On Antawn Jamison Trade Rumors, Value
January 5, 2011Cavs’ JJ Hickson Goes MIA for a Mandatory Practice, Results in DNP-CD
January 5, 2011Though the on-court season has not been as favorable, the Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves in the midst of a media whirlwind regarding a homeless Columbus man and a YouTube video.
Ted Williams, a homeless man with a “golden radio voice,” as he has been affectionately named throughout the nation, may be on the road to relative riches. Williams, 53, was found asking for help by an employee of the Columbus Dispatch. The next morning, he was approached by the Cavaliers via a radio interview and was offered a job and a home on the spot.
“We offered him the opportunity to be a part of our amazing organization,” Tracy Marek, Senior Vice President of Marketing, tells WFNY. “We explained to him that the Cavaliers have a lot of diversity and opportunity. We’d love to include him as a part of the Cavaliers entertainment team, and we will certainly search for opportunities beyond that.
The Williams story has since gone national (or “viral,” as the kids say) and he is receiving increased attention from other potential employers. But whether or not Williams opts to take the Cavaliers up on their offer, Dan Gilbert and his team remain at the forefront of what exists ahead for overnight sensation.
Reaching out to Williams was a collaborative effort between the Cavaliers as a team as well as Quicken Loans, two companies intertwined by their shared owner. The formalities of the offers are still being worked on as the team will try to help Williams in any way they can. The team is not looking to replace anyone, but that they wish to include him in any voice-over work or potential sideline work.
While there is concern over the individual’s history, the team is looking at it from the standpoint of helping someone out and providing a second chance for someone who had a rough period with drugs and alcohol.
The team (and business) philosophy led by Gilbert has long been about “doing the right thing,” and for two million-dollar companies to have such a fast turnaround in a time of urgency. Reaching out to Ted was merely one of the many ways the team continues to live up to their words.
“It’s incredible. It gets back to what our organization, the Cavaliers and Quicken Loans, is all about,” said Marek. “We see people and we are in a very fortunate position within a family of companies to be able to present people with this kind of thing.
“On one side it’s a very exaggerated opportunity, but on the other side, it is in our DNA.”
Recall the story of Raymond Towler – a man who spent nearly 30 years in prison for a rape he didn’t commit – and the Cavaliers welcoming him with open arms to a pair of (NBA Playoff) courtside seats upon his release. One would be hard-pressed to find an owner/CEO willing to be bothered in the middle of the night over a YouTube video. Dan Gilbert saw otherwise.
Since the radio interview where Williams received the Cavaliers’ offer, he has experienced countless amounts of attention. While he does have representation by his side, he will undoubtedly be very busy over the coming days. And with the increased attention, there will likely be increased job offers and the chance that Williams spurns the Cavs for a bigger city, brighter lights, or merely a better opportunity.
And while the Cavaliers have had a similar experience this past summer with two-time MVP LeBron James, it is not about the potential jokes at the team’s expense. To the Cavaliers, it’s about helping a man in need, whomever the ultimate provider may be.
“What we are most excited about is what we can do here,” said Marek. “I think he is going to get all kinds of offers and things that are thrown at him, but all I can tell you is that we’ve reached back out. Our message back to him is that we’re sincere in what we are offering and we are sincere with what we want to do for [him].
“We’d love to get him back in here and just sit down. The reality is that this has been a whirlwind, so we need to talk to him, to sit down and say, ‘what do you want?’ As soon as we can sit down and talk with him, that’s when I think the real fun is going to start.”
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AP/Columbus Dispatch/Doral Chenoweth III
20 Comments
Thanks for the article from the Cavs’ perspective. FWIW he mentioned he is 53 on the CBS early show today althought NY Post also stated 71.
“Thanks for the article from the Cavs’ perspective.”
Something a little different than what’s out there. Thanks for the kind words.
“FWIW he mentioned he is 53 on the CBS early show today althought NY Post also stated 71.”
Interesting. Cavs also said he’s in “his 70s.”
WOW! What an amazing age we live in. I hope this becomes a hit movie starring either Will Smith or Tracy Morgan! Maybe this guy is set to replace Fred McLeod. What a tandem it might be with Ted Williams setting AC up for “Deep in the Q!”
I really hope this story is genuine. When things sound too good to be true, a lot of times they are. I don’t mean to be overly cynical, but it will be interesting to see if this guy’s story checks out…
Assuming that it is genuine, kudos to the Cavs for reaching out and offering this man a second chance.
He’s 53. He normally stands at the offramp of 71 to Hudson St. Think that’s the mixup
Well if he does “[spurn] the Cavs for a bigger city, brighter lights, or merely a better opportunity,” let’s make sure we don’t put a giant banner of him on Ontario street, ok? 🙂
In all seriousness, great story and great insight from WFNY.
