What happens after the NBA fine? The pushing and shoving is followed by a colorful outburst of words and distorted complaints about the referees and the league. be a bit It's so public, so where does the money go?
At this point, you could be forgiven for thinking about what a potential suspension for a team's favorite superstar would mean for the team's competitive trajectory more than what it would mean for that player's finances. It will be. But it turns out that the fluidity of bad decisions goes a long way toward doing a little bit of good.
“Not many people know that when a player is fined, 50% goes to NBA Cares and the remaining 50% goes to NBA Cares. [half] It goes to our foundation,” says Erica Swilley, executive director of the NBPA Foundation.
The NBPA Foundation was established in 1997 as the philanthropic arm of the NBPA and is dedicated to supporting athlete philanthropy through direct funding and education. They also act as valuable cheerleaders for these efforts, informing the efforts athletes make to maximize their impact. But part of that maximization is also financially tangible. The NBPA Foundation launched a grant matching program in 2015.
Through this model, active players can donate to a nonprofit organization of their choice and apply to the PA to match that donation up to $25,000 per season (or year). Some players reach their $25,000 goal with a single donation, while others choose to spread out their goal amount through multiple donations to different nonprofits. Retired players who have served at least three years in the NBA can apply for matching grants of up to $15,000. Applications were approved on a rolling basis, and from May to September of this year, PA's foundation approved 1,124 grants totaling more than $2 million. It was all due to player fines.
“Fines don't necessarily have negative connotations,” Swilley emphasizes. “Important work is being done.”
In fact, a big component of the PA Foundation, and Swilley's role, is education for its members and the league's fans. For fans, it means understanding that fines, while not necessarily emanating from the floor's most pragmatic intentions, are very carefully considered by the PA Foundation and NBA Cares in their distribution. . What started as a punishment for impatience is now used for good.
The NBPA Foundation operates on five main pillars.
- education
- health and wellness
- Humanitarian relief (including disaster relief)
- youth sports
- social justice and civic participation
The PA maintains a detailed database of where and how fines are spent through these pillars, and where they have the most impact or reach the farthest reach.
While not a data-based metric of success, one thing Swilley believes is important is getting athletes to start doing philanthropic work.
“These athletes have a very unique platform to give back and help others,” Swilley said. That's success for us. ”
For that to happen, the interest needs to be genuine. Swilley doesn't want athletes to just “tick a box” when it comes to charity work. That's because such efforts are unlikely to last long or have much impact. Her work in PA and what she is most passionate about during her 20-year NBA career. WNBAis about getting to know athletes as people and helping them “connect the dots” regarding their interests and potential for community involvement.
“I always tell them, choose something that is a lived experience that you can work with, advocate for, and tell that story, because if you're choosing literacy just because it sounds good. , because the passion never comes from that,” Swilley says. “It's hard for them to understand how some of their lived experiences translate into their community work.”
Age is a big part of the learning process for athletes in athlete-led philanthropy. A fact often intentionally overlooked is how young players entering the NBA are, and as Swilley points out, “They always know what they don't know. That's not true.
Kevin Harter, whose foundation received an NBPA matching grant in May, took the matching program to heart during his second season in Atlanta. He eventually wanted to start a foundation to give back to the Capital Region, the metropolitan area surrounding his hometown of Albany, N.Y., but until a few years ago, he didn't know what to do. I didn't have the time and safety needed to get him on board. years ago.
“The first couple of years in the NBA, you were a little bit light-headed and all you were trying to do was be successful,” Huerter recalled. “I feel like I was successful once I got into the NBA, but [but] Once you get to a second contract, maybe even a second team, you're really successful. So you can take a deep breath and start giving back. ”
Kevin Harter Foundation is in its third year of operation, and over the past two years has expanded to include events within the community. Its main fundraising efforts come from the summer golf tournaments Huerter hosts in Albany, but a matching program in Pennsylvania has helped Huerter and his foundation buy backpacks, school supplies, and a Thanksgiving turkey drive. , we were able to host a back-to-school giveaway including winter coats. clothing drive.
Additionally, all of Hürter's community activities also include sports equipment. Growing up attending basketball camps, volunteering at local sports camps, having brothers in the family play at sports universities, and having a father who coached basketball, his family remains heavily involved in athletics. As someone who has played sports for many years, Hürter believes that the sport contributed to many of his early years. chance. He wants other kids to follow his path to success.
“It started locally for me. Someday I would like to expand beyond the metropolitan area, but I always feel the support from this region,” says Hürter, adding that “coming from my hometown There aren’t that many professional athletes.”
Hürter's community-centered, passion-driven goal of providing sports equipment and opportunities for children in the Capital Region is something Swilley emphasizes to his athletes: connect the dots with selected philanthropic activities from their lived experiences. And how has Hürter's foundation become so influential?
Beyond the PA's completely discreet annual meetings, Hueter and Swilley may have had another influence in helping young athletes find a fit for community involvement. (“They pick us up on the road in different cities, meet us in hotel ballrooms, and we just say, “A few members from the PA come out and the whole team is there,'' Hürter said. ) He is a veteran.
“When I started my career in Atlanta, my veterans were Vince Carter, Kent Bazemore and DeAndre Bembry. At the time, they were starting their own foundations,” Harter said. I remembered Bazemore, who was especially involved in the community every year. When Huerter was traded to the Kings, his veterinarian and “consultant” became Harrison Barnes.
“He's a guy who's involved in a lot of things. He's a PA board member, he's Treasurer, he's involved in the community, he's politically involved in a lot of different things. Harrison is a professional athlete He was once someone, but unfortunately he's gone. he's at spurs now –But he's someone we often talked to about a lot of things off the court,” Hürter said.
“When you have the right veterans on your team who have been in the league for a while and are doing the right things, if you are observant, you start to see what other players are doing. “Both, how they conduct business off the court,” he continues.
Some of his younger teammates will begin to ask questions about his role as aspiring veteran (a position Hürter admits he is in now, though he laughs at his premature aging), or at least his He says he expects him to commit to playing for the Foundation team. golf tournament.
“But,” he pauses thoughtfully, “a lot of that requires young people to be willing to ask questions and be willing to learn and want to learn. It takes years to get there. If the next person wants help, I’m definitely going to help.”
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Fine's ecosystem of players is robust. The league is highly competitive, with more than four NBA games played every night. It's not the athlete's intention to play and get fined, and certainly not the majority (I look at you, you're a consummate professional, no career technical fouls, kind human being, but it's clear that you're not “on the court.”) (Mike Conley). But with so much volume and frequency thrown into the heated competition, it's inevitable that anger will boil over. An even more delicate ecosystem is that grassroots, community, and philanthropic efforts are all supported by the aforementioned fines. This ecosystem is inextricably tied to player success and longevity, so it takes time to nurture, grow, and develop.
It feels a bit contradictory, this one thing fueled by bravado and even ego in favor of something selfless, quiet and necessarily humble. Still, the effect is quite clear: the fines soften and in turn take effect.
