Sad news:: Manute Bol, the NBA big man with a big heart, has been injured in a car accident (the cab driver died and Bol was somehow thrown from the car). Time and time again, he has put himself into humiliating circumstances, for public spectacle, to raise money for relief of his war-torn home country, the Sudan. This is truly sad news, but hopefully he will recover. Are there any charities he specifically supported? For more information on the human rights crisis occuring in the Sudan right now, check out Sudan: The Passion of the Present.
Gleaned from this previous thread: "Bol recently took part in Fox TV's Celebrity Boxing show and beat former football player William "The Refrigerator'' Perry in a bout. Bol agreed to take part, so long as Fox agreed to air a toll-free number for the Ring True Foundation, a West Hartford-based charity he set up to benefit southern Sudanese children. He donated his $35,000 purse from the boxing match to the group."
posted by NoMich at 01:41 PM on July 02, 2004
I loved Bol's post-pro career of stunting for charity, but this (from the Yahoo article) gave me pause: Earlier this year, Bol was charged with hitting his daughter, cutting her lip and interfering with a police officer. He also was injured and needed medical treatment. I never heard about that. Great post, insom.
posted by Ufez Jones at 02:17 PM on July 02, 2004
:( My faith in humanity drops even further.
posted by insomnyuk at 11:48 PM on July 02, 2004
Kofi Annan tried to tour a refugee camp on Thursday and the fools in charge rounded up and moved the 1000+ displaced people amd their make-shift shelters. Instead, the authorities offered Annan a visit of the 'tourist camp' visited earlier this week by Colon Powell, so named because foreign dignitaries are taken there in light of the above average conditions. Sorry for the politics, but I couldn't give a damn about Polls or Cosby getting pissy. Excellent post!
posted by garfield at 01:13 PM on July 02, 2004