Leading by Example
It's tough for me to not write about sports more often in these pages. For as long as I can remember, sports have been a gigantic part of my life. Whether it was a short lived little league career, a club soccer trip across the pond, or a mid-summer game in Fenway, sports have been a part of my life so long as I can remember. While the people I would describe as my heroes are no longer athletes, there is one athlete who has broken through and I had never even heard his name until I woke up this morning.
Joey Cheek is a 26 year old, gold medal winning, Olympic speed skater. And after 70 seconds of brilliance on the ice in Torino, Cheek took his moment in the limelight point out the ongoing suffering in the Darfur region of Sudan. Cheek did so, not in an incriminating fashion, but in an unassuming, humble, and thoughtful way. In the ultimate moment of personal vindication, individual triumph, and personal success, Cheek chose to look outside himself. During his post-victory press conference, Cheek announced he'd be donating his bonus ($25,000 from the USOC, which a speed skater could surely use) to a group working with refugees in Chad. Shortly thereafter, Nike came forward and said they'd be matching Cheek's donation and would be working with him on the venture, and I'd hazard a guess that they won't be the last Olympic sponsor to jump on the feel good story.
But before this snowball becomes an avalanche of cross-training shoes, shorts, and t-shirts headed for war torn West Africa, lets remember how it all started. A single young man took the greatest opportunity of his life, perhaps the one time the spotlight will be on him, and instead of soaking it all in and getting all he could, Joey Cheek chose to give back. As Cheek himself said, "The best way to thank someone is by helping someone else." Thank you Joey Cheek, you're an example to us all, and a reminder of how sports can bring out the best in all of us.
Joey Cheek is a 26 year old, gold medal winning, Olympic speed skater. And after 70 seconds of brilliance on the ice in Torino, Cheek took his moment in the limelight point out the ongoing suffering in the Darfur region of Sudan. Cheek did so, not in an incriminating fashion, but in an unassuming, humble, and thoughtful way. In the ultimate moment of personal vindication, individual triumph, and personal success, Cheek chose to look outside himself. During his post-victory press conference, Cheek announced he'd be donating his bonus ($25,000 from the USOC, which a speed skater could surely use) to a group working with refugees in Chad. Shortly thereafter, Nike came forward and said they'd be matching Cheek's donation and would be working with him on the venture, and I'd hazard a guess that they won't be the last Olympic sponsor to jump on the feel good story.
But before this snowball becomes an avalanche of cross-training shoes, shorts, and t-shirts headed for war torn West Africa, lets remember how it all started. A single young man took the greatest opportunity of his life, perhaps the one time the spotlight will be on him, and instead of soaking it all in and getting all he could, Joey Cheek chose to give back. As Cheek himself said, "The best way to thank someone is by helping someone else." Thank you Joey Cheek, you're an example to us all, and a reminder of how sports can bring out the best in all of us.
posted by JumboDem at 7:46 AM
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