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| Andrew Tan of Jersey Haven, Stephon Marbury, and Sheryl Reyes hold up the Love is Love special and limited edition jersey (with Marbury on the back with his #3) that will benefit victims of Biliary Artesia. |
Marbury for A Cause
by rick olivares
If you’ve come expecting the sneer and streetwise
attitude that Stephon Marbury displayed during his NBA career to be on full
display at the Heroes Café at Bonifacio High Street you’d be pleasantly surprised
to see that Star is all smiles and looks you in the eye when you hold a
conversation. He smiles and cracks jokes. He never fails to pose for a photo,
sign an autograph, or answer questions.
Marbury is in Manila for the fourth time in the last
couple of years. He’s back this time to launch “Jersey for A Cause,” a charity
where the proceeds of a sale of special and limited edition basketball jersey
will all go to the Ang Pamilyang Lansangan Foundation (APLF) to particularly
help defray the cost of Biliary Artesia, a disease of the liver that is fatal
to children.
During the presscon at Heroes Café to unveil the
special jersey, Stephon carried six-year old Hannah Honor, who was successfully
treated for the disease. He constantly whispered encouragement to Hannah and
her family as well as the other families that APFL brought to the proceedings. “My
heart goes out to them, man. That’s a tough situation. People should really do
more to help the unfortunate and the needy.”
Hannah wore a Miami Heat shirt and not one of the
colors of the five NBA teams he played for in his 14-year career. “That’s all
right,” he said of the shirt that bore LeBron James’ name. “At least people are
basketball fans. A positive love for the sport can mean good things.”
“But the most important jersey at the moment -- is
this one right here,” he said pointing to the special and limited edition
jersey manufactured by Jersey Haven that used Filipino colors with the words
“Love is love” boldly printed in front. “That’s the home team right there,”
Marbury pointed to the families with children afflicted with Biliary Artesia.
“My home team.”
“I really hope we can get people to support Jersey
for A Cause then that will be meaningful not to me but to the families and children
whose lives are at stake. If people can spend a lot of money on gadgets and
other luxury goods what helping out here? This is a country (the Philippines) that
loves, lives and breathes basketball so what’s the cost of a basketball jersey
that goes to a really good cause? I hope Filipinos and basketball fans come out
to support this.”
“I am not trying to change the world,” underscored
Steph belying rumors that he’s become a new millennium basketball-dribbling
Dalai Lama, “I am trying to help the world.”
“Love is love,” the mantra that Marbury recites along
with thanking God for hundreds of times a day isn’t something new he thought of
after his experiences in China. “It was there from my beginning. It got lost in
the shuffle between all the noise and controversy. It’s when I got to China
when there was less outside noise that the message got louder. Social media
certainly helped me get the message across too.”
Even at the height of his NBA career, Marbury was
into philanthropy as he donated huge amounts of his pay to the victims of 9/11
and Hurricane Katrina as well as the police, fire, and emergency departments
and teachers of New York City.
He even came out with a line of shoes and clothing
called “Starbury” that made shoes and clothes at the bargain basement price of
$14.98. In China, Marbury is also assisting in other things such as the
creation of classrooms for children.
So why the Philippines as well?
Star spoke of how he became friends with agent Sheryl
Reyes and local sports scribe Tina Maralit and how they collectively hatched
this charity event together. “I love those girls. Their doing good things and
that’s something I can appreciate. China’s like my second home now and because
of them, the warm reception I get every time I am here and the love that is
shown me, the Philippines is my third home.”
“I know what it’s like to not have things at home,”
he related. “My mother worked lots of jobs just to put food on the table and
clothes and shoes on us. Not everyone makes a lot of money so what if we can do
something for them; make their lives a little easier? I am not in this business
to take advantage but to help others.”
“When you’re living in America you kind of think you
know all you need to know because of what we have but when you go out, you
expand your horizons, you know more. There are misconceptions about places like
China that you are glad to know aren’t true at all. When you see the world, you
know more and you love life more. You appreciate things and realize, ‘Man, life
is good and you can do good.’”
After the press conference, Marbury patiently took close
to two hours worth of individual interviews fielding questions about his NBA
and Chinese Basketball Association careers and his thoughts on today’s
basketball stars. Not once did he look at his watch or complained he was tired.
He gamely posed for photos with fans and media. He then spent time with some of
the families of APLF before going to grab what was a really late lunch (it was
well past 2pm when it was all done).
When he stepped out of Heroes Café, a fan asked for a
photo. After the photo op, the fan asked if he was here for a game. Marbury
explained that it was for “Jersey for a Cause.”
This isn’t about me… but them,” he said pointing to
the APLF families and their children.
There were more smiles
around.
The special and limited edition Love
is Love jersey can be ordered through Jersey Haven's website:
jerseyhaven.com.ph or through their Facebook account. ALL the proceeds will go
to the children stricken by Biliary Artesia.
Heroes Café,
located in Bonifacio High Street sell designer toys, graphic novels, t-shirts
of super heroes and collectible items. There’s also café to serve hungry
fanboys and collectors.
Read my piece on Stephon Marbury and his China adventure.
Read my piece on Stephon Marbury and his China adventure.
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