http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/13758126p-14600343c.html
A man of faith
New King Shareef Abdur-Rahim finds peace through his religion and charity.
By Sam Amick
The jersey stays on.
In a small room that's fancied up for his own photo shoot, Shareef Abdur-Rahim has made that much clear, declining a request to bare all and meaning the world won't see the tattoo on his chest that isn't there.
Only the remnants remain from the pit bull he had removed some years back, where the word "Reef" once was written in bold letters. On his right arm, the outline of the old barbed wire tattoo is visible, the laser surgery zapping out the ink but leaving a scar.
Higher up Abdur-Rahim's torso, he's missing another feature: a smile. The 28-year-old man without expression stares into the camera, his look of entrancement a doorway to the only place that, in his eyes, truly matters.
The soul.
The surface description of Abdur-Rahim goes as such - nine-year veteran and one-time All-Star with wondrous individual numbers but nary a winning season to call his own. Go deeper, and you learn he's a devout Muslim, the son of an Islamic leader and a schoolteacher. He grew up in Atlanta as the second-oldest of five children and later grew to be a loyal husband and father of two children.
Talk to his friends and family, and they'll say what he won't, that he's one of sport's great humanitarians, using his riches to give back while succeeding in the business realm in everything from real estate to television production. As put by one scout whose path crossed Abdur-Rahim's long ago, "He's the best character guy in the league."
"When a guy keeps the same expression every day, that just lets you know he's at peace with himself, with his life," said Kings shooting guard Bonzi Wells, who first met Abdur-Rahim playing for Team USA in 2000. "You can just tell he has an inner peace with himself."
By the time the shutters stop, Abdur-Rahim is nothing but hungry. It's 2 p.m., and he hasn't eaten since he woke up before sunrise. He won't eat again until after 6:20 p.m., when the sun sets.
Such is life during Ramadan, the Islamic holy month in which more than 1 billion Muslims worldwide and 8 million in North America refrain from eating, drinking, sex and smoking during daylight hours for a month. It is a time of sacrifice, introspection and charity, one of the five pillars of Islam that not only requires fasting but prayer five times a day. According to Muslim beliefs, the first verses of their holy book, the Quran, were sent to the prophet Muhammad from Allah during this month.
Ramadan began in the United States on Oct. 5, while Abdur-Rahim's first game as a King came six days later. When tipoff comes at night, as it did in the preseason opener against Dallas, the games are easier than practice on the body. He expends less energy during the day and can sneak in a small meal or snack before the game and drink fluids during timeouts.
"I think, overall, it cleanses you," said Abdur-Rahim, who took part in his first Ramadan as a 6-year-old. "Spiritually, mentally, it cleanses you. It's a time where you try to be closer to God, read the Quran more. You're sacrificing something for God."
The surface has never mattered to the Kings' new 6-foot-9 power forward, save for those few times when he was caught by the trappings of youth. When Vancouver selected him as the third pick of the 1996 draft after one season at Cal, Abdur-Rahim didn't take long to apply the tattoos and a diamond earring.
Three years later, he had the tattoos removed and lost the jewelry because his younger brother was following his footsteps tit for tat, not realizing until later that his artwork was in conflict with the Quran. He had bought a Mercedes G-series sport-utility vehicle, too, one that cost well above six figures. But who wouldn't do the same, especially if your first adult job paid $6.3 million for three years of work and you hadn't had a car, or even a driver's license?
He said experience has made the balancing act easier between his religion and his NBA career, in which temptation and excess are prevalent. Abdur-Rahim has never consumed alcohol, and he spends most of his non-basketball time with his family.
The early lures of lavishness never stuck, while his roots stayed firm.
Abdur-Rahim grew up a notch below middle class, surrounded by a Muslim community in which giving was the norm. His father, William, was the Imam (preacher) of a large congregation in Atlanta, while working long hours as an operations manager for a freight company. His mother's name is Aminah. When Abdur-Rahim was 6, they opened a private Islamic school in Atlanta that eventually taught children from the first grade to the eighth grade. The lessons didn't stop with the education in the classroom.
"You're talking about people who would buy (food) in bulk, and we'd say, 'Let's do the collecting, with wholesale meat, beans and everyone sharing,' " said William, who divorced Aminah when Abdur-Rahim was 15 and has seven children by his second wife.
"It had to be teamwork. That's what he was brought up in and what he learned. He's been taught to not be a liability. Wherever you are, be an asset."
So when Abdur-Rahim went pro after becoming the only freshman to win the Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year award, he set up college scholarship funds for his siblings and made sure his mother didn't have to work, and he enjoys knowing his wife and kids are set for life. He became president of an Atlanta Investment Firm, AVF Inc., that has been the catalyst for inner-city development.
He founded the Future Foundation in 1999, in the spirit of the nickname he earned in high school - "The Future" - and geared toward at-risk kids. He built a "Reef House" in Atlanta that he would like to duplicate in Sacramento, offering after-school programs for kids and literacy classes for adults every day. He established Abdur-Rahim Enterprises, which provides start-up businesses with financial assistance.
"When you think of somebody who, economically, can do things, it's about the resources," said Abdur-Rahim, who provided none of the details of his charities for this story. "I can help my family, take money and invest it back in the community I grew up in. I can see children do things they would never have been able to do. That's the beauty of being in a good economic situation." In 2001, Abdur-Rahim - who once was named one of the Sporting News' "Good Guys" in sports - received the NBA's Community Assist Award for a program dubbed "Rebound America."