What story is there to checkout? He has an amazing voice. End of story.
They will find a way to turn Cleveland/Ohio into the butt some joke over this, for sure. ESPN?
AP reported that NFL Films is also showing interest in him, though they haven’t contacted him yet.
I personally don’t like alot of the sideshow/gimmicky things now surrounding Cleveland sports but this was a great story. The only thing that would make it better is if this Ted Williams replaced Fred McCloud. Could you imagine AC and this guy? LoL
Thank you for being such a caring organization and keep up the generous attitude!!! It’s great to hear it from your perspective and thank you for taking the time to share and explain.
This is a wonderful story and it is giving people so much hope and is generating so much goodwill and that’s what we need as people, especially in hard times.
This must all be so overwhelming for Ted and sadly there will be people trying to take advantage of him, as there always are in high profile media blitz situations. Give him some time and in the end respect whatever choice he makes. Anyone’s head would be spinning in his shoes, but then add the history of being homeless, which often means being ignored and invisible to most of the world and often treated as a pariah, and also being a recovering addict and imagine going from that extreme to this one and suddenly getting all this attention and being flown here and there and suddenly having all these knew people wanting to meet you, it must be so much to take in. Even good stress is overwhelming and hard to process. He seems like a string man, he just needs to be able to breath and think and take it all in and the fact that he hasn’t jumped at opportunities yet is a good sign, it means he;s being thoughtful and rational and taking his time.
In this fast paced world we go from one sensation to the next, but this sensation is a living breathing human being, not a prize as many will see him, and he cannot move at the light speed that the internet and media can, no person is able to or should ever be asked to. The good and genuine offers will stick around after the dust settles and then he’ll find what is best for him.
We the people believe in Ted, all around the world and all the way up here in Canada we are cheering for him, he just needs support and patience so that he can make the best decision for himself.
One of the many great things about this story is that it really shows how caring and good natured most people are and that if we really tried and really worked together as people we could make good happy stories far more common that the sad and bitter ones that rule our news these days. There is a lot of hope for this world to become a better one. We all have some Ted in us, we all have dreams and have all lost our way at one point or another. This story reminds us that we are all the same; we all hope and we all suffer and struggle and we must use that truth to choose to finally stop judging one another and instead find ways to support one another. In an instant it could be any one of us out in the cold someday , we have all made our mistakes and luck comes and goes. Nothing is certain in this world, except our power to do good, if only we would use it more often!
You did the right thing and a great thing by extending a generous offer to this special man and in the end that’s what matters.
Just as the Cavs are getting over the bum that left them in the dumps, they go out to the dumps and pick up another bum.
His voice is awesome though. It would be amazing if he actually knew some basketball and could do play by play on FSN, but that might be a stretch. Regardless of his basketball IQ, I am looking forward to him doing promo voice-overs on TV and radio for the Cavs
He’d already be better than the hockey announcers on FSN.
I hope the Cavs get him. Really though, his talents would be better served doing narration of Nature Programs or Documentaries. It’s so soothing and powerful.
Great story.
Just wait… Cant’t keep LBJ… Can’t give a homeless man a job… Bring on the jokes!
You guys might like this, minus the Art Modell part…
http://www.acontinuouslean.com/2010/12/27/cleveland-browns-customer-service-c-1974/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+AContinuousLean+(A+Continuous+Lean.)&utm_content=FaceBook
TSA stopped Ted Williams from getting on his flight from Columbus to NYC. No appearance on “The Today Show” on Thursday morning. No visit to 92 year-old Mom in Brooklyn. See, he didn’t have ‘proper ID’, said the TSA. So Ted spent today at the Columbus Courthouse, trying to figure out how to get a copy of his birth certificate. Obviously he did have some form of ID, but the TSA wasn’t satisfied with it. The man has been homeless for four years. OK, America – What are we going to do about this out-of-control phony security dance? These blockheads, however, are typical of our society. Follow the little rule book, and throw common sense out the window. Wrong. No little rule book takes away YOUR OBLIGATION TO THINK FOR YOURSELF. There are times you have to make an exception. That’s “the exception that proves the rule”. It’s like the traffic cop giving the mother of the little girl in a coma in Las Vegas a ‘jaywalking ticket’ – gave it to her right in the hospital. Or the policeman giving a ticket to the Dad who raced to the hospital while his wife’s water broke in the car on the way to the hospital in New Hampshire. RETRAIN EVERYBODY — OR FIRE THEM.
I’d like to meet Ted.
Can he play small forward?
Great story. Great job everyone! Love it! Makes me proud to be a cavs fan and proud to be from Ohio!!
OH!
It would be a great story if this guy could play center or small forward.