His fierce pride (which the media called “a bad attitude”) mixed about as well with Boston fans as a John Ashcroft sing along at the Apollo Theater.
The result was that the greatest player in Boston team sports history was the target of a constant campaign of racial harassment. When Russell tried to move from his home in the Boston suburb of Reading to a new home across town,
neighbors filed a petition trying to block the move.
When that failed, other neighbors banded together to try to purchase the home that Russell wanted to buy,

said Tom Heinsohn, a close friend of Russell’s who played with him from 1956 to 1964.
Once, vandals broke into Russell’s home and defecated on his bed.

Heinsohn said
two white sportswriters from Boston told him they wouldn’t vote Russell the league’s most valuable player because he was Black.
"A Flea Market of Racism"