OT - Manute Bol Has Died
Former NBA center Manute Bol has died. Here's the WashPo Post Mortem blog's story.
His cousin George Bol said Mr. Bol had internal bleeding and other complications from Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a rare skin disease that he contracted from a medication he received in Africa.
Mr. Bol, one of the two tallest players in NBA history, was also one of its most exotic and endearing -- and surely the only one to have killed a lion with a spear. His unusual journey to basketball stardom began in southern Sudan, where he was a cattle-herding member of the Dinka tribe and never touched a basketball until his late teens. After catching the eye of an American coach working in Sudan, Mr. Bol made his way to the United States without knowing a word of English.
During and after his NBA career, he tried to draw international attention to the humanitarian needs of his native Sudan, supporting rebel political movements and trying to bring peace to his embattled homeland.
Charles Barkley, who was Manute's teammate with the Philadelphia 76ers, had one of the kindest and most perceptive comments about an athlete I've ever read or heard: "You know, a lot of people feel sorry for him, because he's so tall and awkward. But I'll tell you this -- if everyone in the world was a Manute Bol, it's a world I'd want to live in."
Bol was beloved by Washingtonians who loved his perpetually positive approach to life. Rest in Peace, Manute.
He was a great example of using his status on the court to do good things in the world.
So sad. I mentioned this in the Lima thread the other week, but I'll say it again...it's always pretty surreal to me when figures in sports pass away so young. RIP.
he was a hell of a guy. great example for all.
1. he beat refrigerator perry in a celebrity boxing match
2. he knocked out both of his front teeth the first time he attempted a dunk.
i truly admired his humanitarianism. he gave away all of his money for his sudanese cause.
It is frequently said that athletes are good people off the court just like they are on it.
This man's life should serve as a challenge to every athlete to be a better-than-good person, period. I think his investment of essentially all of his NBA money in some small measure of relief for his war-torn homeland is among the greatest examples of true philanthropy, true selflessness, you could find in major athletics.
..."Get that weak sh*t out of here, MJ."
I actually have the same outside shot as Manute, but whereas his sails unimpeded to the rim, mine gets sent right back in my face.
There will never be another Bol, and that makes me a bit sad.
My mother works at the University of Virginia hospital, and had been treating Bol the past month or so.
She had nothing but kind words about Bol and his family.
I still remember him tossing in five or six threes in a game one night...Hopefully reports of his passing will at least remind people about the Sudan.
What a unique individual and a great man.
He was also in one of my all time favorite movies, I Heart Huckabees.
Sounds like a guy the world could stand to have around these days.
He was one of those people who come along only so often - being in the DC area, I had a chance to see him play on numerous occasions. RIP, Manute
If my memory serves me right, he also played on the then Washington Bullets with a guy named Muggsy Bogues (That's how it is spelled in Wiki). Muggsy was 5'3". I used to get a kick out of seeing the tallest guy in the NBA playing alongside the shortest.
...solid. Here they are. Quite a photo.
I remember when he laced them up for the Indianapolis Ice.
was an all around class act as well as a humanitarian. He will be dearly missed. RIP.
Life can pass you by in a Manute... No Bol.
as when Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash on a humanitarian mission. Manute Bol had been in Sudan at the request of the Sudanese government, trying to help establish some peace and stability, when he first got ill. So sad. One of the most extraordinary professional athletes of our time, for what he did outside of sports.
There was a recent story about his efforts and his health in the KC Star a few weeks back and what made it even sadder was a comment by a friend saying that he would be remembered and paid attention to much more in death than he would ever be alive. Everything he ever made, everything he ever did publicity-wise, was so he could send money to Sudan. Athletes could do more to be like Manute.
Seems like a great person, and he will be missed. It drives you crazy to see good people like Manute pass by when there was so much more good will for him to provide.