“It’s about time Boston gave Russell the whole damn airport,” writes Boston-born journalist Mark Leibovich.
Bill Russell #6 of the Boston Celtics poses for a photo circa 1962 at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Dick Raphael
By Emily Spatz
June 18, 2024
Is it time to rename Boston’s Logan International Airport?
Last week, journalist Mark Leibovich suggested renaming Logan International Airport in honor of the legendary player and coach Bill Russell.
“Boston should rechristen Logan Airport to honor the unparalleled Russell,” Leibovich wrote in a June 14 piece for The Atlantic. “He was Boston’s greatest sports champion, and as a brave and steadfast civil rights leader across half a century, an even greater man.”
Even before the Celtics secured their 18th NBA championship title and became the franchise with the most NBA titles in the league’s history Monday night, some Massachusetts politicians said they’re not completely opposed to the idea.
Renaming the airport for Russell would send a “powerful message,” writer argues
Russell, who died in 2022, is hailed as one of basketball’s greatest icons. He won 11 NBA titles in the 13 seasons he played with the Celtics before he became the first Black coach of a major professional sports team in the U.S. in 1966.
In his pitch, the Boston-born Leibovich writes that Russell endured and fought against numerous incidents of racial discrimination that stained the city of Boston in the 1960s.
“He spoke often of the indignities he faced as a matter of routine, ensuring that the racism he encountered became as central to his story as his basketball exploits,” Leibovich writes.
A statue of Russell was unveiled in City Hall Plaza in 2013, a gesture Leibovich says is “nice, but…static and conventional.”
“It’s about time Boston gave Russell the whole damn airport,” he writes. “Naming the airport for Russell would send a powerful message about the region it serves: Boston has come a long way toward racial comity since the benighted 1960s, but its journey is ongoing, and — despite Massachusetts’s liberal bent — has taken longer than it should have.”
Logan International Airport is currently named after Edward Lawrence Logan, a Boston native, veteran, and statesman. The airport was renamed after Logan in 1943.
“I mean no disrespect to General Logan. He had a good run. They can rename Terminal C the Logan Terminal or something. Or name a special Dunkin’ after him; there are about a dozen of them at the airport,” Leibovich writes.
Wu, Healey say they want to honor Russell
Several Massachusetts politicians are not strictly opposed to the idea, they told local outlets.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu told reporters Monday that she is “up for conversations” about honoring Russell, according to Commonwealth Beacon.
“Bill Russell is the greatest athlete of any sport, of all time,” Wu told the Beacon. “And so we know we have not reached what we need to do in terms of really recognizing that legacy and how important that is, and how proud we are in Boston.”
Governor Maura Healey told the paper that she recently met with Russell’s daughter, and that they’ll “leave [the renaming idea] for another time.”
Jeannine Russell, Russell’s widow, told the Beacon she fully approves of the proposal.
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