Joey Cheek/Olympics/great person

[demgurl]

I think it is great to emphasize the positive and I just heard the most incredible thing about this man today.

Joey Cheek won a Gold for the US in the sport of speed skating. He is a Greensboro, NC native. (I am so proud of my hometown) The reporters got ready to interview him after his win and he gave a decidedly different interview than the press is used to. You should have heard this guy talk about Darfur and how the people there need our help. He is donating all of his winnings to helping that country and he was hopeful others (that includes regular folks like you and me) would follow his lead and possibly donate and he also mentioned the sponsors of the Olympics. Nike stepped up and is donating $30,000 worth of their product to where ever Joey sees fit.

Joey is inspiring and I wish others would hear him and listen to his lead. It is easy to get caught up in our own thoughts and concerns and forget about the rest of the world. This man's actions should be applauded.

Here is some more information I found on Yahoo:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060214/sp_afp/oly2006sskateusa;_ylt=A86.I0XQ8fFDJ78A5ByQFs0F;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--

[demgurl]

1. Shameless kick.

Just trying to bring something positive to the board.

[suffragette]

2. I join you in applauding him

I saw this in the paper this morning and it brightened my day.

What a wonderful action on his part and what an example to set for others.

Here's some more info from another article at http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060214/SPORTS17/602140436/1065

" "I've learned how news cycles work," Cheek said, "and I've learned that there is a gold medal tonight, and tomorrow there's another gold medalist. So I could take the time and discuss how wonderful I feel, or I could use it for something productive."

~snip

How unselfish was this announcement? Well, after a decade of competitive skating, Cheek will start college in the fall -- possibly at an Ivy League school -- and the four-year bill will probably come to at least $200,000. So it's not like he has $25,000 stuck in the corner of his wallet.

But the $25,000 is only a small piece of it. On the biggest speedskating day of a life dedicated to speedskating, Cheek decided this would not be a speedskating story."

I'm looking forward to rooting for him to win the 1,000 meter race on Saturday.

[demgurl]

3. I am glad someone else sees how amazing this man is.

He is something I aspire to be.

[suffragette]

6. Yes, I was thinking of posting about him but searched first

and saw your post, so replied instead.
He is definitely an inspiration. I hope this will be the main story of this Olympics. The ripples of hope this could spread.

[demgurl]

10. I hope more people take note of this.

I am glad I am not the only one who thinks this is newsworthy.

[KingFlorez]

4. That's really admirable

All of his winnings shows that he actually cares. I think most people don't pay attention to what has happened in the Darfur, so it's good someone is.

[demgurl]

5. KingFlorez....

Yes, it does show he cares. The world would be a much better place if everyone acted as Mr. Cheek did today.

[Ava]

7. that's awesome!

he seems like such a nice guy,
and the fact that he is a cutie doesn't hurt my opinion of him. ;)



:loveya: :loveya: :loveya:

[demgurl]

12. Yeah, he is very cute.

If I were a few years younger and a few pounds lighter.....oh yeah, and not married......I would be looking him up since he lives here. His compassion and idealism is even more appealing than his looks though.

[LisaL]

8. What a nice gesture.

[Booster]

9. I salute you, Joey Cheek.

:patriot:

[marions ghost]

11. I was impressed by him too

:toast: :bounce: for Joey Cheek. His selfless personality shines through all the hype. These athletes can make a difference in world affairs.

[rasputin1952]

13. This is great news...and it reminds me of a time in Seattle when one of

Mariners, (he always wishes/d for anonymity, so I will honor that wish), would go out to some of the outlying areas and watch kids playing pick-up
baseball games. Any time he saw that the kids needed equipment, he would go to his car, and just get the things they needed out of his trunk and pass the items out; baseballs, bats, gloves, catcher protection, etc.

He did this w/o fanfare and very quietly...he always felt that one did things simply because it was the right thing to do, and all the thanks he ever got was the smiles and "thank you"'s from the kids. He was one heck of a player too...but he is an excellent human being...O8)

[Spazito]

14. He is absolutely awesome and the epitome of the true...

"Olympic Spirit", imo. I saw him interviewed on CNN this morning and he was very moving in his passion for the children of Darfur and elsewhere.

Congrats on having such a role model on your Olympic team, I can only hope other gold medal winners from the US AND other countries will emulate him and do the same.

[Spazito]

15. Kick for a wonderful, GOOD NEWS story!

:kick: