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[Ledger] Trip To Africa Forever Changed Tracy McGrady's Purpose In Life

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by mlwoo, Jan 4, 2008.

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  1. mlwoo

    mlwoo Contributing Member

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    http://www.theledger.com/article/20080104/NEWS/801040432/1002/SPORTS

    Trip To Africa Forever Changed Tracy McGrady's Purpose In Life
    By Dick Scanlon


    AUBURNDALE

    Tracy McGrady understands he lives a life of privilege, making $19 million as an NBA superstar. But he always thought he had a rough upbringing until he spent a few days last summer in a Darfur refugee camp. He had been convinced to visit the genocide-torn region of Africa by his Houston Rockets teammate, Dikembe Mutombo.

    "I knew it was going to have a huge impact on me," McGrady said. "One night when I was tired from everything that was going on that week, I went to bed about 9 o'clock, but I woke up early because we were leaving the next day. I was just staring at the ceiling, reflecting on everything that I went through, and I actually started crying.

    "'I'm a pretty tough guy and I really don't show my emotions," McGrady explained Thursday to about 400 students in Auburndale High School's auditorium. "I hold 'em in, even around my wife and my family. But it was just uncontrollable to the point where I actually just started crying. It got me."

    It got him to the point where McGrady has discovered a new purpose for his life. He is the point man for a humanitarian project formed to raise hundreds of millions of dollars, mostly to build schools and train teachers in central Africa.

    He chose his old high school to make the announcement Thursday, and showed 10 minutes of a documentary being made to promote the project.

    "When you get some success, you want to give back and do charitable things because you feel that's the right thing to do," McGrady said. "My first year in the league, I thought about giving back and I did give back. But it took me a while to really understand how much of an impact that I have on people. Now that I realize that, being 28 years old, and I want to really expand my charitable effort outside the country."

    In Darfur, McGrady saw 4-year-old children in the streets carrying infants on their backs. He saw truckloads of boys carrying AK-47s, much like in the movie Hotel Rwanda, he told the students. He heard stories of children being taken from their mothers and shot.

    "Tracy decided to go to the worst human rights and humanitarian crisis in the entire world - worse than Somalia, worse than Iraq, worse than Afghanistan - and he wanted to go to shine a spotlight on the lives of these people," said John Prendergast, a former White House aide who is guiding McGrady on the project and the film.

    The working title of the documentary is "Not a Game," a phrase McGrady uses in the film. It will take at least two more months to complete, after which Prendergast hopes to market it to HBO or ESPN.

    McGrady has personally pledged $75,000 so far. He said the NBA will back the project, and he has asked 11 other NBA players for direct help. Mutombo, having been born in Zaire, already has spent some $16 million of his own money on hospitals and schools.

    On Thursday, city manager Bobby Green kicked off the project by presenting a check for $1,000 on behalf of the Auburndale city commission, and said "I've never been more proud that Tracy McGrady is from the city of Auburndale."

    T-Mac, having visited the other end of the earth, expressed an appreciation of his hometown.

    "This will be something great that I can do forever, until I leave this earth. This will never go away," he said. "Some things you can't even control. It comes upon you and you either accept it or you don't. I accept it. It's a great thing. I can see how much of a difference and how much of an impact that I can have.

    "Granted, everybody in here isn't going to participate. But I definitely reached a few of these kids in here. I touched them today, and they're going to be part of that and that's all you can ask for."
     
    #1 mlwoo, Jan 4, 2008
  2. DaDakota

    DaDakota Balance wins
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    Pssst.....hey Tracy, the people in Africa want you to toughen up, share the ball and run on the break.

    Mmmmmkay? Thanks !

    DD
     
    #2 DaDakota, Jan 4, 2008
  3. cdrive

    cdrive Member
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    man.........

    i always knew tracy was special in regards to character, but this really is another level.
     
    #3 cdrive, Jan 4, 2008
  4. mlwoo

    mlwoo Contributing Member

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    Stop talking about crying and looking like a jackass with shades on inside a gymnasium.

    Your knee doesn't look too hurt, you big baby.

    Nice work for humanitarian efforts, though.

    I like how they mentioned Dikemebe gave $16 mil of his own money.

    Tracy $75 thousand
    ------------------------- = .46975%
    Deke $16 million

    He can't even talk about what he is doing. He sounded like a tard on Rome.
     
    #4 mlwoo, Jan 4, 2008
  5. Rivaldo2181

    Rivaldo2181 Member

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    I know there's lots of frustration, sour grapes and sad to say pure hatred for T-Mac these days on this board and around Houston, but I still support the dude and props to him for his off the court work.

    In life there will always be haters; F them all, get healthy and come back for the 2nd half push! Go T-Mac! Go Rockets!
     
