A former professional athlete, and very active on a daily basis with local communities, Lauren Holiday is one with her husband Jrue, and three months ago, they received, together, the “Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award” for their social engagement.
The couple imagined this new season in Milwaukee, with their children, and then suddenly, last week, a twist: Jrue was traded to Portland for Damian Lillard. Since then, the All-Star point guard has packed his bags for Boston, and in a message posted on social networks, Lauren gets angry with this expression that we hear after every exchange: “it’s business”.
“We are human beings whose children develop friendships with other children”
“On Wednesday, my husband was taking a nap, and he woke up to find out he had been traded. No warning, no sign, not even a discussion that this might be a possibility. It’s just that it’s done. Now move on because ‘it’s nothing personal, it’s business’. I’m not sharing this to say we’re entitled to anything. I share this to say that we are human beings whose children develop friendships with other children in our community, that we value family and friendships, and that we invest in the cities in which we play. We don’t just benefit from the city we play in. We give to the city we play in and we give it our all. »
For the former footballer, NBA leaders forget that there is a family behind each star, but also daily charitable actions, and “it’s more than business”.
“It’s not because it hurts us, but because we are people, we are humans, we have relationships, dreams and connections to the place where we play. As I write this, we mourn this loss while celebrating the hope and joy of what lies ahead. Evolution is about allowing ourselves to feel this pain now and transform it into strength to move forward. This is who we are and this is what we always will be. »
“Imagine a world in which we didn’t hide behind business, where we didn’t treat each other like commodities”
She ends her long message by dreaming of a world where leaders would take athletes as much into account as people.
“Imagine a world in which we do not hide behind business, where we do not treat each other like commodities, but rather see ourselves as valuable parts of a human community intended to serve each other others in various ways. Imagine if we didn’t just put dollar signs on athletes. Imagine if we invested in them as human beings, as incredible forces for good, if we had the same expectations for ourselves in our daily lives as we do for every athlete who walks into their gym. We expect efforts. We expect concentration. We expect integrity. We expect greatness. What if our business standards were the same? In other words, imagine if this was a personal AND professional matter. This is the world I want to create. »
