Things happen in strange ways.
Four things have recently caused me to think about the Sudan. Three of them are:
- After meaning to read it since it first came out, I am now about halfway through Dave Eggers' remarkable book about the war in Sudan called What is the What. It's really something. One of the most moving books I have ever read, and something I think just about everyone should read. I hesitate to say too much more about it -- it's something you'd want to write about carefully. But trust me. If you haven't read it, that book is something. And it even has a fascinating scene that takes place at an Atlanta Hawks game.
- David Thorpe told me today about the amazing tale of Lopez Lomong, former Lost Boy of Sudan who is a runner who will be on the U.S. Olympic team.
- The other night I watched a Frontline documentary about Darfur.
But one thing that may be behind all this is the reality that Darfur and the Sudan have become a rare issue. Genocide directly affects very few NBA players (here's looking at you Luol Deng and Manute Bol) yet has nonetheless become something of a pet cause in the league.
How does that happen?
A lot of it has to do with a chance interaction between activist Andrea Herz Payne and Ira Newble. Andrea and her husband Hunter Payne founded Aid Still Required, in an attempt to marshall support for a number of causes.
Andrea e-mailed lots of contacts, including L.A.-based agent Steve Kauffman, asking if they might be interested in supporting their efforts. Kauffman, who represents Newble, recommended that she e-mail his friend Ira.
She did, and they got to talking, and he was very supportive.
Only later did she learn that he was an NBA player.
Over the following years, Ira Newble carried the torch for the cause in the NBA. Thanks to lots of hard work by many different people, now all kinds of big-time NBA players are on board.
There is a star-studded (LeBron James, Kobe Bryant ...) Aid Still Required public service announcement that you may have seen.
When I was in Los Angeles for the Finals, I went with ESPN video guru Eric Pierce (who shot and edited this story) to meet the Paynes at their home in Santa Monica, and they talked a bit about the work of Aid Still Required. They told us lots of interesting stories -- disclosing, for instance, that those players on the Olympic team will soon be meeting to discuss what form their activism might take in Beijing.
The PSA, video of our visit, and a conversation with Ira Newble, is here:
