post december 2008 steve nash

8/9/2019 POST December 2008 Steve Nash

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1DEC2008www.postphx.com

PHX

Game Over. Game On.

December 2008

AT HOME WITH CARDINALS

STUD DARNELL DOCKETT

Wait until you see his closet!

HES A DIRT LICKER,

GROUND POUNDER, AND

BROADCASTING STAR

How Ron Wolfley morphed

into the best color

commentator in the NFL

THE FBR OPEN

IS AROUND THE CORNER

POSThangs with defending

champ J.B. Holmes

THE I DO THAT HE DID

A Fiesta Bowl volunteers

idea that made history

InterNASHional

D-BACKS GM

JOSH BYRNES

His journey tothis elite job was

as interesting as

it was fast

FROM JUMP SHOTS

TO PHOTO SHOOTS

Boris Diaw is opening

the coolest photo

studio in the Valley

PLUS

// BRANDON WEBB AND HIS

FAMOUS FRIENDS HEAD TO CABO// THE PGAS BIGGEST HITTER

MOVES TO THE VALLEY

// THE HALF-MILLION-DOLLAR

OLYMPIC BASKETBALL

AidYou think Steve Nash

makes an impact on the

court? Wait until you hear

what his foundation does

for needy people around

the world


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o you have a calculator handy?

Wait, to gure out the odds of what Im about to say

would require access to a mainframe computer at

NASA or a friend who picked up a PhD from MIT.

How the heck did someone who grew up in Canada,loving soccer and hockey, who went to college in a c ity

more known for being a tech-geek haven with eBay,

Yahoo and Google headquarters around the corner

then producing future hoops stars, go on to become

one of the best NBA point guards to ever lace up a pair of sneakers? And not just

any kind of sneakers, were talking about environmentally friendly Nike sneakers

made up of almost entirely recycled products. You know what? Dont even try

to gure it out, just enjoy and relish and appreciate the fact that Steve Nash

ended up in Phoenix. Twice. And through a dozen seasons, scores of hairstyles,

two MVP awards and more wins in a four-year span than any other Sun has

been part of, keep in mind the greatest thing Steve Nash has accomplished in

a Hall-of-Fame playing career has all taken place away from the spotlight and

out of a uniform. Steve is undoubtedly the most socially aware person Ive met

in the NBA, Suns GM Steve Kerr told POST. He has a great understanding of

the world, thanks to his background, his education and his passion to travel and

learn. He also understands that as an NBA star, he has the power to inuence

people and literally help change the world.

In a season of giving its important to hear the story of an A-list sportssuperstar who lives in a world where giving never goes out of season. What

Steve Kerr said would be echoed by everyone that has dealt with Steve Nash in

and out of basketball in Dallas, Phoenix, New York, Vancouver, China, Africa

and a lot of points in between. But before he turned his Steve Nash Foundation

into the preeminent charitable arm of any professional athlete in any sport, Steve

was a rookie from Santa Clara University; new to the Valley, new to the NBA,

and probably more concerned back in his rst season of keeping his job so he

could eventuallyhave something to give back. I think it was my second year in

the league that I realized how easy and how rewarding it was to lend a hand to

the community. So it took me a little bit, but I started to understand that there

are people out there that could use our help, and we have a unique ability and the

resources to really help people. So thats when I really started doing all I could,

and really consciously getting involved.

ByZack Simon

Photos byTracy Rasinski

He plays on Planet

Orange, but is more

concerned about going

green on Planet Earth.

He puts smiles on the

faces of Suns fans,

and brings hope to the

lives of young people in

Africa. There really is no

other superstar in anysport that can compare

to Steve Nash when it

comes to a commitment

to helping needy children

and preserving the

environment.

InternASH

IonAlAId

Steve Nash

DECEMBER 2008

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In 2001 he formed the Steve Nash Foundation. Based in Vancouver, it was

given U.S. charitable status in 2004, and Canadian charitable status in 2007.

It is dedicated to assisting underserved children in their health, personal

development, education and enjoyment of life. is is a hands-on endeavor for

Steve. He is involved in all major decisions, and has day-to-day contact with

Jenny Miller, the Executive Director of the foundation. Every day Im involved,

Steve said. Im very busy with it. Jenny runs the foundation in Vancouver and

her days are very full. Between the two of us, were working on it every singleday. eres always something to spend time on. We have a

lot of projects were working on and constantly developing.

