Lillard - KIA Community Assist Award

[BoBoBREWSKI]

www.trailblazers.com

http://www.nba.com/kiacommunityassist/

LILLARD RECEIVES KIA COMMUNITY ASSIST AWARD​

Portland rookie named NBA’s top communityambassador during March​

PORTLAND, Ore. (April 10, 2013)– Trail Blazers rookie Damian Lillard has been named the recipientof the NBA’s “Kia Community Assist Award” for March in recognition of hisoutstanding efforts in the community, ongoing advocacy and charitable work, theNBA announced today.

Kia and the NBA are honoring Lillard for hiscommitment to anti-bullying and his ongoing support of local, regional andnational organizations that share his passion for promoting respect for all. Heteamed up with Les Schwab and adidas to help the Trail Blazerstip off the “Respect, Pass It On.” campaign on March 4, which encourages peopleto take a stand against bullying and pledge to respect others. The Respectcampaign also encourages people to make an anti-bullying pledge online at trailblazers.com/respect,which has resulted in more than 5,000 pledges to date.

“It’s an honor to receive this award and Ihope that it will bring even more attention to the Respect campaign,” saidLillard. “I’ve seen too many of the negative effects that bullying has onpeople, especially kids. Now that I’ve learned how many people look up to us asNBA players, I want to make the most of it by getting behind positiveinitiatives like anti-bullying.”

Lillard is the fourth NBA rookie to receivethe award and the first since Atlanta’s Al Horford in 2008. He is the fifthTrail Blazers player to win the award (Wesley Matthews, Feb. 2012; JuwanHoward, April 2010; Theo Ratliff, May 2006; Damon Stoudamire, Oct. 2004). TheNBA began naming Community Assist award winners at the beginning of the 2001-02season.

 

[Ed O]

All-caps KIA makes it look like Killed in Action to me for some reason.

Irrespective of that, congrats to Lillard!

Ed O.

 

[Further]

Good and all, but I really don't care that much about this anti-bulling stuff. Rasheed Wallace did much more actual good with all his coat drives, but for some reason that's less sexy than being in an advertisement saying "respect".

 

[BlazerWookee]

I'm getting tired of being bullied by all these anti-bullying bullies...

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Good and all, but I really don't care that much about this anti-bulling stuff. Rasheed Wallace did much more actual good with all his coat drives, but for some reason that's less sexy than being in an advertisement saying "respect".

Stupid Post of the Day Award Winner!

FYI - W.Matthews has been doing coat drives.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Lillard bullied KIA into giving him that award.

 

[HailBlazers]

Props to Dame, wearing the Respect wristband as I type!

 

[mook]

Good and all, but I really don't care that much about this anti-bulling stuff. Rasheed Wallace did much more actual good with all his coat drives, but for some reason that's less sexy than being in an advertisement saying "respect".

If I were a kid, I'd be bothered more by an ass-kicking than I would be about getting cold.

You can count up coats and point to it as a tangible success. It's impossible to measure whether the Lillard campaign really did any good.

But when you see how much money companies throw at these athletes, and when you see kids line up for autographs, and you see how popular the summer camps are, it seems like a pretty safe speculation that he did some good. Kids pay attention to what these guys say and do.

I was always in the Charles Barkley school of "sports stars aren't role models" camp. It should be up to parents. But having been a parent and seen it from the kids' perspective more and more, I'm coming around.

 

[crandc]

God, is Damian the best Blazers draft pick in ages or what? Stay healthy, dude. All I ask.

 

[Further]

If I were a kid, I'd be bothered more by an ass-kicking than I would be about getting cold.

You can count up coats and point to it as a tangible success. It's impossible to measure whether the Lillard campaign really did any good.

But when you see how much money companies throw at these athletes, and when you see kids line up for autographs, and you see how popular the summer camps are, it seems like a pretty safe speculation that he did some good. Kids pay attention to what these guys say and do.

I was always in the Charles Barkley school of "sports stars aren't role models" camp. It should be up to parents. But having been a parent and seen it from the kids' perspective more and more, I'm coming around.

You have some good points, but I guess i just don't know if this type of message gets to the bullies. I mean I really don't know. I know that in LA, on the back of buses some have stickers that say "Stop Senior Abuse". It's a good message, but I really doubt anybody who abuses seniors reads a sticker on the back of a bus and decides that he'll stop hitting grandpa.

Perhaps with kids, a sports star is what it takes to reach some of these bullies, and if so, then I do take back my earlier post, this might be an important action to take. I really just don't know.

And I was bullied quite a lot in the fifth grade. It was bad enough that my parents decided to send me to a private schooll to get me away from the bullies. Of course, I was so pissed that this was happening because I was being picked on, that I vowed not to be picked on again, and instead turned into a bully (well, kind of a bully, I would fight people who I thought were bullies, when in truth, they were just young.). Only for a short time, then got centered. Mid-way through the 7th grade I made a decision to never fight and have not thrown a punch since. Even years later as a bouncer, I was the only bouncer who never got in a fight, I would just talk people down.)

Rambling. Sorry folks

 

[crandc]

It's not the bullies. It's the enablers.

I just read this story. And I asked WHY did everyone in authority, everyone with influence, contribute to this girl's death? Why did they excuse/glorify rape and abuse?

Bullies would not be bullies if they did not get the message it's OK, maybe admirable, to abuse some people. Because of their size, color, sexual orientation, accent, or because they were victims of a violent crime. Damian is saying it's not OK. More power to him.

 

[BBert]

Stupid Post of the Day Award Winner!

Co-sign.