stir up s*** and that’s what he does,’ Arum told Fight Freaks Unite.
‘You think Isaac [Lowe] take it seriously? Of course not, for Christ’s sake. [Fury] is just having fun. It’s his idea of fun. He’s getting a little antsy as we all are because we’re waiting.
‘If Usyk wins then there’s one path to take because then everybody is close and friendly and if Joshua wins then we’ve got to deal with (Joshua promoter) Eddie [Hearn] and all that stuff.’