But with all the work, you have to make it fun, exciting and

rewarding. You have to get in there and work with your

people, and be part of the team. ats denitely part of my

strategy, because without that kind of teamwork internally

there is no way it would be as impactful.

One of Steves greatest characteristics is his

thoughtfulness. He just never seems out of control, even

when hes spinning through the lane with Kobe Bryanttrying to catch him and a 7-footer trying to squash

him. Same thing with all his work with his foundation.

Everything is thought out, executed and followed up on.

Plus, he nds unique areas of need and addresses them.

ere is nothing clich or predictable about the causes he

serves. His foundation is doing work all over the world. A

particularly important and mammoth project is what hes

doing in the African country of Uganda, where he literally

is building the Gulu Youth Centre for Culture, Sport and

Reconciliation. It will be the rst of its kind in northernUganda, where war has ravaged the area for the past 22 years. e YouthCentre, a project born from a partnership between e Steve Nash Foundation

and Athletes for Africa, w ill bring together activities that will empower, heal,

build condence and provide leadership opportunities for youth aected by

the conict. Its truly an unbelievable endeavor that will change, prolong and

save lives in Africa, while at the same time give hundreds of children some

hope and joy that would normally be robbed of them. Construction begins in

a few months.

Our center in Uganda was an opportunity that really started with my wife

(Alejandra). She wanted to help somewhere and also have the opportunity to do

something on her own, and what I did was set her up with the Athletes for Africa

Foundation. She went to Uganda with the founder of Athletes for Africa, and got

an education on the situation there, which is horrible, aer two decades of war.

Her experience led me to start thinking I wanted to start building something

concrete there. Fortunately, between my cousin, myself and Adrian Bradbury,

the founder of Athletes for Africa, weve come up with a new platform. With

the center were building, were going to ask the soccer community around the

world for some of their tremendous resources. Were going to touch a lot of their

fan bases, soccer moms here in America, really, anyone around the world that

loves soccer, and were going to take care of a lot of people in Africa. ere will

be a soccer academy for young kids. Soccer and its whole fan base is going to

pay for the art, culture, and reconciliation components there. So hopefully thiswill be the rst of many, high-performance youth centers for sports, culture and

reconciliation, Steve told POST.

If thats not ambitious enough, (and keep in mind he does have a pretty intense

day job, too) Steve is also part of Athletes/Celebrities that actively support the

Afghanistan Relief Organization. ey deliver relief aid directly into the hands

of the needy throughout Afghanistan, and oer general education programs

designed to encourage self-suciency at the ARO Technology Education Center

(TEC) in Kabul. eyve distributed food, medicine, hygiene supplies, school

supplies and winter relief supplies (blankets and clothing) and now provide

education to over 800 youth and adult students.

Steve is a guy who doesnt just talk the talk, Kerr told POST. He follows

through on his goals and works hard to promote his causes. His work in

promoting green initiatives and environmentalism is a perfect example. Steve

has worked closely with APS to promote solar power, recycling and conservation.

He and his wife have installed solar panels in their home, they drive hybrid

vehicles and they teach their daughters the lessons of conserving energy and

water. Its really inspir ing.

Nash partners with the Suns on numerous causes, and he never says no

to an autograph request, photo with a fan, or a chance to just talk to someone

and make their day. And with his status as an NBA superstar comes incredible

endorsement opportunities. Unlike other walk ing, jumping, dunking,

product-pitching brands in high tops, Steve Nash is much more concerned

about how he can make other peoples lives better and nding a way to work

together with his partners, like Nike, and any company that wants him to

promote their products.My philosophy is that all of my endorsements have a charitable component,

and some of my endorsements I dont get paid for, its strictly for my charity. I

think its a unique opportunity to have the ability to make change, and I lean on

these companies I work with to put the resources together, Nash said.

By no means is Steve Nash done with his playing career, but like everything

else he does with his life he could go completely against the norm and surprise

us by playing until hes 45, or retiring in a couple years. Whatever else he

accomplishes as a player, as spectacular as it is, will pale in sheer volume and

inspirational value to what hes doing through both his foundation and his truly

special personal gis that just make him care about his planet and fellow man

a little bit more than most of us. And because hes an NBA star, he has the

resources, voice and credibility to actually get something done. And you have

to believe that weve really only seen the beginning.

Imvery

busywith

thefou-

datio.You

havetoget

ithereadworkwith

yourpeople,

adbepart

oftheteam.

StevenASH

Steve Nash

DECEMBER 2008

i

post december 2008 steve nash

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