Slava Medvedenko.Photo: Jeff Gross/Getty
Former Los Angeles LakerSlava Medvedenkohas raised a combined $253,534 for hisFly High Foundationafter auctioning off two championship rings.
Per thefoundation’s official website, Fly High strives to “return Ukrainian kids to a happy life and help them overcome current difficulties, find friends and enjoy life” through “active leisure, sports and support of professional psychologists.”
Auction officialstold ABC 7that the sale prices “blew away any previous result for rings from these years.” The rings were from Medvedenko’s championship seasons with the Lakers in 2001 and 2002, alongsideKobe BryantandShaquille O’Neal.
In July, Medvedenko, 43, told theAssociated Pressthat he is hoping to raise funds to “restore” parts of Ukraine damaged during Russia’s ongoing attacks on the country. Medvedenko said he was inspired to auction off the rings after watching rockets soar over Ukraine.
“In this moment I just decided, ‘Why do I need these rings if they’re just sitting in my safe?’ " Medvedenko, who lives in Kyiv, told the outlet. “I just recognize I can die. After that, I just say I have to sell them to show people leadership, to help my Ukrainian people to live better, to help kids.”
“We want to restore gyms because the Russian army bombed more than a hundred schools,” he continued. “Our country, they need a lot of money to fix the schools. Sports gyms are going to be last in the line to fix it. In Ukraine, we have winter and kids need to play inside.”
Slava Medvedenko.Robert Mora/NBAE via Getty
“In Ukraine, you’re just feeling it’s war, rockets, air alerts. You’re so used to that kind of pressure,” Medvedenko told the AP of what life has been likesince the start of the war in February. “As soon as you cross the border and see how people live normal life, it’s a different world,” he continued.
After the war began, Medvedenko sent his daughters, ages 16 and 11, to live with a relative, according to the AP. “We were defending our neighborhood, doing checkpoints and duty patrol. I’m not the best solider, I’m not the best shooter, but I can give them support,” he explained. “I shoot [guns] a couple times, not at people. I’m happy I don’t have a chance to shoot somebody. Our army did a great job to defend Kyiv. I want to thank them.”
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The retired athlete told the AP that he still speaks with some of his former teammates. “The Lakers family always help me,” he said. “The Lakers are always in my heart.”
source: people.com
