Boston Celtics
Jeannine Russell has filed a lawsuit alleging that comments that Karen Russell made about the Celtics legend’s health have tarnished his legacy.
Jeannine Russell Pat Greenhouse/ The Boston Globe Staff
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Jeannine Russell, the widow of legendary Celtics center Bill Russell, has filed a lawsuit against his daughter Karen Russell, according to multiple reports.
The lawsuit alleges that comments Karen Russell made in a Boston Globe column last October “tarnished” her father’s legacy.
“My dad had well-known cognitive issues,” Karen Russell told the Globe. “He was also hard of hearing at the end of his life, which made it hard for everyone to be in contact with him.”
The comments were made in a sports column called “Bill Russell’s daughter had never met Bob Cousy. Until now.”
In the story, Karen Russell visits the 97-year-old legendary Celtics point guard and says that she wants Cousy to have peace in his golden years. Cousy had said in the past that he should have been more sensitive to the anguish Russell felt living as a Black man in Boston when they were teammates during the 1950’s and 60’s. He has expressed feelings about the guilt about the subject publicly, on several occasions.
Karen Russell was having a conversation with one of Cousy’s daughters when she was asked if Bill Russell had dementia. Bob Cousy’s wife, Marie, had battled dementia near the end of her life, according to the Globe story. The aforementioned quote attributed to Karen Russell came after that question.
The lawsuit claims Karen Russell’s comments are not true and that they had violated a contract made at the end of a previous legal dispute.
According to the Globe, Karen Russell and her siblings took Jeannine Russell to court in 2015 over Bill Russell’s mental competency. They argued that he was a “vulnerable adult” who was being taken advantage of by his wife, who has the legal right to his name, image, and likeness.
According to the Boston Herald, Jeannine said she is on a mission to “preserve” her husband’s legacy.
The 2015 case was settled out of court with “valid written agreements including a document called ‘Confidentiality and Nondisparagement Agreement and Mutual Releases’ (CNA).”
“After execution of the CNA, Karen materially breached the Agreements; and specifically, the CNA,” Jeannine Russell’s legal team said in a statement.
“Though Karen made this claim, it was not true and was not substantiated in any proceeding,” the statement reads. “Indeed, Bill was cleared by a medical professional to make his own decisions in connection with the (action). Karen voluntarily accepted over half a million dollars in consideration to retract this claim and agree not to make it publicly.”
Bill Russell, who won an NBA-record 11 titles with the Celtics as a player, along with two as a coach during his final two seasons, died in 2022.
The NBA retired Russell’s No. 6 jersey across the league. He, the NHL’s Wayne Gretzky, and MLB’s Jackie Robinson are the only figures in the four major North American sports leagues to have league-wide jersey retirement.
The NBA named it’s Finals MVP award after Russell. Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the most recent winner. The Celtics’ Jaylen Brown won the award in 2024.
Russell was awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 2010. There is a statue of him outside of Boston City Hall. The City of Boston renamed the North Washington Street Bridge the “Bill Russell Bridge” in 2025.
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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