(continued)
A man of faith
New King Shareef Abdur-Rahim finds peace through his religion and charity.
By Sam Amick
The jersey stays on.
In a small room that's fancied up for his own photo shoot, Shareef Abdur-Rahim has made that much clear, declining a request to bare all and meaning the world won't see the tattoo on his chest that isn't there.
Only the remnants remain from the pit bull he had removed some years back, where the word "Reef" once was written in bold letters. On his right arm, the outline of the old barbed wire tattoo is visible, the laser surgery zapping out the ink but leaving a scar.
Higher up Abdur-Rahim's torso, he's missing another feature: a smile. The 28-year-old man without expression stares into the camera, his look of entrancement a doorway to the only place that, in his eyes, truly matters.
The soul.
The surface description of Abdur-Rahim goes as such - nine-year veteran and one-time All-Star with wondrous individual numbers but nary a winning season to call his own. Go deeper, and you learn he's a devout Muslim, the son of an Islamic leader and a schoolteacher. He grew up in Atlanta as the second-oldest of five children and later grew to be a loyal husband and father of two children.
Talk to his friends and family, and they'll say what he won't, that he's one of sport's great humanitarians, using his riches to give back while succeeding in the business realm in everything from real estate to television production. As put by one scout whose path crossed Abdur-Rahim's long ago, "He's the best character guy in the league."
"When a guy keeps the same expression every day, that just lets you know he's at peace with himself, with his life," said Kings shooting guard Bonzi Wells, who first met Abdur-Rahim playing for Team USA in 2000. "You can just tell he has an inner peace with himself."
By the time the shutters stop, Abdur-Rahim is nothing but hungry. It's 2 p.m., and he hasn't eaten since he woke up before sunrise. He won't eat again until after 6:20 p.m., when the sun sets.
Such is life during Ramadan, the Islamic holy month in which more than 1 billion Muslims worldwide and 8 million in North America refrain from eating, drinking, sex and smoking during daylight hours for a month. It is a time of sacrifice, introspection and charity, one of the five pillars of Islam that not only requires fasting but prayer five times a day. According to Muslim beliefs, the first verses of their holy book, the Quran, were sent to the prophet Muhammad from Allah during this month.
Ramadan began in the United States on Oct. 5, while Abdur-Rahim's first game as a King came six days later. When tipoff comes at night, as it did in the preseason opener against Dallas, the games are easier than practice on the body. He expends less energy during the day and can sneak in a small meal or snack before the game and drink fluids during timeouts.
"I think, overall, it cleanses you," said Abdur-Rahim, who took part in his first Ramadan as a 6-year-old. "Spiritually, mentally, it cleanses you. It's a time where you try to be closer to God, read the Quran more. You're sacrificing something for God."
The surface has never mattered to the Kings' new 6-foot-9 power forward, save for those few times when he was caught by the trappings of youth. When Vancouver selected him as the third pick of the 1996 draft after one season at Cal, Abdur-Rahim didn't take long to apply the tattoos and a diamond earring.
Three years later, he had the tattoos removed and lost the jewelry because his younger brother was following his footsteps tit for tat, not realizing until later that his artwork was in conflict with the Quran. He had bought a Mercedes G-series sport-utility vehicle, too, one that cost well above six figures. But who wouldn't do the same, especially if your first adult job paid $6.3 million for three years of work and you hadn't had a car, or even a driver's license?
He said experience has made the balancing act easier between his religion and his NBA career, in which temptation and excess are prevalent. Abdur-Rahim has never consumed alcohol, and he spends most of his non-basketball time with his family.
The early lures of lavishness never stuck, while his roots stayed firm.
Abdur-Rahim grew up a notch below middle class, surrounded by a Muslim community in which giving was the norm. His father, William, was the Imam (preacher) of a large congregation in Atlanta, while working long hours as an operations manager for a freight company. His mother's name is Aminah. When Abdur-Rahim was 6, they opened a private Islamic school in Atlanta that eventually taught children from the first grade to the eighth grade. The lessons didn't stop with the education in the classroom.
"You're talking about people who would buy (food) in bulk, and we'd say, 'Let's do the collecting, with wholesale meat, beans and everyone sharing,' " said William, who divorced Aminah when Abdur-Rahim was 15 and has seven children by his second wife.
"It had to be teamwork. That's what he was brought up in and what he learned. He's been taught to not be a liability. Wherever you are, be an asset."
So when Abdur-Rahim went pro after becoming the only freshman to win the Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year award, he set up college scholarship funds for his siblings and made sure his mother didn't have to work, and he enjoys knowing his wife and kids are set for life. He became president of an Atlanta Investment Firm, AVF Inc., that has been the catalyst for inner-city development.
He founded the Future Foundation in 1999, in the spirit of the nickname he earned in high school - "The Future" - and geared toward at-risk kids. He built a "Reef House" in Atlanta that he would like to duplicate in Sacramento, offering after-school programs for kids and literacy classes for adults every day. He established Abdur-Rahim Enterprises, which provides start-up businesses with financial assistance.
"When you think of somebody who, economically, can do things, it's about the resources," said Abdur-Rahim, who provided none of the details of his charities for this story. "I can help my family, take money and invest it back in the community I grew up in. I can see children do things they would never have been able to do. That's the beauty of being in a good economic situation." In 2001, Abdur-Rahim - who once was named one of the Sporting News' "Good Guys" in sports - received the NBA's Community Assist Award for a program dubbed "Rebound America."
(continued)
