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Celtics legend Bill Russell died in 2022. (Matt Stone\/Boston Herald)<\/p>\nBill Russell\u2019s widow has sued the late Celtics legend\u2019s daughter, arguing she has \u201ctarnished\u201d her father\u2019s image with statements about his health.<\/p>\n
Jeannine Russell says she\u2019s on a mission to \u201cpreserve\u201d her husband\u2019s legacy, alleging Karen Russell of breaching a legal contract by making a claim that her father had \u201cwell-known cognitive issues.\u201d<\/p>\n
The complaint, filed in a Seattle Superior Court in Washington late last month, is the latest legal dispute between Russell\u2019s widow and children.<\/p>\n
Through her legal team, Jeannine Russell announced the complaint and highlighted some of its details in a press release Tuesday.<\/p>\n
A sticking point in the argument is a claim that Karen Russell made to the Boston Globe in an interview last October. The daughter was quoted saying, \u201cMy dad had well-known cognitive issues.\u201d<\/p>\n
The claim, Jeannine Russell argues, breached a\u00a0 so-called \u201cconfidentiality and nondisparagement agreement and mutual releases\u201d document (CNA) stemming from prior litigation.<\/p>\n
In 2015, Karen Russell and her brother filed a complaint against their father and stepmother. They argued \u201cBill was a \u2018Vulnerable Adult\u2019 and accused Jeannine of exploiting Bill.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeannine Russell\u2019s legal team says that the claims were resolved through \u201cwritten agreements,\u201d including the CNA.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter execution of the CNA, Karen materially breached the Agreements; and specifically, the CNA,\u201d the legal team said in a statement, pointing directly to the daughter\u2019s claim to the Globe.<\/p>\n
\u201cThough Karen made this claim, it was not true and was not substantiated in any proceeding,\u201d the team said. \u201cIndeed, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bill Russell, on the Mount Rushmore of Boston sports with a whopping 11 titles as a player including two championships as the first Black head coach in U.S. pro sports, died at the age of 88 on July 31, 2022.<\/p>\n
Russell, the greatest champion in basketball history with a \u201ctrademark laugh,\u201d was also a civil rights activist who marched with Martin Luther King Jr. \u2014 and who had \u201can uncompromising, dignified and always constructive commitment to principle,\u201d his family wrote in a message announcing his death.<\/p>\n
Celtics legend Bill Russell died in 2022. (Matt Stone\/Boston Herald)<\/p>\n
Russell would talk about playing for the Celtics institution but not playing for Boston and the fans, who blasted him with racist taunts. His Reading home was broken into and vandalized.<\/p>\n
Of the lawsuit filed against his daughter, Jeannine Russell said, \u201cI can no longer stay silent while my husband\u2019s incredible and unique legacy is tarnished.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have decided to speak out,\u201d the widow added in a statement, \u201cand take action to preserve Bill\u2019s memory in the way he intended.\u201d<\/p>\n
Efforts to reach Karen Russell on Tuesday were not successful.<\/p>\n
Karen, while not commenting on the lawsuit, did take to social media on Tuesday in remembrance of civil rights champion Jesse Jackson. Karen posted a photo of her with Jackson and her father.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not know a world without Reverend Jesse Jackson,\u201d Karen posted. \u201cJackson was a fixture in the Russell household and a force for justice in the world. Jackson taught millions to believe in their worth and challenged America to live up to its ideals. We mourn him. We honor him. We will continue the work and keep hope alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
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