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Indiana Pacers fans sad to see Larry Bird resign as team president

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Indiana Pacers fans are left with mixed emotions after legend, Larry Bird decided to resign as the team’s president.

Indiana basketball fans have been watching number 33 for nearly four decades. “You can’t knock him as a player,” Pacers fan Corey Brooks said.

Whether it was one of his 12 NBA all-star game appearances. “It’s just incredible, you can’t put it into words,” basketball fan Joshua Ingram said.

Or a trip to the NCAA championship with the Indiana State Sycamores. A campus where you can find Bird’s statue.

“Larry Bird is, in my opinion, one of the big names in Indiana basketball,” Pacers fan Asa Sipe said. “One of the greatest. The state of proud of him, I’m proud of him.”

The past several years, fans continued to observe Bird coach the Pacers, and move into the president’s role. Then Monday, they watched again as Bird announced he’s stepping down.

“Excited,” Brooks said. “Excited. We needed a change. We want to run, you know. We want to keep Paul George, and I think that might be a big part of helping to keep him around.”

“I’m sad to see it happen,” Sipe said. “I’ve always liked Larry Bird.”

“It’s sad, but I think it needed to happen if the Pacers wanted to win,” Ingram said. “I don’t think we were able to do it with him as president.”

Bird wore Celtics’ green and white for 13 years. As coach, and president, he represented Pacers’ blue and gold for nearly 20 years.

He’ll continue to do so as a consultant, giving Hoosiers more time to root for what number 33 does.

“True pacers fan, it’s probably a bad day,” Brooks said. “I think it’s a good day as far as moving forward. It’s a good step in the right direction.”

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