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DeJuan Blair: Answering The Call
http://0rz.tw/3iw01
by Ken Rodriguez, spurs.com exclusive
DeJuan Blair: Answering The Call
DeJuan Blair: 響‧應
A community is calling Spurs rookie DeJuan Blair. A community that mourned
the slaying of his best friend. A community that watched asbestos-laden
plaster shut down his high school. A community that is losing people and jobs
and historical landmarks. DeJuan, will you come back and help?
部落呼喚著馬刺新人Blair；部落需要你! DeJuan，你要回來幫助我們嗎?
There's no need to ask, really. Blair remains so emotionally connected to the
Hill District in Pittsburgh it's as if he never left. His college basketball
coach saw him at a University of Pittsburgh football game in September.
Friends saw him back in the 'hood over the summer. Blair says he's planning a
fundraiser in The Hill next year.
不必說了，真的。Blair仍是揪甘心地心繫匹茲堡 Hill District，就好似他從未離
開一樣。他的大學教練在9月時看到他在匹大的美足比賽。在暑假期間親朋好友們看到
他回到這裡。Blair說他計畫明年暑假要在 Hill District舉辦慈善撲克牌大會。
Blair may have left The Hill when he signed to play in San Antonio. But The
Hill never left him. "I want to give something back," he says, "and make a
difference."
Blair或許是到聖安東尼奧打球而離開了 Hill District，但他卻從未忘了 Hill
District。「我想要回饋鄉里」他說，「帶點改變」
The Hill gave Blair a childhood, a hoop and a dream. It gave him lots of
friends and a future. It gave him a broken heart.
Hill District給了Blair童年、籃球及夢想。它給了他許多朋友以及未來。它讓他心
碎。
He remembers the phone call like it was yesterday. It startled him awake at 4
a.m. in Florida, where he was competing in an AAU tournament. His best
friend, Antonio Hampton, had been fatally shot at a party.
往事歷歷，如同昨日發生一般。當他在佛羅里達參加全美業餘體育運動聯合會時，這
個噩夢於凌晨4點驚醒了他: 他最好的朋友Antonio Hampton不幸在一次派對中被槍殺。
"I was shocked," Blair recalls. "I cried all night. I cried all day."
「我很震驚」Blair回憶，「我哭了整夜。我哭了整天」
Hampton and Blair grew up together, a couple of houses apart, like brothers.
They were inseparable until the shooting. "If he was alive," Blair says,
"he'd living with me right now."
Hampton與Blair一同長大，除了住的房子不同外，就像兄弟一樣。他們形影不離，
直到那個事件發生。「假使他活著」Blair說，「他現在會與我住在一起」
The Hill was once a thriving community of culture, a gathering place for
artists, writers and jazz musicians. Today it's an urban patchwork of public
housing projects, vacant homes and shuttered businesses. The decay breeds
crime, violence, drugs. Television writer and producer Steven Bochco based
the police serial drama, "Hill Street Blues," on the neighborhood. Every
episode contained a warning at police roll call: "Hey, let's be careful out
there."
Hill District昔日曾是個人文薈萃的社區，匯聚了許多藝術家、作家以及爵士樂家。
時至今日，它充斥著林立不齊的國民住宅、空屋以及歇業的商家。社區的衰敗滋長出犯
罪、暴力，以及毒品。影視作家暨製作人Steven Bochco據此製作的治安連續劇 — Hill
Street Blues — 於鄰近地區播出。每一集都夾帶著警告:「嘿! 在那邊要小心點兒啊 」
Bochco included that line for a reason. "As far as tough neighborhoods go,
it's the toughest in Pittsburgh," says University of Pittsburgh basketball
coach Jamie Dixon.
Bochco的影集並非空穴來風。「就這附近週遭的問題社區而言，此處是匹茲堡之最」
匹大籃球教練Jamie Dixon說。
The Hill claimed Blair's best friend and closed his school. It also provided
inspiration. Before he arrived at the University of Pittsburgh -- just 600
yards away from his home -- Blair began lifting his community. As a senior,
he led Schenley High to the state championship. He announced his decision to
attend Pittsburgh at a recreation center in The Hill. After his first season
at Pitt, Blair became larger than life on The Hill.
Hill District奪去了Blair最好的朋友，並讓他的學校關閉。同時也鼓舞他不斷前進。
在他進匹茲堡大學之前 — 距他家僅僅六百碼遠 — Blair開始鼓舞他的社區。當他4年
級時，他率領Schenley高校得到州冠軍。他在Hill District的育樂中心宣佈了他要進入
Pittsburgh的決心。在他於匹大第一年之後，Blair成為Hill District的英雄人物。
(片: larger than life)
He visited schools, hung out at the rec center and gave motivational
speeches. Recalls Dixon, "His freshman year I said, 'Hey DeJuan, you are not
going to be here for four years. What I want from you is to impact this city,
I want you to be a person of stature because of the things you do beyond your
playing career.'"
他拜訪了學校，在育樂中心掛上球衣並進行激勵人心的演說。Dixon回憶道:「在他新
人年時我說『嘿，DeJuan! 你不會在這兒待個四年。我想藉著你來影響這座城市。我要
你成為一個了不起的人，因為你的所作所為造成的影響會更甚於你的球員生涯』」
Blair took the charge seriously, so seriously he often showed up at schools
without telling officials at Pittsburgh who arrange such events.
