Talking is an integral part of today’s culture, to the point where we can barely wait for the plane to land before we turn on our cell phones. We are constantly in conversation: talking to friends, co-workers, family members or lovers. In America it would be hard for us to imagine this, but what if we were talking and no one could hear us . . . Either our voice was simply too soft or there was no one there to listen. What if you had to rely on someone else to speak for you? What if you were the one speaking on behalf of those who desperately want to be included in the conversation or simply to be heard?
Spokesperson-(n) somebody authorized to speak on behalf of another person or other people.
A few days ago, I had the opportunity to join the NBA and GBC (Global Business Coalition) on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria) where we had a meeting with a group Reuter journalists from around the world talking about the NBA’s partnership with the GBC and the other NBA Cares initiatives as well as Basketball Without Borders. As I talked about my trips to Africa last year, and my upcoming visits to South Africa and Mali I felt unusually emotional. There was also this odd sense of pressure that I don’t usually get when I speak in front of people. It was an uncanny excitement that I had the opportunity to share my thoughts and experiences combined with a sobering sense of responsibility to make sure that I not only relay what I know, but more importantly that I tell the story correctly. You see I am not a journalist or a author, I am not trying to persuade you to my opinion on matters–I am essentially just a VOICE.
Basketball has proven to be the microphone by which my voice is heard. As I head to South Africa with an NGO called Triad (www.triadtrust.org), my voice will be used to not only to teach what I know about basketball as we do camps and clinics, but also to educate the coaches and players about HIV/AIDS and hope to give them information to live healthier lives as well as attempting to eliminate the stigma associated with those diseases. From there I will travel up to Mali with the UN Foundation to participate in the largest integrated net distribution campaign and to talk about the devastating effects of Malaria.
I write this with complete humility, not assuming that my voice is somehow more important than the next, but rather as prelude to the trip I am about to make with recognition of the responsibility I have to tell the stories that I will encounter. It will be my honor to share with you my journey over the next few weeks. . . Perhaps what I am saying will spark some conversation, and through that dialog, an awareness, interest, and desire to get involved will be ignited.
