R.I.P. Dikembe Mutombo has died from brain cancer at age 58 (1966-2024)
- Thread starter cnc
- Start date
Ohhhh noo.....RiP Big"finger wavin'" Fella
His great legacy is the hospital he built in his native Congo in honor of his mother who died because of lack of medical care.
His great legacy is the hospital he built in his native Congo in honor of his mother who died because of lack of medical care.
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Damn man…..this hurts. The legend.
RIP
“Not in my house!”
“Not in my house!”
'Larger than life' Mutombo, 58, dies of brain cancer
Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo, the "larger than life" center who played 18 NBA seasons, has died of brain cancer at the age of 58, the league announced Monday.
RIP.
And the Orange Moron is still walking and breathing…
And the Orange Moron is still walking and breathing…
Aww man... So sorry to hear this news... RIP Brother.
Thanks for all you have accomplished.
Both on and off the court.
Salute!
Thanks for all you have accomplished.
Both on and off the court.
Salute!
RIP
Diagnosed 2 yrs ago and now gone...smh
Rest in peace to a great person, talent, and personality.
en.wikipedia.org
Mutombo speaks to the Senegalese population about the importance of sleeping under mosquito nets
A well-known humanitarian,[109] Mutombo started the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation to improve living conditions in his native Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997. His efforts earned him the NBA's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award in 2001 and 2009. For his feats, Sporting News named him as one of the "Good Guys in Sports" in 1999 and 2000,[110] and in 1999, he was elected as one of 20 winners of the President's Service Awards, the nation's highest honor for volunteer service.[110] In 2004, he participated in the Basketball Without Borders NBA program, where NBA stars like Shawn Bradley, Malik Rose and DeSagana Diop toured Africa to spread the word about basketball and to improve the infrastructure.[110] He paid for uniforms and expenses for the Zaire women's basketball team during the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta.[110] Mutombo was a spokesman for the international relief agency, CARE and is the first youth emissary for the United Nations Development Program.[85]
Mutombo was a longtime supporter of Special Olympics and a member of the Special Olympics International Board of Directors, as well as a Global Ambassador.[111] He has been a pioneer of Unified Sports, which brings together people with and without intellectual disabilities. He also played in the Unity Cup in South Africa before the 2010 World Cup Quarterfinal, along with South African President Jacob Zuma and Special Olympics athletes from around the world.[112] Mutombo joined his second Unity Cup team in 2012.[113]
In honor of his humanitarianism, Mutombo was invited to President George W. Bush's 2007 State of the Union Address and was referred to as a "son of the Congo" by the President in his speech.[114] Mutombo later said, "My heart was full of joy. I didn't know the President was going to say such great remarks."[115]
On April 13, 2011, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health gave Mutombo the Goodermote Humanitarian Award "for his efforts to reduce polio globally as well as his work improving the health of neglected and underserved populations in the Democratic Republic of Congo."[116] Michael J. Klag, dean of the Bloomberg School of Public Health, said "Mr. Mutombo is a winner in many ways—on the court and as a humanitarian. His work has improved the health of the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital and Research Center is a model for the region. Likewise, Mr. Mutombo has been instrumental in the fight against polio by bolstering vaccination efforts and bringing treatment to victims of the disease."[116]
In 2020, the Mutombo Foundation began construction of a modern pre-K through 6th-grade school in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Named for his father, who died in 2003, the Samuel Mutombo Institute of Science & Entrepreneurship is located outside the city of Mbuji-Mayi.[117][118]
Mutombo was awarded an honorary doctorate by Georgetown University in 2010.[119] He also received an honorary doctorate from Haverford College in May 2011.[120] In November 2015, the NCAA announced Mutombo as a recipient of its Silver Anniversary Awards for 2016. The announcement cited both his basketball career and extensive humanitarian work.[121]
On August 14, 2006, Mutombo donated $15 million to the completion of the hospital for its ceremonial opening on September 2, 2006. It was by then named Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital, for his late mother, who died of a stroke in 1997.[122] When it opened in 2007, the $29 million facility became the first modern medical facility to be built in that area in nearly 40 years.[123] His hospital is on a 12-acre (49,000 m2) site on the outskirts of Kinshasa in Masina, where about a quarter of the city's 7.5 million residents live in poverty. It is minutes from Kinshasa's airport and near a bustling open-air market.
