Both Steve Nash and Alonzo Mourning add their thoughts on Athlete Obligation to Give Back. What do YOU think?
December 7th, 2009
Posted by Steve Nash
I agree with Mia that sport and notoriety increase our capacity for impact. I’d take it one step further, though — it’s not that I think athletes are obligated to give back, I think people are obligated to give back. We do this because of personal experiences and passions, and we just have the bigger platform because we’re athletes. We’re all on earth for a pretty short time — some of us are born into communities with resources set in peaceful parts of the world, while others are born into conditions that make survival, let alone altruism, a goal riddled with struggle. If I have the luxury of comfort, shouldn’t part of that comfort-time be devoted to helping someone else? Shouldn’t we, as a people, aim to equalize the dichotomies out there so that everyone — even the baby born into seemingly-abject poverty — has a closer-to-equal shot? There’s no one that’s too busy to take time every day to help out someone else — no one — and how would we change if we took that on? What if people who have a lot shared just a little bit more to make sure that everyone has something? Right now, I think there are a lot of excuses made for not doing anything — we blame government, blame systems, blame the people who need help. One thing we talk about at the Steve Nash Foundation is how ridiculous it is to call a child “underprivileged.” If a kid doesn’t have a safe place to go to school or clean drinking water, or access to healthcare, that child doesn’t lack privileges . . . she lacks services. The adults and systems around her are failing to get her what she needs. That makes her underserved, not underprivileged. So my Foundation is working to increase access to critical heath and education resources for underserved kids in my home country (Canada), my wife’s (Paraguay), Uganda, and in Arizona, where I play. Right in Phoenix, there are hundreds of thousands of children living below the poverty line (nearly a third of a million this year, and almost all of them have no health care coverage). That means thousands of kids at-risk of being hungry, at-risk of not being ready to enter kindergarten, at-risk of not getting the social development tools they need to be happy. We’re working there with other family foundations, a great Head Start provider and school district, Buffett Early Childhood Fund, and people who want to help to create Educare Arizona, a center of excellence for early learning for families that wouldn’t traditionally be able to afford this kind of quality. By focusing on underserved children, we’re hoping to dramatically change the health of our communities at large — when a child is healthy (nurtured and read to and loved and sung to and paid attention to right from birth) it’s not only his or her trajectory that changes . . . when we care about young kids, the world changes. More about our work is at stevenash.org — get in on our twitter, too, @the_real_nash.
Posted by Alonzo Mourning
In 4 brief videos, 7-time NBA All-Star Alonzo Mourning talks about athlete obligation, moral obligation, and his own motivation to give back.
Chrissie Zartman on December 11th, 2009
I think that my answer can best be summed up in the following quote by one of the best athletes of all time. Muhammad Ali said, “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” I believe that everyone (not only athletes) has an obligation to give back. We are all put on this earth to make a difference and it is up to each what of us what that difference is. Giving back does not have to be one huge act or one huge donation. It can be a lifetime full of little gifts. Giving back can range anywhere from giving someone a smile, to giving someone your time, to giving someone your money. With so many varieties of ways to give back, I think that every person can, and should manage to give back in some way.
Many people look toward high profile people as an example because they are in the public eye and are seen as inspirations. But the truth is that every person (whether in the public eye or not) should want to help and inspire others. It can all be summed up by Ghandi : “Be the change that you want to see in the world.”
Chrissie Zartman
Posted Abby Crumpton on December 11th, 2009
Hmmm… are pro athletes obligated?? This is always a touchy subject which inspires strong feelings on both sides of the coin. But as a professional athlete, I personally feel strongly about making the most of my talent, and that isn’t just what I do on the field in a game, or at practice. We can’t deny that people are watching –it’s a public setting 24/7 (for some more than others:))- but what we do, both negative and positive can have a huge effect on people.
I believe that making the most of my talent means that I consistently rise to the occasion to inspire others, to encourage others, to help others in whatever area that I can. Many people define that differently, but for me that is what is. Sometimes it’s really hard – I’m tired, I’m over-extended… etc., but then I think about my life and how blessed and lucky I am to do what I do – it makes it all worth it. I have been blessed to be a blessing to others, and that can take many different forms – money, time… etc.
Not every charitable thing we do has to be public knowledge, and you don’t have to donate thousands to have an effect on others – most times, all people want is to know someone cares about them enough to pay attention to them and their immediate needs. One of the most humbling experiences of my life was volunteering at a homeless shelter for paroled men and women in Boston. Nobody cared about who I was or what I did. These were people who didn’t have anything but their clothes on their back and a mat to sleep on at night but they loved to just talk to you. That’s all they wanted from me – my help and attention. Sometimes “charity” can be as simple as serving someone a warm meal, or having a conversation.
At times, it can feel like an obligation, but I don’t think that should be an excuse to not reach out and help people. If I stopped training in the off season every time I felt like it was an obligation, I wouldn’t get anywhere! It’s like anything else – when you see the results from what you have done, whether in your sport, or with helping people less fortunate than you, it makes you desire to do it more because it feels good. Eventually you get to a place where you don’t need to see the results, because you know you are sowing good seed into other people’s lives. You may not see the benefit that it may have immediately, but you trust that the positive things that you do are going to have a ripple effect far beyond what you can imagine. I think keeping that influence to yourself is selfish – it’s like burying the talent you have and not allowing anyone to reap the benefits but yourself.
Posted Fatimoh Muhammed on December 11th, 2009
I believe that athletes should be able to give back to communities without any obligation (or in other words, willingly). While giving and loving is a blessing from God, not everyone can give back. For example, some athletes do not have the capability to contribute to their communities and some wealthy individuals do not practice philanthropy as well.
Everyone that is been blessed by God should be able to bless the less privileged. People don’t need to have a lots of money, giving back comes in various forms such as contributing financially or volunteering.
Giving back to community or to the people is great thing to do. I believe that God rewards people that give back. Like my mother use to say, if you have a dollar and another person is in need of 50 cents, you should be to help.
Fatimoh Muhammed
Posted Larry Nance on December 11th, 2009
For me, it’s a moral obligation, not a professional one. Everyone should try hard to be a good person every day. It has nothing to do with how much money that you make. Because I have played professional basketball, and with all of the exposure surrounding that, I have the power to create attention surrounding a wide range of causes. I am allowed the privilege to be involved in so many things… anywhere from talking to groups of kids about what it takes to set and reach their goals, and anti- drug messages, all the way to creating awareness for Alzheimer’s disease, and helping to raise funds for cancer research. That’s really a great position to be in for helping others.
Most of what I do has nothing to do with a salary. It is because my parents raised me to be a good person, to do the right things, and help others whenever possible.
Larry Nance
Posted By Etan Thomas on December 7th, 2009
I think that athletes have just as much as an obligation to give back to the community as anyone else does. I don’t think that it is exclusively an obligation for athletes. Any working individual in this society should be able to help someone who is less fortunate than they are. It doesn’t have to be simply writing a check or donating money. It can be passing out food at a homeless shelter on thanksgiving, being a big brother with various groups like the boys and girls club, etc. For me personally, I am very thankful, greatful, and appreciative of the many blessings that I have. The life that I am allowed to live playing a sport that I love. So for me personally, I feel that I want to be a blessing to others.
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