Tracy McGrady’s Journey

Dikembe Mutombo is the Bono of the NBA. His infectious humanitarian spirit has rubbed off on some of the greatest, including Houston Rocket teammate Tracy McGrady. The Mutombo effect. That’s what I call it. If it werent for this 7’2” beast we may not have as many ballers lining up to support the need for aid in Africa. McGrady was influenced by Dikembe to travel to Africa, but wasn’t entirely hip on the situation there. “I had no clue what genocide was, and I’m still learning about it,” he said while visiting refugee camps in eastern Chad. “I really don’t know what I am going to see.”

What he did see has been chronicled in the new documentary “3 Points.” Last year, T-Mac had a first hand look at three African refugee camps. Working alongside documentary filmmaker and photographer Josh Rothstein and humanitarian John Prendergast of the Enough Project, the films just been completed and is looking for distribution. A great article in the LA Times today explains T-Macs reaction to the trip, what he plans to do next, and how he plans on rolling out the T-Mac effect among players willing to kick in $75k to build new schools. “Some of the players need to be educated,” McGrady says. “But some of them are caring guys, know that something has to be done and are willing to help.” The NBA will be airing “3 Points” to its players and hopefully the films three points will be drilled home: Three strategies to fight genocide: Peace, Protection and Punishment. So far, T-Mac has enlisted his Florida high school as a sister school to a new school in Chad, and gotten donations from Derek Fisher and Jermaine O’Neal. Indeed Tracy McGrady is a mighty-mighty-fine man.

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Delinda Lombardo
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DELINDA’S 30-DAY CHALLENGE
A few days ago I posted a rant aimed at an article promoting Hooman, the alleged ‘reformed racist’ who taunted Dikembe Mutombo with his “monkey” comment. And today, I accept a challenge from Hooman himself.

Hey Delinda, How come you left out the part where I am donating 25% of my book to the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation? Why is it that Dikembe Mutombo’s camp is way past my mistake and you are not? I want to issue you a friendly challenge. Why not let me coach you for a month? I will make you a better person in less than 30 days. If not tell everyone what a phony I am. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Why are you so angry? I don’t have ads on my website so you can’t say I am doing it for money. It is okay that you have ads on your website but here you are calling me out because you are claiming I am all about money. Why don’t you try to put this thing past us? If that article bothered you on Sunday you are in for a future of disappointment because I am here to stay. I am going to help as many people as I can, including you. I have dreamed of being a motivational speaker since I was 22. This negative experience has driven me to make it happen. You too can turn the negatives of your life into the greatest positives by the way you think. I am extending to you an olive branch of peace, why don’t you let go of the past so your future can be that much better? Are you up for my 30-day challenge? Either way I really wish you the best in your life and I hope you find happiness. HoomanCan

In my original post “How To Reward Racism’ I did omit the fact that a portion of Hooman book will be donated to Dikembe’s Foundation-for several reasons: one, on Hoomans website he states that he is donating 20%, (not 25% as mentioned by the man himself) and two, I doubt Hoomans motives.

Hoomans above challenge claims that he can ‘make me a better person’. I accept his challenge for several reasons…first of all, I think rather highly of myself, my ethics, my morals and my reputation, which leads me to my other reason for accepting- I feel I can make Hooman a better person as well. After all, it’s a give and take world isnt it? In particular, I would ask Hooman to explain the following paragraph from his website:

The book Mutombo and Me is about the events following the night, which Hooman Hamzehloui became infamous around the world for being the racist who was banned from every NBA arena. Unknowingly using words of racist hate, Hooman became the recipient of hate mail, death threats, and nasty calls. Hooman had always been an advocate against racism so he felt personally responsible for bringing out the hatred of people all over the world.

So, Hooman, question…IF you claim to have “always been an advocate against racism” why did you spark an international outrage? I have yet to hear of another ‘advocate’ taunting another person with racial slurs. Perhaps you should change the words you use to promote yourself? This would be a great first step towards your credibility in my eyes.

Because what you, Hooman, don’t recognize, is that I have already found happiness. I don’t get my happiness from the pennies I earn each month from the ads on my site. My happiness is rooted in a deep belief that we are all equal, regardless of race, nationality, or political views. But my true happiness is at its peak when I see those in a position to better this world take action. Do I believe you (Hooman) and your motives? Not really…at least not yet…but I am willing to hear what you have to say. So, I accept your magical Hooman ‘make-me-a-better-person-make-over’ because if you are going to ‘create a future of disappointment for me by not going away’ then I best give you one shot at redemption before I dismiss you for good.

Game on Hooman. Show me what ya got.

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Delinda Lombardo
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This got me fired up today. Mike Bianchi at the Orlando Sentinel has penned a piece about Hooman Hamzehloui. You most likely don’t recognize his name, but you most certainly recognize his words: “Hey, Dikembe, you look like a monkey!” How can we ever forget this guy? Hooman is the racist fan who was banned by the NBA and the Orlando Magic for a full season after a heckling incident two years ago.

Bianchi makes excuse after excuse for Hooman, exalting the transformation of an ‘unknowing racist’ to ‘motivational speaker’…in the article Bianchi writes ‘Maybe it’s a cultural divide (Hooman was born in Iran and came to this country when he was a kid), but to this day Hooman claims he didn’t know “monkey” was a racially offensive term.’ “I had no idea why everybody was so upset,” Hooman says. “I was just trying to have some fun with Mutombo.” (excuse my language kids) but that’s straight up bullshit. The article promotes Hoomans new out-look on life, and includes this (excuse me again) bullshit apology: “I take full responsibility for what I said,” Hooman says now, “even though I really didn’t know what I was saying.”

You can NOT take full responsibility for something and then turn around and say “yeah but…” But nothing…Hoomans words got him banned from the arena…he was so depressed he sat around hosting a pity party for himself because his words were misunderstood…he didn’t know calling Dikembe a monkey was racist…insert finger down throat…and now, Bianchi is actually helping this guy promote his new career as a “motivational speaker” and hawk his new book ‘Mutombo and Me’…are you kidding me? Yet another racist has capitalized on his own behavior and got a welcoming hug from the media…no doubt some cash was exchanged somewhere along the way…seriously, Dikembe is one of the brightest men in the NBA, his humanitarian work makes me cry, and his heart is so full of love that you can actually feel it a mile away.

“If they didn’t kick him out of this arena, he would have seen me off the court,” Mutombo said after the incident in 2006. “I will not accept that. We are not in the ’60s. People have paid the price for us to be where we are today. For him to call a black man a monkey in the middle of the game, he was in the second row, for him to stand up and call, ‘Mutombo the monkey,’ is an insult. It insulted my integrity, my body, my family, my race.”

Why not chose to write a piece on the effect of Hoomans words? How his words cut through the soul of a man who speaks five languages? How his words incited anger in those with an ounce of intelligence? Tell me again Bianchi, what was the point of your article? To help sell Hoomans book? Drive traffic to his website? Or anger those of us who will NEVER forget those seven-little-words?

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Delinda Lombardo
delinda@athlebrities.com

Yao Ming and Dikembe Mutombo Interview on ESPN
Another writer who is fed up with reading crap stories by major media outlets who continually ignore the humanitarian efforts of celebrities and athletes tipped me off to this piece…The article was penned by Ric Bucher on www.sports.espn.go.com. Clearly, Yao Ming and Dikembe are schooling the rest of the boys on what it is to be “real men.” Real men have big hearts, souls, smiles and pa-lenty of love for those who need it most. They inspire us and make us forget about those who make it rain, steal from friends, assault women, drag race and create unnecessary controversy that contributes nothing to this world except grief.

In part, Bucher wrote: Mutombo is as well known for his humanitarian efforts throughout Africa—capped by the completion of a $29 million, 300-bed hospital in Kinshasa last fall—as he is for his NBA exploits, which include four Defensive Player of the Year awards. Yao has followed his lead and has been a one-man Red Cross in China, where he organized last summer’s charity game in Beijing between NBA and Chinese stars and has started a relief foundation for victims of Western China’s earthquake last spring. Still, Yao could always use some advice. So Mutombo flew down, and The Mag tagged along…

My favorite paragraph from the entire piece comes from Yao Ming, who says:
“ What inspires me are the stories that have come out. There is a picture on a website of a teacher who, when the earthquake was happening, put four kids under a table and put his body on top of the table. When the school wall came down, the teacher died but the kids were saved. You can’t stay away when you hear stories like that. When my foundation raises the money to rebuild those schools, we’re going to name the schools after those teachers.”

Once again, if that doesn’t give you goose bumps or a lump in your throat, I would venture to guess you have no soul?

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Delinda Lombardo
delinda@athlebrities.com