Dikembe Mutombo - Wikipedia
Humanitarian work
Mutombo speaks to the Senegalese population about the importance of sleeping under mosquito netsA well-known humanitarian,[109] Mutombo started the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation to improve living conditions in his native Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997. His efforts earned him the NBA's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award in 2001 and 2009. For his feats, Sporting News named him as one of the "Good Guys in Sports" in 1999 and 2000,[110] and in 1999, he was elected as one of 20 winners of the President's Service Awards, the nation's highest honor for volunteer service.[110] In 2004, he participated in the Basketball Without Borders NBA program, where NBA stars like Shawn Bradley, Malik Rose and DeSagana Diop toured Africa to spread the word about basketball and to improve the infrastructure.[110] He paid for uniforms and expenses for the Zaire women's basketball team during the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta.[110] Mutombo was a spokesman for the international relief agency, CARE and is the first youth emissary for the United Nations Development Program.[85]
Mutombo was a longtime supporter of Special Olympics and a member of the Special Olympics International Board of Directors, as well as a Global Ambassador.[111] He has been a pioneer of Unified Sports, which brings together people with and without intellectual disabilities. He also played in the Unity Cup in South Africa before the 2010 World Cup Quarterfinal, along with South African President Jacob Zuma and Special Olympics athletes from around the world.[112] Mutombo joined his second Unity Cup team in 2012.[113]
In honor of his humanitarianism, Mutombo was invited to President George W. Bush's 2007 State of the Union Address and was referred to as a "son of the Congo" by the President in his speech.[114] Mutombo later said, "My heart was full of joy. I didn't know the President was going to say such great remarks."[115]
On April 13, 2011, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health gave Mutombo the Goodermote Humanitarian Award "for his efforts to reduce polio globally as well as his work improving the health of neglected and underserved populations in the Democratic Republic of Congo."[116] Michael J. Klag, dean of the Bloomberg School of Public Health, said "Mr. Mutombo is a winner in many ways—on the court and as a humanitarian. His work has improved the health of the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital and Research Center is a model for the region. Likewise, Mr. Mutombo has been instrumental in the fight against polio by bolstering vaccination efforts and bringing treatment to victims of the disease."[116]
In 2020, the Mutombo Foundation began construction of a modern pre-K through 6th-grade school in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Named for his father, who died in 2003, the Samuel Mutombo Institute of Science & Entrepreneurship is located outside the city of Mbuji-Mayi.[117][118]
Mutombo was awarded an honorary doctorate by Georgetown University in 2010.[119] He also received an honorary doctorate from Haverford College in May 2011.[120] In November 2015, the NCAA announced Mutombo as a recipient of its Silver Anniversary Awards for 2016. The announcement cited both his basketball career and extensive humanitarian work.[121]
Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital
In 1997, the Mutombo Foundation began plans to open a $29 million, 300-bed hospital on the outskirts of his hometown, the Congolese capital of Kinshasa. Ground was broken in 2001, but construction didn't start until 2004, as Mutombo had trouble getting donations early on although he personally donated $3.5 million toward the hospital's construction.[85] Initially Mutombo had some other difficulties, almost losing the land to the government because it was not being used and having to pay refugees who had begun farming the land to leave. He also struggled to reassure some that he did not have any ulterior or political motives for the project.[85] The project has been on the whole very well received at all social and economic levels in Kinshasa.[85]On August 14, 2006, Mutombo donated $15 million to the completion of the hospital for its ceremonial opening on September 2, 2006. It was by then named Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital, for his late mother, who died of a stroke in 1997.[122] When it opened in 2007, the $29 million facility became the first modern medical facility to be built in that area in nearly 40 years.[123] His hospital is on a 12-acre (49,000 m2) site on the outskirts of Kinshasa in Masina, where about a quarter of the city's 7.5 million residents live in poverty. It is minutes from Kinshasa's airport and near a bustling open-air market.
National Constitution Center
Mutombo serves on the board of trustees of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, which is a museum dedicated to the U.S. Constitution.[124]SportsUnited
In 2011, Mutombo also traveled to South Sudan as a SportsUnited sports envoy for the U.S. Department of State. In this capacity, he worked with Sam Perkins to lead a series of basketball clinics and team-building exercises with 50 youths and 36 coaches. This helped contribute to the State Department's mission to remove barriers and create a world in which individuals with disabilities enjoy dignity and full inclusion in society.[125]Ask The Doctor
In April 2020, Mutombo joined Ask The Doctor as their chief global officer. Ask The Doctor is a platform that connects people from all over the world to top doctors and healthcare professionals.[126]Economic development and gender parity
In 2021, he created his eponymous coffee company, initially focused on the Congo, to foster women growers' participation in international commerce.[118]
God damn. Absolute legend. My childhood and love for basketball was definitely impacted by this man. RIP