Here, Nice Guys Finish First
BLOOMFIELD HILLS – It’s not always easy being a sports fan.
With steroids in baseball and more professional athletes in the news for their time in a court rather than on one, sports heroes can be hard to find.
That is until one of the sporting world’s truly great ambassadors steps up for a cause that he admits is even bigger than him.
That’s what happened as Michigan State University men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo joined forces with For The Kids Foundation for the first-ever Coaches For The Kids Golf Tournament July 10 at Oakland Hills Country Club.
Spartans women’s hoops coach Joanne P. McCallie, football coach John L. Smith and Athletic Director Ron Mason were also at the event, not only to raise awareness for the charity, but also to show the world that there are still good people in sports.
Izzo brought with him the allure of his multiple Final Four appearances and national title to lend his star power, but more impressive was that his appearance meant more than just good press.
“Last night, I sat there and watched the presentation they put together, and it was really heartwarming,” Izzo said. “I’ve been fortunate not to have gone through a tragedy like this in my life, but I’ve been around a lot of people who have. It just seemed like an incredible cause.”
The tragedy Izzo spoke of is the event that birthed the foundation.
The For the Kids Foundation was created on Father’s Day 2003 to honor Norman Yatooma’s father, Manuel Yatooma, who was slain in a 1993 carjacking.
Since then, Yatooma’s foundation, which is based in Birmingham, has established itself as a front-runner in making sure that families suffering similar tragedies get the help they need through services ranging from grief counseling to financial backing.
The combination of Izzo and one of metro Detroit’s greatest sports jewels in Oakland Hills could not have worked better “For the Kids.”
Along with Izzo, the event welcomed in sports celebrities such as former Detroit Lions Herman Moore, Eric Hipple and Lomas Brown to create an ultimate sports fan’s dream come true.
“For the alpha male, this is a lot of fun,”said Yatooma, founder and president of FTKF. “Having Tom Izzo sitting at your dinner table or out there golfing with you, these are people you grew up watching on TV, and it’s a lot of fun to interact with them like this.” Selling out all 240 $5,000 foursomes on the famed South Course that has been home to U.S. Opens and Ryder Cups, in addition to 112 groups at $3,500 a pop on the North Course, showed what can happen when the sports world puts its best face on.
I hope we played a small part in this, Izzo said. “Everyone is enamored with the sports world, and, because of that, it really is a win-win situation.”
A sports scenario where everyone wins and no one is accused of cheating?
In rare cases like this, maybe it’s the fans who should thank the charities.
