A Professional Athlete Has Done Something Shocking... and the Media Appears to be Trying to Cover it Up!
On Monday, a professional baseball player did one of the most shocking things I have ever heard of and very few people are talking about it.
Russel Westbrook's fashion choices are always HUGE news.
Even though it should have been huge news, a blurb has not appeared on the crawl of the bottom of my TV screen as I watch ESPN. This information is not plastered all over social media or the internet. It is not the lead sports story of any local news broadcasts (outside of the city in which the culprit plays). It is not blowing up all over the 473 sports talk radio stations in the country.
I am appalled!
Whenever an athlete commits a violent act, gets caught cheating, fails a drug test, gets in a "beef" with a fellow player, commits a technical foul, is accused of a crime (even if later completely exhonerated), asks for a trade, denies asking for a trade, goes on a boat with his teammates, has a crazy dad trying to sell a shoe for $495, wears a funny suit, or goes on a date with a Kardashian it is nearly impossible to avoid this news... even if you aren't a sports fan.
Stop the presses! A Kardashian and an athlete are on a date!
Yet, this player's jaw dropping action has barely made a ripple in the sporting world.
The player in question is Anthony Rizzo, the All-Star first baseman for the Chicago Cubs ( the team I had despised for 44 years).
What unbelievable act did he commit?
Anthony Rizzo donated 3.5 MILLION DOLLARS to Lurie Children's Hospital.
Ho Hum... just some guy changing people's lives.
Lurie Children's Hospital is the largest pediatric hospital in Chicago. Not only do they treat medical conditions, they are also searching for cures.
What will The Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation's donation be used for?
"The money will go toward setting up a pair of endowment funds, with one going toward providing grants to families struggling with expenses related to their children’s cancer care, and one paying for a pair of oncology specialists whose job it will be to help work with kids as they make their way through the process of fighting the disease." (NBC Chicago)
Yeah so he is only helping families who have kids fighting cancer. That is clearly nowhere near as important as finding out whether or not the 2008 Boston Celtics will invite Ray Allen to a reunion.
Which multi-millionaire should call the other multi-millionaire in order to end the "beef"? Ooooh now that is news!
Do you know what Rizzo was doing in 2008? He was fighting Hodgkin's lymphoma... and winning. At the same time, Rizzo's grandmother was battling breast cancer. Unfortunately, she did not pervail.
Rizzo has not forgotten his battle or his grandmother's...
"In every big moment in my life — like when I got called up to the big leagues — I always think about my grandparents. Every big game I play in, during the national anthem, I always say a little prayer and speak to them, and it’s hard not to choke up and think about how proud they’d be to see what I’m doing now because they know how much I love this game."(Chicago Suntimes)
Rizzo's $3.5 million dollar donation is going to change the world for many families engaged in their own battle with cancer. It's too bad that Rizzo didn't wear a funny suit and have someone named Kyle, Khloe, or Kendall on his arm... then maybe someone would have noticed.
Perhaps millions of people will never know what Rizzo did... but this kid will.
He did a good thing. He's a good man. That's a reward in and of itself.
upvoted for some positive content
@shayne
Very true. I doubt he did it for the press. But it would nice to hear some good news for once. People look up to athletes (for good or bad). It would be nice to hear about something other than failures in their personal lives.
Indeed he did, good look for the sports figures!
hey @hanshotfirst That is a very greatful guy!
full steem ahead!
I know. I love to hear stories of people who show their gratitude for life by giving back!
What a great story, thanks a bunch for elevating it so powerfully too!
All for one and one for all! Namaste :)
I am so glad you saw this! You are Mr. Positivity around here. I figured it would resonate with you and your incredibly positive attitude.
Wow, your words are filled with kindness and it touches me to start my day with such generosity. Thanks you! It did resonate with me. Namaste :)
Amazing generosity, have resteemed this post very good work I never read you b4.
Thanks for reading and resteeming! I'm very happy to write about such positive things!
Omg! I can't believe how such a thing is not noticed in media... That's grat thing.
Upvoted & Followed!
It really is awesome to hear! Thanks!
The world we live in? Or the world we created. These ppl are ignored due to ratings, who provides those ratings? WE do. It really isn't the networks fault as a company beholden to investors, but rather us, for rewarding them with view time for these asinine, trivial stories as opposed to ppl like Rizzo.
I am not a baseball fan, I am a fan of humanity tho, which is why my hats off to him and you kind person got an upvote from me for allowing me to read your shared thoughts.
Have a GREAT WKND!!!
Very true consumers are the ones who tune in to see the train wrecks. I hope steemit can become a place where we can share some positivity!
Thanks for stopping by. You have a great weekend too!
Excellent post! I like your work My friend
Thanks!
This is awesome. I wish more stories like this made bigger news but that would go against what media likes to put out there. Drama, controversies and pointless nonsense sells and people continue to gravitate to it sadly.
Yeah it is unfortunate. Maybe steemit can become known as a place where you can actually read about some good news.
Thank you for this heartwarming post. A light in a sometimes dismal world.
Just have to look for the good sometimes. Its there!
Thanks!
Media don't care about good acts anymore. It is not "cool" or intriguing to the majority of people and it results in fewer views and less profit. I find this phenomenon fascinating in a way. But I just guess that anger and hate are stronger emotions than goodness.
The man is a legend, tho! I don't know much about baseball, but there is one player I like now!
Yeah I have become so annoyed with the monetary aspect of sports (although I think players earn every penny... people are tuning in to see them) that it has become hard to really root for teams like I used to. I have actually started to look into players to see what kind of charity work they do. I am now trying to root for "good guys" even over teams. Didn't have to look too hard to find out Rizzo was doing some really great things. Thanks for stopping by!
I totally understand you. I find myself rooting for underdogs most of the time now as those teams/guys earn way less and truly show passion for sports instead of playing solely for money. At least I see it this way nowadays.
It's a lot more fun to root for the underdog!