Stoudemire lends a helping hand
Ever since that thrilling Spurs-Suns playoff game in 2005, one image has come to mind when I hear the name Amare Stoudemire:
His incredible rim-level rejection of a Tim Duncan dunk attempt (I'm sure you know the one I'm talking about).
Well, that image will now be replaced by an even greater one.
Amare's heart.
Today, 16-year-old Amadou Barro Ndieguene was flown from Senegal to Houston (by way of Paris) for a special surgery on his injured left foot. The $2,500 roundtrip ticket was paid for by Stoudemire.
Stoudemire doesn't know Barro from Adam. Never met him or talked to him. But he was so touched by an article I wrote about Barro in the Feb. 27, 2006 issue of ESPN The Magazine, that he volunteered to fly him to America for surgery.
Barro was The Magazine's cover boy for the May 26, 2003 "On the Trail of Next'' issue. It was an arresting photo of a shirtless Barro sitting down with a basketball. A 6-4 13-year-old with hoop dreams, he was featured as a youngster to watch out for in the future.
When I visited Senegal last year to write about basketball in Africa, I found Barro walking with a limp and carrying a French-English dictionary on the campus of SEED, the continent's first basketball academy.
He had injured his left foot, and medical doctors in Senegal were unable to fully diagnose or correct the problem. As a result, he hasn't played ball in two years.
I wrote about Barro's plight in 2006, noting that if he didn't get to America or Europe for surgery his playing career would end before it ever really started. That's when Stoudemire decided to step in.
Stoudemire was especially moved by the fact that Barro is such an intelligent, hard-working young man. The top student at the SEED Academy, he speaks four languages and is rarely seen without his trusty French-English dictionary. He was one of the few people in Senegal I was able to interview in English.
While he'd love to play in the NBA (Seattle's recent lottery pick Muhammad Saer Sene is a SEED alum), Barro is also interested in becoming either a doctor or a lawyer. "I want to go to college,'' he told me.
Because of Stoudemire's generosity, Barro's dreams may come true since a basketball scholarship could get him into a U.S. school.
"Amare just wants to make a difference in the kid's life and give him an opportunity to fulfill his dreams -- on and off the court,'' said Michael Hodges, Stoudemire's business manager.
Some may attempt to belittle Stoudemire's gesture because of his huge NBA salary, but remember, every other multimillion-dollar athlete out there had a chance to do the same thing. But Stoudemire was the only one to step up.
Also, the fact that Stoudemire was dealing with his own serious injury at the time -- a knee problem that required microfracture surgery and kept him out of all but three games last season -- makes his deed that much more honorable.
Others showed great generosity as well. We received several emails from Americans willing to help Barro out.
Dr. Tony Rotondo of the First Surgical Medical Group in Houston volunteered his group to operate on Barro free of charge, and Dr. Kevin Varner, who does work with the Rockets, will perform the surgery on Friday.
Dallas Mavericks center DeSagana Diop, a native of Senegal, is helping with hotel accommodations for Barro, who will remain in the U.S. for rehab until early November.
Stoudemire was not able to meet Barro at the airport today because of family obligations, and also because he is preparing to go to Italy, where the Phoenix Suns will hold training camp.
Stoudemire plans to fly Barro to Phoenix for a game -- and also to shower him with Nike gear -- after the Suns return to the U.S. in mid-October.
Amare's already shown us plenty on the court. Now he's showing he's got a heart that matches his game.
Ever since that thrilling Spurs-Suns playoff game in 2005, one image has come to mind when I hear the name Amare Stoudemire:
His incredible rim-level rejection of a Tim Duncan dunk attempt (I'm sure you know the one I'm talking about).
Well, that image will now be replaced by an even greater one.
Amare's heart.
Today, 16-year-old Amadou Barro Ndieguene was flown from Senegal to Houston (by way of Paris) for a special surgery on his injured left foot. The $2,500 roundtrip ticket was paid for by Stoudemire.
Stoudemire doesn't know Barro from Adam. Never met him or talked to him. But he was so touched by an article I wrote about Barro in the Feb. 27, 2006 issue of ESPN The Magazine, that he volunteered to fly him to America for surgery.
Barro was The Magazine's cover boy for the May 26, 2003 "On the Trail of Next'' issue. It was an arresting photo of a shirtless Barro sitting down with a basketball. A 6-4 13-year-old with hoop dreams, he was featured as a youngster to watch out for in the future.
When I visited Senegal last year to write about basketball in Africa, I found Barro walking with a limp and carrying a French-English dictionary on the campus of SEED, the continent's first basketball academy.
He had injured his left foot, and medical doctors in Senegal were unable to fully diagnose or correct the problem. As a result, he hasn't played ball in two years.
I wrote about Barro's plight in 2006, noting that if he didn't get to America or Europe for surgery his playing career would end before it ever really started. That's when Stoudemire decided to step in.
Stoudemire was especially moved by the fact that Barro is such an intelligent, hard-working young man. The top student at the SEED Academy, he speaks four languages and is rarely seen without his trusty French-English dictionary. He was one of the few people in Senegal I was able to interview in English.
While he'd love to play in the NBA (Seattle's recent lottery pick Muhammad Saer Sene is a SEED alum), Barro is also interested in becoming either a doctor or a lawyer. "I want to go to college,'' he told me.
Because of Stoudemire's generosity, Barro's dreams may come true since a basketball scholarship could get him into a U.S. school.
"Amare just wants to make a difference in the kid's life and give him an opportunity to fulfill his dreams -- on and off the court,'' said Michael Hodges, Stoudemire's business manager.
Some may attempt to belittle Stoudemire's gesture because of his huge NBA salary, but remember, every other multimillion-dollar athlete out there had a chance to do the same thing. But Stoudemire was the only one to step up.
Also, the fact that Stoudemire was dealing with his own serious injury at the time -- a knee problem that required microfracture surgery and kept him out of all but three games last season -- makes his deed that much more honorable.
Others showed great generosity as well. We received several emails from Americans willing to help Barro out.
Dr. Tony Rotondo of the First Surgical Medical Group in Houston volunteered his group to operate on Barro free of charge, and Dr. Kevin Varner, who does work with the Rockets, will perform the surgery on Friday.
Dallas Mavericks center DeSagana Diop, a native of Senegal, is helping with hotel accommodations for Barro, who will remain in the U.S. for rehab until early November.
Stoudemire was not able to meet Barro at the airport today because of family obligations, and also because he is preparing to go to Italy, where the Phoenix Suns will hold training camp.
Stoudemire plans to fly Barro to Phoenix for a game -- and also to shower him with Nike gear -- after the Suns return to the U.S. in mid-October.
Amare's already shown us plenty on the court. Now he's showing he's got a heart that matches his game.