    #5 Rivaldo2181, Jan 4, 2008
  6. Hayesfan

    Hayesfan Member

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    I already posted this link in the other Tmac thread about Darfur that pryuen started.
     
    #6 Hayesfan, Jan 4, 2008
  7. Dave_78

    Dave_78 Member

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    I applaud the guy for doing this. I have nitpicked about the way he came across on Rome's radio show but at the end of the day it remains that this guy went over there and is making a genuine effort to make a difference. He only gave $75K? Yeah, he could have given much more but that is $75K more than they had before. It's $75K more than most people have given.

    I truly hope this documentary is put together well and really inspires people to contribute. I hope this thing gets more organized so that it is easier for "average" people like the members here to contribute what we can. This initiative needs some organization and more celebrity faces to get things going.

    From a basketball standpoint, I worry that Tracy will use this experience as an excuse to not give his best. I would hope it would inspire him to pour it all out on the court simply out of respect for the fact that he plays a game for a living while people are starving to death and be executed in the most gruesome fashions. Furthermore, if he really wants to attract people who can help with this cause he can only help himself by winning a title. Title = more exposure = more attention to this matter.

    Maybe it is just me getting older but I feel like if we all gave a little and inspired 5 other people to give a little and so on that we could actually make a dent in some of the problems like what these people are facing in Darfur or what people in our own country are facing every day.
     
    #7 Dave_78, Jan 4, 2008
  8. Prettyfly

    Prettyfly Member

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    hey hey hey. $75 thousand so far... hes not done.
     
    #8 Prettyfly, Jan 4, 2008
  9. mlwoo

    mlwoo Contributing Member

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    My bad, dude.
     
    #9 mlwoo, Jan 4, 2008
  10. mlwoo

    mlwoo Contributing Member

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    I could so see that.
     
    #10 mlwoo, Jan 4, 2008
  11. smoothie_king

    smoothie_king Member

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    i can really respect this
     
    #11 smoothie_king, Jan 4, 2008
  12. Sweet Lou 4 2

    Sweet Lou 4 2 Member

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    Actually, I don't worry about it at all. If t-mac puts more energy into this than his game, so be it. There's something more important than basketball, well, a lot of things. It's just a game at the end of the day. Maybe he's beginning to see that.
     
    #12 Sweet Lou 4 2, Jan 4, 2008
  13. smoothie_king

    smoothie_king Member

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    my only knock is the timing of this annoucement. He should have done this in the off-season in front of the kids stuck in summer school..because he would then have more time away from basketball to dedicate... I mean right now people are focused on the presidential campaign, etc
     
    #13 smoothie_king, Jan 4, 2008
  14. MR. MEOWGI

    MR. MEOWGI Contributing Member

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    I also have a special purpose.

    Sincerely,

    [​IMG]
     
    #14 MR. MEOWGI, Jan 4, 2008
  15. JeopardE

    JeopardE Member

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    What a self-righteous twerp. What have *you* ever given away in your life? Does spouting irrational hate at others make you feel better?
     
    #15 JeopardE, Jan 4, 2008
  16. Dave_78

    Dave_78 Member

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    It is just a game at the end of the day, you're right. Personally, I feel like it is a slap in the face to every person on this planet who fights just to keep food on the table if he does not give 100% playing this game.

    The more important argument I make is that he can do so much more for these people by being a winner in the NBA. Championships can take a star like McGrady and give him so much "pull" and exposure that he could be even more of a powerful ally for these people.
     
    #16 Dave_78, Jan 4, 2008
  17. MR. MEOWGI

    MR. MEOWGI Contributing Member

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    Yes. Every dunk on Bradley is like a starving child dunking a donut.
     
    #17 MR. MEOWGI, Jan 4, 2008
  18. blathersby

    blathersby Member

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    My favorite part of the article?
    :D
     
    #18 blathersby, Jan 4, 2008
  19. Pizza_Da_Hut

    Pizza_Da_Hut I put on pants for this?

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    Does that explain why he suddenly sucks? Just kidding, it's good that Tmac is finding something to be passionate about.
     
    #19 Pizza_Da_Hut, Jan 4, 2008
  20. Sweet Lou 4 2

    Sweet Lou 4 2 Member

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    I think people who are having trouble putting food on the table for their family are more concerned about other things then how hard tmac plays unless they are in Houston perhaps.

    And t-mac shouldn't be pursuing championships for starving kids, that makes no sense. Win a ring so a kid can eat? please.

    He should want a ring for selfish reasons, there's no other more legitimate reason then that. If he doesn't want it for himself, he'll never get it.
     
    #20 Sweet Lou 4 2, Jan 4, 2008
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