Blair將此謹記於心，因此他常在未告知匹大安排活動人員們的情況下，正經地出席
參加學校所舉辦的活動。
"He'd go out and speak to a high school on his own," says Pittsburgh media
relations director Greg Hotchkiss. "He'd go out and do community service on
his own.
「他已步出校門並自行到高中演說」匹大媒體公關主任Greg Hotchkiss說，「他已
步出匹大並自行從事社區服務」
You'll see DeJuan reaching out to the San Antonio community and you'll love
him there. He's a unique individual. We really enjoyed him here."
你將看到DeJuan深入到聖安東尼奧社區，而你將會喜歡上他。他是個獨特的傢伙。
我們十分高興他來到這裡。
Blair, it seems, will fit nicely into an organization with a history of
outreach. Since 1988, The Spurs Foundation has donated more than $14 million
to area charities. Every year, the Spurs family makes more than 1,000
community appearances. In 2003, the NBA renamed its Community Assist Award
after Hall of Famer David Robinson, who spent $9 million to build a private
school on the East Side.
看來Blair將很適合延續這個組織的歷史傳承。自1988年以來，馬刺基金會捐贈了超
過一千四百萬美元到地方上的慈善機構。每年馬刺成員們造訪了一千多個社區。在2003
年，NBA的社區援助獎重新以名人堂球星David Robinson命名之 — 在他花了九百萬美
元在東區興建私立學校之後。
Back East, Blair touts his neighborhood every chance he gets. In one YouTube
video, he poses with his old high school principal. He takes some reporters
to the Ammon Community Center. He takes others on a drive across The Hill.
回歸到匹茲堡，Blair盡其所能地讓他的故鄉週遭得以曝光。在某個YouTube的影片
中，他假扮他高中的老校長。他帶著記者們來到Ammon Community Center。他帶著記
者深入整個 Hill District。
"He's a celebrity, the guy they look up to," says Hotchkiss, who once
accompanied Blair and the media on a tour of The Hill. "But I think they
respect him because of the person he is. A down-to-earth guy. Not real
flashy."
「他是他們尊敬的名人」Hotchkiss說，他曾隨同Blair到 Hill District巡禮報導。
「但我認為他們是因為他就是這麼樣的人而尊敬他。一個樸實無華的人。而非華而不
實。」
How much influence does Blair wield?
Blair有多大的影響力呢?
"I've gotten calls from people who want DeJuan to protest for certain rights
and causes," Hotchkiss says. "They're building a new hockey arena downtown in
an area that borders The Hill District. People don't like the fact that it's
getting built there. They organized and wanted DeJuan to show up and protest.
He hasn't done much in politics. But he could get into that."
「我聽過人們要DeJuan為了某些權利及理由挺身出來抗議」Hotchkiss說，「他們正
在比鄰 Hill District的鬧區建一座曲棍球館。人們不願在那建造球館。他們組織起來
並要DeJuan出席抗議。他對政治牽涉不多。但他能夠參與其中。」
Blair's popularity extends beyond The Hill. He rode in a car with the
Pittsburgh Steelers during their Super Bowl parade, an appearance that
blindsided the University of Pittsburgh media relations staff. "Oh my
goodness, it's Blair," Hotchkiss recalls saying. "The parade stops, the
players go to a podium to speak, and there was DeJuan on the stage."
Blair的聲望遍及 Hill District。在超級盃遊行中他與匹茲堡鋼鐵人隊共搭一車，
出奇不意地嚇到匹大公關人員。「歐買尬～是Blair耶!」Hotchkiss回憶道。「遊行車
隊停下來後，球員們到臺上演講，而DeJuan也在那兒。」
Sometimes Blair hangs with Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes. Sometimes Blair
hangs with kids from The Hill. He tells them to stay in school, to stay out
of trouble, to follow their dreams.
有時Blair與超級盃MVP Santonio Holmes站在一起。有時Blair與 Hill District的
孩子們同在。他告訴他們待在學校，遠離麻煩，去追逐他們的夢想。
The kids know Blair isn't the only one to make it out of The Hill. One
success story grew up next door to him. Aaron Gray now plays for the New
Orleans Hornets.
孩子們知道Blair不是 Hill District出身而有所成就的唯一一人。另一個成功的
故事就在他的近鄰之中 — 現在在紐澳良黃蜂隊打球的Aaron Gray。
There's a lot of history on The Hill. Lena Horne and George Benson used to
perform at a jazz club. Former Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Willie Stargell
owned a fried chicken store. Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and others used to
play Negro League baseball. Now comes Blair, a young man who wants to lift
The Hill as if it were a ball in his hand.
Hill District有著許多歷史的痕跡。Lena Horne和George Benson過去曾在一家爵士
俱樂部裡頭演奏。前匹茲堡海盜重炮Willie Stargell擁有一家炸雞店。Satchel Paige、
Josh Gibson及其他球員們過去曾在黑人聯盟中打球過。現在輪到Blair了，一個要讓
Hill District如同他手中的籃球一般揚眉吐氣的年輕人。
"I want to go back and have an 'Antonio Hampton Day' in May," Blair says. "I
want to raise money for kids in the district."
「我要回到這兒，讓這裡每年五月都會有個"Antonio Hampton日"」Blair說，「我
要在這裡為孩子們募款」
Some of those kids are aimless, fatherless, bereft of hope. Blair cannot
repair the brokenness. But he can extend a hand, and lift those who are
willing, one at a time.
這裡的某些孩子們沒有目標、沒有父親、沒有希望。Blair無法彌補這些破碎的心，
但他可以伸出援助之手，振臂一呼，號召志願者們，一步一步來做起。
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