Russell accepts Hall ring after 44 years

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Bill Russell says he's finally ready to be a Hall of Famer.

The 11-time NBA champion, five-time MVP, Olympic gold medalist and two-time NCAA champ said on Twitter on Friday that he was presented with his Hall of Fame ring in a private ceremony that comes three decades after he was first selected for the shrine in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Russell didn't attend his induction ceremony in 1975. He says he didn't deserve to be the first black player inducted. He tweeted that “I felt others before me should have that honor.”

His tweet mentions Chuck Cooper, who in 1950 was the first African-American player drafted by the NBA and who was inducted this year.

Russell says the ceremony was attended by his wife, along with close friends and Hall of Famers Bill Walton, Ann Meyers and Alonzo Mourning.

FAN REPRIMANDED

A Toronto Raptors fan who made a vulgar comment on live television about Ayesha Curry, the wife of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, has been ordered to stay away from her and the reporter to whom he made the comment.

Tristan Warkentin agreed Friday to a common-law bond that orders him not to associate with Ayesha Curry or CP24 reporter Kelly Linehan. As a result, prosecutors dropped a mischief charge against him.

Warkentin made the lewd remark when he was interviewed after the Raptors' loss to the Warriors in Game 2 of the NBA Finals in June. Toronto went on to defeat Golden State in six games to win its first championship.

There have been several incidents across Canada in recent years in which men have made the same vulgar remark on live TV.

Warkentin's lawyer, Richard Addelman, said outside court that his client “said some things and now he's apologized for those things.” Warkentin declined to comment.