Remembering Bill Walton's radical past

Former Trail Blazers star blazed path for today’s athlete-social advocates

As he won two NCAA basketball titles with UCLA in the early 1970s, Bill Walton participated in anti-Vietnam War protests in Los Angeles. He spoke about his opposition to the war in classes. After being arrested during one demonstration, Walton was bailed out by legendary UCLA coach John Wooden.

“I worried when he was thrown in jail with the group that took over the administration building,” Wooden told the Los Angeles Times. “I worried when he stopped traffic on Wilshire Boulevard, and when he interrupted classes giving his views on the Vietnam War.”

Walton died of prostate cancer on May 27. He was 71. While many accounts cover his zest for basketball and life, few highlight the radical nature of much of his early adulthood.

Bill Walton helps block Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles during a 1972 anti-Vietnam War protest.Photo byJoe Kennedy, Los Angeles Times Photographic Collection, UCLA / Creative Commons

Walton befriends leading radicals

To many, Walton’s activism and willingness to risk a promising hoops career by taking a stand were inspiring. The LBJ and Richard Nixon administrations often used athletes to prop up their war efforts, so a prominent athlete going against that grain carried a certain element of daring.

After being arrested, Walton issued a statement: “Your generation has screwed up the world. My generation is trying to straighten it out. Money doesn’t mean anything to me. It can’t buy happiness, and I just want to be happy.” He also highlighted white privilege, pointing out the tougher environment for black teammates. “If a black man gunned me down right now, I’d figure it was all right because of what whites have done to blacks,” Walton said.

While becoming an NBA star with the Portland Trail Blazers, Walton befriended radical activist Abbie Hoffman, who beat several criminal charges and wrote Steal This Book, when Hoffman went underground after a conviction. Walton remained his friend, speaking at Hoffman’s funeral in 1989.

“It’s funny calling Abbie a fugitive from justice,” Walton said. “As I see it, justice was always a fugitive from Abbie.”

Big Red became a true trail blazer for today’s athlete-social advocates. Walton’s house in Portland grew into a center for national activism in the mid-1970s. Dennis Banks, a co-founder of the American Indian Movement, stayed with Walton as he fled from an incitement to riot conviction.

Walton, Banks, and others sometimes played pickup basketball games on an outdoor court at Wallace Park. Other activists, including Dick Gregory and Cesar Chavez, visited Walton.

Walton sometimes played pickup games on this Portland outdoor court with American Indian Movement leader Dennis Banks and others.Photo byKevin Shay

Mending fences

After winning the NBA title and MVP with Portland, Walton accused the team of trying to make him take painkillers and other prescribed drugs, when he wanted to heal himself with more natural therapies. He was soon traded to the San Diego Clippers, then found a better fit with the Boston Celtics, where he helped the team win another NBA championship.

Walton’s many injuries forced him to retire from the court in 1988. Aided by broadcaster Marty Glickman, Walton, who overcome a speech impediment, took to heart advice to slow down his thoughts to think about the present, read aloud, and practice what he would say beforehand. He became confident enough to enter the broadcasting field, even winning an Emmy Award in 2001.

While Walton dealt more with his health, he continued to advocate for social causes and donated mostly to Democratic pols. He became a fixture at Grateful Dead concerts. He spoke before audiences of all stripes, including a U.S. Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center in 2019.

He repaired relationships with Wooden and others. He became especially close to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, another Hall of Fame basketball star who spoke out on controversial issues.

Upon Walton’s death, Abdul-Jabbar posted, “The world feels so much heavier now….. He was the best of us.”

In his later days, Walton worked more on mending fences and minimized his earlier radical nature. Some still remembered.

“In a time when reactionaries are on the march, we need to remember the historical examples of courage necessary for today’s fight,” wrote Dave Zirin, author of A People’s History of Sports in the United States. “We should cherish our radical heroes, and Walton — decades ago — was one.”