Bill Russell accepts Hall of Fame ring after 44 years

More than four decades after he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Bill Russell has finally received his ring.

The Boston Celtics legend announced Friday morning on Twitter that he accepted his Hall of Fame ring in a private ceremony with his wife and others.

Russell was the first African-American player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975. However, he refused to participate in the ceremony, stating at the time, "For my own personal reasons, which I don't want to discuss, I don't want to be a part of it."

As Russell alluded to in his tweet, the decision to accept his ring comes after Chuck Cooper - the first African-American player an NBA team drafted - was inducted into the Hall of Fame in September as part of the Class of 2019.