The conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to rage, but some big league players continue to do what they can to come to the aid of the second-named nation. A former member of the Lakers notably split with a magnificent gesture recently. It must be said that this concerns him directly.
We sometimes tend to forget it, because it is now dragging on, but the war between Russia and Ukraine is still very present in the heart of the news. If the Russian army suffers heavy losses in terms of personnel, the Ukrainian people see their territory being ravaged by the conflict. Faced with such a disaster, some wealthier citizens decided to take matters into their own hands to improve the situation, like Slava Medvedenko.
The name probably means nothing to you, because we are talking about an ex-player retired from the parquet floors for 15 years now and who has only shot 5 points and a little less than 3 rebounds in his career. However, this is indeed a doubly ringed player, on the side of the Lakers to be more precise. However, the latter has decided to use his trophy cabinet to help Ukraine, where he is from. The Athletic recently made this touching revelation:
Slava Medvedenko sells his championship rings to help Ukraine
Former Lakers winger Slava Medvedenko is auctioning off his 2001 and 2002 NBA championship rings. The final sale price will be donated in full to his foundation to support Ukrainian children, reports the Associated Press. Medvedenko played for the Lakers for six of his seven seasons before retiring in 2007. Since retiring, he has embarked on a political career in his home country of Ukraine.
“We want to restore the gymnasiums because the Russian army bombed over a hundred schools,” he told The Associated Press. “Our country, they need a lot of money to fix the schools. The gymnasiums are going to be the last to be repaired. In Ukraine we have a harsh winter and children need to play indoors. »
We can only applaud the gesture of the big man, who landed at the moment in the big league at the time. Indeed, he joined a team from Los Angeles led by a Shaquille O’Neal absolutely unstoppable and a Kobe Bryant who was beginning to grow more and more in the workforce. If he did not occupy a big role during his years in the City of Angels (13 minutes on average), this did not prevent him from accumulating the charms.
Now, these will be used for a good cause, the former athlete having absolutely no problem parting with them if he can thus support his country. He had in the past created the Fly High Foundation, which supports children by restoring sports facilities and launching a network of sports clubs. As he also indicated, the coming winter makes it necessary to rebuild closed rooms, so that young people can exercise in good conditions.
Selling his championship rings in order to help the youth marked by the war in Ukraine, it is difficult to do more class as an action on the part of Slava Medvedenko. We hope that he will thus help his country to get better, if only a little.