I've had no problem at all using words like "vile" and "despicable" to describe Kobe Bryant in this forum... but today, I have come to praise Kobe, not to bury him.
Why would I have something nice to say about a guy who was a shook plaintiff away from being the man that we all know as the Rebounding Rapist? Because he did something nice this week.
Kobe is taking part in a program called Shoot-A-Thon.
It was Tracy McGrady and Jermaine O'Neal's idea, and agent Arm Tellem(who will match the highest donation) put it together. Bob Sura, Pau Gasol, Mike Miller and Jalen Rose are also taking part, and they will probably be joined by many others....because sometimes, doing good means that you get to shoot a lot.
Shoot-A-Thon is simply this: Some NBA players will donate $1000 to a Tsunami fund for every point they score this week. Some of these dudes shoot a lot, so that's a lot of Keflex, bottled water, and rice.
Jermaine may have forgotten about his pledge when he poured in a career high 55 points on the Milwaukee Bucks(quite a few Bucks, indeed) last night. Or maybe he didn't. Jermaine has already made a sizable donation to the David Stern Don't Attack The Audience fund this season, but I have a feeling that this paper will end up in better hands.
TMac is a threat to donate 50 on any given night, and Yao is no doubt putting a little effort into making sure that the Tracer gets his shots this week. I'm told that Yao has thrown some ducats to the relief fund, as well.
Kobe, who donated 7 carats to the Oh God, Don't Divorce Me fund last year, can be excused for his 5/16 shooting that killed my ESPN Fast Break fantasy team, the Monponsett Smurfs (I've made it up to 3rd place in the Boston Celtics Fans group, once I stopped letting my students choose the players- "C'mon Stace....Walter McCarty is cute").
Bob Sura, who doesn't get into the games much, will actually be owed $7000 by the government of Sri Lanka. But it's all good.
Look at all the bad press some of these dudes get. Jermaine could be seen attacking fans in Michigan in the moment he is most well-known for. Kobe was accused of taking "turn-down service" a little too seriously with a Colorado teen. Bob Sura got an earful of bad press for missing a shot on purpose to get the rebound and score a triple double. Pau Gasol gets told "You forgot the 'L', Sir" almost every time he writes his name. People mistake Mike Miller for the coach or the owner's son when he goes to the Grizzly bench.
None of that matters this week, when they are putting their money where their mouth is....or where their scoring average is, in this case. Jermaine is already in for $55k, and the week ain't over yet. Fellow Pacer Scott Pollard, who has in-laws in Thailand, will donate $1 million (I think), and the Washington Bulle, er, Wizards sold Tsunami relief bands at a game this week. Each Wizard played with one of the wristbands on, and ya gotta love it.
Many other players have undoubtedly written checks without notifying the media, and if one of them is reading this, you have my thanks. NBA guys get more Bad Pub than a Dublin resident, and ESPN won't show Jermaine O'Neal writing his check to UNICEF 50 times a day for a month- like they do when he hits people.
I personally brought a fiver to the little Tsunami Fund donation bin at Wal-Mart while I was going to buy NFL Street for my XBox....and then, inspired by Sura, I bounced it off the side of the bin, got my own rebound, scored a donation, and got my triple double.
The Lord works in many a strange and mysterious way....and so do I.
Here's some links, if you want to do as Jalen Rose does:
8 comments:
I didn't know any of this....I"m glad the atheletes are doing this....good for you too.... :-)
~JerseyGirl
http://journals.aol.com/cneinhorn/WonderGirl
This is unfortunately just another publicity stunt by the overpaid athletes in the NBA...Yes, this is a cynical view on my part but you're talking about multimillionaires "shooting baskets" and donating a measly $1,000 per point...If Kobe has a great night it's $50,000 big deal...I say big deal in relationship to his potential to donate personally much more than that...you have celebrities out there donating millions (i.e. Sandra Bullock/Steven Spielberg) but then again, the entertainment community has always been more compassionate...jesus Sting is not only donating his services in a performance, he's also contributiing 10X (personally $500K) what Kobe's best night might be....and Kobe and kind are simply donating what might be 1/4 to 1/2 of one nights' check at best...When you're making almost $20 M peryear... it's chump change to donate $50K and then, Mr. Big deal Agent Arn Tellum who makes multi millions on EACH of a number of NBA players says in his munificence "I'll match the highest single player's contribution...granted they don't have to donate anything...but to put it out as in any way significant relative to what's possible is an attempt to manipulate this tragedy into a PR event for the NBA and/or those particular players, as if this sop makes up for all the bad press they have...this is just one more revealing of the pampered athletes taking action not out of pure generosity, but out of a need for a better public image...sad and sickening, no wonder the fans give them shit at ball games
In an unpublicized act of charity, suspended Pacer forward Ron Artest has been deputized by the Indonesian government. He's a living sea wall- it seems that the Pacific Ocean is afraid to wash into him.
yo koach you tripping
mon P thats funny
jhjlhlkh
i think u should know what you r talkin aout before u speek of kobe in that manner he is a very good man n has many talents just because he was accused of something does not mean he did it what happened to innocent until proven guilty. i have no respect for u and what u have to say. my son is named after kobe bryant and i do not appreciate u callin him a rapist were u there?
sarah
Your son is indirectly named after a Japanese industrial city.
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