Chicago Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu discovered himself in surprising firm Monday — with former President Barack Obama.
Dosunmu joined Obama, Bulls inventive technique and design adviser Don C. and two Chicago-area college students on a panel at an Obama Foundation occasion for native excessive schoolers. The dialogue targeted on the significance of using neighborhood sources and organizations.
Dosunmu didn’t know Obama can be in attendance till per week earlier than the occasion and even then wasn’t anticipating the prolonged time spent facet by facet with the previous president. Although Dosunmu contained his nerves, he stated the “once-in-a-lifetime” assembly left an impression on him in addition to on the 60 highschool college students in attendance.
“It really didn’t feel real until I actually saw him there,” Dosunmu stated.
Dosunmu is well-known within the Bulls locker room for his inquisitiveness, continuously searching for recommendation from veteran gamers. He employed the identical nature with Obama, who took time to talk individually with Dosunmu.
“He told me to always get better,” Dosunmu stated. “Anything you do — there’s going to be hard times, there’s going to be good times. Just keep it going, never stop.”
Dosunmu’s participation within the daylong occasion — which included artwork remedy and yoga periods along with the panel dialogue — mirrored his rising dedication to neighborhood activism and repair as he rises in stature within the NBA. He was slated to start out at level guard Wednesday within the season opener in opposition to the Heat in Miami.
A Chicago native, Dosunmu acknowledges the duty and alternative his place on the Bulls roster offers. The second-year guard stated he hopes to proceed fostering a relationship together with his neighborhood.
“I’m trying to get better at that, not just being a role model on the court but being a role model off the court,” Dosunmu stated. “Those events like that, it goes a long way past just being a basketball player. I put a lot of work into that. … I want to be a huge factor in that and in Chicago.”
Dosunmu’s dedication to the neighborhood is intrinsic to his historical past in Chicago. This summer season, he hosted a block celebration neighborhood occasion to honor Darius Brown, his greatest good friend who was killed in a 2011 taking pictures on their neighborhood basketball court docket in Bronzeville.
Dosunmu has devoted many moments of his profession to Brown, together with getting a tattoo in his good friend’s honor over the summer season. Brown’s reminiscence additionally drives Dosunmu off the court docket, the place he hopes to grow to be a extra vocal activist in opposition to gun violence in Chicago.
Dosunmu additionally spoke at a peace stroll alongside Mayor Lori Lightfoot in July organized by St. Sabina Church. As he spends extra time within the firm of main Chicago leaders, Dosunmu feels his voice and confidence persevering with to develop.
“I want people to be able to look up to (me), to see that the things I do for the community are genuine, the things I do for the city are genuine,” Dosunmu stated. “Hopefully it spreads and then other people will do the same.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com