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Bada Bing Shine : Chris Webber
08/04/2006
by Michael TilleryChris Webber shines at Bada Bling celebrity poker tournament and auction for charity.
This past weekend in Las Vegas, Chris Webber gathered some of the hottest athletes and celebrities for a weekend of fun with the premise of giving back. All the proceeds go to the Chris Webber Foundation. Webber created the foundation in 1993 in his hometown of Detroit, MI. The Foundation's mission is to provide positive educational and recreational opportunities to youth, particularly those who are disadvantaged. Central to that mission are four educational objectives: 1) to encourage and motivate children to read. 2) to help children develop the foundational skills they need to become good readers. 3) to distribute books to children and encourage them to start home libraries. 4) to provide reading instruction for parents in family literacy programs. Over the years, the foundation has provided scholarships, school incentives, books, toys, events, field trips, tickets to NBA games, clothes and more to families across the country.
The event kicked off with a welcoming party at Hard Rocks's Body English with performances by rappers, Common and Talib Qweli. Great atmosphere with better performances.
The celebrity poker tournament included Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Moses Malone, Maurice Greene, Chris Webber, and the winner, Miss California Tamiko Nash.
The weekend continued with a swanky soirée nicely hosted by actor, comedian and NBA correspondent, Mark Curry with great performances by Grammy award winner Rafael Saadiq and soulful songstress Teena Marie. Curry had everyone in attendance bending over with laughter the entire night. Other celebrities in attendance included actresses Sally Richardson, Tracey Ellis Ross, Vlade Divac, Scott Pollard, probable Hall of Famer and Miami Heat World Champion Gary Payton, Lil Mo, actress/model Claudia Jordan--who is engaged to Maurice Greene, current 76er head coach Mo Cheeks, and 76er assistant Henry Bibby. Also on hand was former Huxtable childhood cutie, Keisha Knight Pulliam who happens to be dating Chris Webber's brother David and is all grown up now.
In the Buy a Bling Auction, some of the items included are a VIP treatment 2007 NBA All Star Package—which happens to be in Vegas. Pimp My Ride—sound system, custom interior and rims and and H2O party—one hundred of the buyers friends for a day in a private yacht off the coast of Ft. Lauderdale. The event raised over 150,000 dollars with other items currently being auctioned off via ChrisWebber.com. The weekend concluded with a Sunday morning golf tournament.
To say Chris gets his class from his family is an understatement. His mother is as quiet as she is beautiful. She is what an All American Mom should be. You can see that her thirty year teaching career benefited Chris who is an eloquent and intelligent speaker. Chris Webber's father, Mayce, is working the room. Very cordial and social. He's also a man of powerful conviction. An attribute attained most likely—amongst other things—living through the sixties. Here are some of his thoughts.
Black sports: Talk about your son and why he is a man of great philanthropy:
Mayce Webber: Chris is doing what he was taught. I've always told him, that no matter what you've gone through in life, you must give back to the community. If you want to leave a legacy here, you must give back and give a lot back. You have got to give first of all, your time. Second of all you've got to give your money. Thirdly, you must let people know that you are still humble. You do that by being amongst them. Those three things you've just got to give. He's certainly done that over the years after all he's gone through with the Michigan thing and injuries here and there, to see that people still love him is very exciting as well as encouraging to see. He's a good kid and I'm very proud of him. He has this Michael Jordan like presence. I'm not the only one who feels that way. I have to feel that way though, he's my son (Mr. Webber smiles broadly, looking just like Juwan Howard :) He's a great person. Even one on one. If you need a nickel or some food or something, He's not going to say no. I wish the average person could talk to Chris and find that out about him. If anyone asked him for anything and he made one phone call to ask if he should give, that phone call would be to me. I would say do it in a heartbeat!
Black sports: Chris and I talked for a couple of minutes at the welcoming party. I wanted to introduce myself to him before the event—especially because of the lack of Black journalists presently in sports. I handed him an Anthony Carter football card just to see the look on his face. ( Former Michigan and Minnesota Viking receiving great) The look was priceless. He was like a little kid! He knows his history. Everything that he's gone through has given him this humility that is extremely rare. It's obviously because of his support base. The fact that all his family is here to support him is a testament in itself. If you have good parents, most likely you will become a good—if not a great person. Your beautiful wife and yourself have obviously done your job well in raising good kids to become great adults.
Mayce Webber:Thank you Mr. Tillery. I appreciate that. Good luck to you and BlackSportsNetwork.com!
Here are some comments from guest who attended the Bada Bling event:
Steve Fisher, current San Diego State Coach and former Michigan coach:
I'm here because of Chris. The relationships you build when you get into this business is what makes it all so special. Chris and I have been friends since he's been eleven or twelve years old. Not only Chris, but his Mother, Father, sister and brothers. Being at this event is the least I can do. I'm probably the closest one being I'm at San Diego State now. In a small part, also let him know that we still care about him.
NBA veteran Doug Christie and former Sacramento Kings teammate of Webber:
Well Webb is probably my best friend in the NBA. Stuff like this helps impact everything that we are trying to do, because as a people we need to inspire each other. When you see Webb put something down like this..invite people and then for it to be about children..to be about more than just basketball and the glitz and glamor then it's a wonderful thing. He inspires me. My wife Jackie and I have a foundation (The Infinite Love Foundation) that tries to do the same type of things. I hope I inspire him back. Anything that he does, I'm always there to support him.
Comedian and Actor Mark Curry:
Our disadvantaged youth need as much help as possible. It's good to see anybody out there caring a little bit about them. Just so they know that there's hope out there. In the communities, there is a terrible situation of high crime rates, disproportionate education levels—that no one seems to care about and obviously a low self esteem. So when anyone helps it is very, very important. That's why I'm here. Webber's a great person and if I can make a few people laugh for a great cause, I'm there!
