Professional Basketball Player Festus Ezeli Works to Brighten the Future for Youth

Professional Basketball Player Festus Ezeli Works to Brighten the Future for Youth

Meet Festus Ezeli, a professional basketball player, originally from Nigeria. Over his five seasons with the NBA, he played with the Portland Trailblazers and won the NBA Championship in 2015 with the Golden State Warriors. From a young age, Festus was taught that kindness to others and giving back was the way to make a positive difference in the world. We caught up with Festus at his seventh annual Give Back Dinner, where he hosts a Thanksgiving dinner for kids and their families in the Bay Area, which feeds over 400 families. This event and the ongoing mentorship of the kids mean a lot to him, as he sees himself in the kids and he works to inspire them while giving them hope for a bright future. – KH

 

 

“My name is Festus Ezeli. I am a basketball player. Formerly with the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trailblazers. We are here at the Bayview YMCA in San Francisco. It’s my seventh year of doing my annual Thanksgiving dinner and it’s been great. It’s something that means a lot to me.”  – Festus Ezeli

 

For seven years now you have come back to the YMCA, why do you do it? 

I’ve been doing this since I was a rookie, met these kids at an event and they made a long-lasting impression on me. I talked with my team and my people and we tried to figure out a way that we could do something with them, for them, and we started off with a basketball camp initially, free basketball camp for the kids, which led to this Thanksgiving dinner next. It’s something that means a lot, they can bring their families, we just have a good time being able to give back.

 

What does it mean to you to share kindness and how do you feel that you’re bringing kindness to these people here today?

I think being kind is a responsibility that we all have to each other. I think my dad said this to me a long time ago as a kid. He told me that we have a responsibility in the world and whenever we do good, good circulates, and whenever we do bad, bad circulates. And so he always put that responsibility on me to understand that my actions mean a lot. He always told me that when I’m being kind that I circulate that in the world, and I have a responsibility to continue to do good. So this is my way of spreading kindness. To be honest they share kindness back to me as well. When I’m here they’ve treated me like family. The kids are so excited to see me every time I’m here and it’s just good to know that you’re making a difference for somebody. Even if it’s just being there and sharing knowledge, just talk about spending some time. It’s just good to know that you’re making a difference.

 

How are you similar to all the kids that are coming through the door to the Thanksgiving dinner? 

I see myself in these kids because at some point, we were all kids at one point. But at some point, I needed somebody to pull me over to the side and say, “Hey, I believe in you. I think you could do great things.” And that’s something that as a basketball player, kids respect that. It resonates with them when a basketball player can come to them and say, “Hey man, I was in your shoes at one point. If you work hard you can do great things. Anything is possible.” Especially telling them my story, where I came from and not being able to pick up a basketball until very late, age 16. A lot of these kids are really young and obviously they all have their bright futures in front of them so I try to show them and share my story a little bit, let them know that if I can make it to success and keep continue striving for success they from wherever they are in their lives, and whatever they’re feeling in their lives, that they can do the same thing.

It’s about keeping them positive and sharing the knowledge of what it takes and how much hard work and persistence it’s going to take. For me I see myself in these kids and I just want to share the knowledge I’ve gotten so far from my journey.

Why do you host the annual Thanksgiving dinner in San Francisco?

I met these kids here in San Francisco. As a stroke of fate that we did an event together my rookie year. They made an impression on me. I really left that day thinking, I would love to do something, hang out with these kids, they were such great kids. We did a bowling event my rookie year and I remember them telling me, “Yo come to the YMCA, come hang out with us.” And I was like, “Yeah I’m going to stop by.” And they were like, “Yeah right, you guys, you athletes, you guys always say you’re going to do something, you never do it.” I’m like, “I’m a man of my word.” So when they said that it stung me, not because of just my ego, but also the fact that they felt like nobody cared enough to come to spend some time with them.

So two days later after practice, I drove up from Oakland to San Francisco and I made it a point to come to hang out with them. They were so excited, they showed me around the place. We had a good time that afternoon, they have a studio, they put me on a podcast and we just having a good time. I always thought, how can I do something that lasts longer? How can I not just have it be a one-day thing?

So we started off with a basketball camp, it was a free camp, but it couldn’t contain all the kids because the gym is limited, obviously, it’s not big enough to handle all the kids, so we started thinking of what can we do to accept everybody? That’s where we came up with the idea of a Thanksgiving dinner, I thought it would be great because then we can meet their families and we can make an impression on them as well. This is why we started this program. My goal is to be not just countrywide, I’m from Africa and I want to eventually be able to do a lot of things similar to this back home, but I started with where I’m at. I want to keep doing this and make it bigger eventually.

 

With your family supporting you with your give back initiatives, what does that mean to you?

Since I was a kid my family has always preached, they are the ones that started off this gene of wanting to give and wanting to be a kind human. I first saw my parents be kind to other people. When I was growing up in Nigeria, you come out of church there would be people begging outside, there’d be people who were lame or couldn’t walk or had diseases, they would be outside the church begging, and my Dad was one of the first people to help. My Dad was the first example of a kind human I ever saw, as a kid, as a little baby, that’s one of my earliest memories. Both my Dad or Mom give them money, gave them food, invited them to banquets or whatever they could do. I remember the good feeling I had just looking at my parents like that. 

For them to be here with me as I am building on that legacy, it makes me proud, it makes me happy that they’re here, I feel so lucky in the spirit of the season and it being Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for the fact that I have a family who gave me the genes and the responsibility and just the ability to love and to share the love. Having my family here means the world to me.

 

How would you define a kind human?

A kind human. I think I’ve always thought about being kind as giving, right? For me, a kind human is somebody who gives, who makes his or her surroundings better. And the way you do that is by being giving of yourself, whether it’s giving your time, your positive energy or just giving other people an ear to listen to. For me, that’s what a kind human is. Whatever your platform or your resources are, the ability to give is so important in this world. 

“For me a kind human is somebody who wants to make their environment better.”

– Festus Ezeli

 

 

 

What’s your dream for the world?

 

 

My dream is to be able to impact the world. I notice now in my journey of life so far I’ve always thought that I was alone and feeling like I was lost. As I keep going and going through life and I do all the self-discovery and I’m recognizing things I also see so many people who need help, who feel lost, who need direction, and my goal and my dream is to be a brand so big that people get energy, they feed on the positive energy that me, my team, my family is giving out into the world.

So the ability to give back, the ability to heal people, the ability to just create something that makes the world a better place. That is my dream, is to create something so big that everybody looks to that for positive reinforcement.