Actress Regina King:
We all came here to support Chris's foundation. Anything for children brings warmth to my heart. I feel everybody is a role model. It's just if you want to be a positive or negative one. If athletes desire to give back, then they should do it. People can tell if the desire isn't genuine and just for publicity. The desire should always be there.
Beautiful power couple Kelis and Nassir Jones: This is a great cause. Chris Webber is a friend of ours. Just want to give him our support. I think this is going to have a tremendous impact. There's going to be a lot of money made. A lot of funds raised from directly from one hood brotha to the hood. It gets no better.
Actress Elise Neal: (Hustle and Flow)
I love Vegas, so if there's any events here, I'm here. I like the energy here and when I heard about this event and I see that Chris is doing a lot of positive things—giving back—I was honored to be a part.
Philly fan Paul Muscarella:
I am a big Fab Five fan who has admired Chris Webber as a NBA superstar over the years. I don't like the way he is covered in the press. He is as great a human being as he is a NBA superstar. When I found out about the charity weekend in Las Vegas my wife and I did not hesitate to fly out from Philly to lend our support to Chris and his foundation. I also had the pleasure of meeting Chris Webber's parents who were as humble and gracious as their son. I hope the Sixers are able to surround Chris and Allen with some veteran help. I saw Doug Christie here and maybe he can come to Philly to help out on defense ( he laughs ). During this event, I have learned a lot about Chris as a person as well.
Current Los Angeles Laker assistant coach, Brian Shaw:
Chris and I are pretty good friends, so I came here to support his foundation. What a better place to come and do this than Vegas. I think it’s important that fans know the majority of African American athletes do give back. They just don't get the positive press. The negative press seems to always be there when someone of color messes up. The fact that these things happen and without athletes getting that usual pat on the back really shows a certain respect for responsibility. Chris is a great guy. Most of the Fab Five came from lesser financial upbringings so to see them give back is admirable. I'm presently a Laker coach whose a little older than Chris. We have been in contact lately. I've just been letting him know what's going on because I'm going through the transition before he does. He's been very interested in what it's like—the transition from player to coach and life after basketball. We communicate on that level. I'm just trying to soak all the knowledge I can from Phil Jackson and see where it takes me.
Fellow Michigan Fab Five member and Houston Rocket NBA veteran Juwan Howard:
Chris has been very active in the community from day one. Since he had the opportunity to make it into the NBA, he always pledged that he would reach out and help the less fortunate. Some go about it with lip service—but of course—he's gone about it by continuously opening up his pockets. Not only that—but by tremendously vowing and giving his support in whatever community he has played in. This obviously is an event that will receive attention. In other events he could most genuinely care less if he received attention. Here he wants to maximize the owning power of bringing so many financially fortunate people together to help who brings smiles to all of our faces, children. I've known him since we were in high school. Sure enough he's always been a good hearted and caring person.
Michigan Fab Five member Jimmy King:,
I'm proud of him. I love what he's doing because it gives benefit to the less fortunate. We met as kids, but he's a grown man now with responsibilities and he's handling it. As I mentioned at welcoming party the other night. We're not friends, we're brothers. We're blood. We've known each other for so long. We know what each other's thinking and finish each other's thoughts. That's how close we are.
Olympic Gold Medalist Maurice Greene:
I came here to support Chris and his charity. To give back. To also come out here and have a lot of fun. I think more athletes should come out and support their peers. Helping each other out is what it's all about.
The man of the hour, Chris Webber, stops by and gives a few thoughts on his event:
Really, I just try to do the things that my parents have and continue to instill in me. Growing up my house was a vacation Bible school and my father was a father to a lot of kids who didn't have that figure unfortunately in their lives. Since God has blessed me with so much, it's definitely up to me to inspire others to give back. Not just to raise money, just to inspire kids to do more in their neighborhoods, to do more in their community—whatever it takes to help get some of our youth back on track. If kids do their part, then the parents have to right? I just want to be a positive force. I thank my parents for everything that they've sacrificed to get me to this point. Without them, I don't know...
Blacksports: Comment on how Phillis Wheatley has affected your life.
(Webber smiles and gazes off) Oh wow! I have her book. The fact that she is the first African American woman to have a published novel. John Hancock didn't believe that a Black woman could write as brilliantly as she so did, so he brought her to the Capitol and made her recite some things just for authentication. To me, that just shows the struggle that we've gone through. When I think of our people, I think of perserverence. That's my aim to get people to inspire others even when times are difficult.
Black sports: Keep pressing brotha. You are a great role model. Thanks for inviting BSN. This is a great event. Chris Webber we appreciate voice….
C Webb:Thank you for attending. I most definitely will. Good luck to you and BlackSportsNetwork.com
Chris Webber has gone through it over the last 15 years, but he hasn't let it keep him down. Simply put, he is a Hall of Famer. His stats speak for themselves. During the event he helped auction off many of the items and handled himself with professionalism. The admiration and genuine friendship that he has with stars in attendance was a breath of fresh air. From current teammates Kyle Korver, Matt Barnes, Shavlik Randolph and Michael Bradley, to the members of the Fab Five that were present—all had great things to say about how good a team mate Chris was and is. Don't believe the hype people. He was available to any fan during the weekend—as were all the celebrities that were present. You hear this and that about professional athletes—especially the ones who make multi millions. The court of public opinion needs to open their minds and not believe all the filler they hear on TV and see in the newspapers, because when you are actually there and see the compassion for humanity that some athletes have, it does nothing but give you hope for a positive sports future. Good job Chris Webber for your help in pointing us all in the right direction.
