INDEPENDENCE: Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue spent his Monday evening serving turkey dinners to some of Cleveland’s less fortunate. That’s nothing new for Lue, who has been the driving force behind similar charitable acts around his hometown of Mexico, Mo., for years.
Lue is active in his hometown, from his annual Fourth of July party to the Thanksgiving and Christmas traditions centered around turkeys and toys. Lue has been handing out treats and surprises for years. He grew up so poor his family didn’t have a home phone. His mother never owned a car until he made it to the NBA.
“If you grow up like that and you’re able to make it to this level and be blessed the way I’ve been blessed, it’s always great to give back” Lue said. “I love doing it and I’ll continue to do it.”
Lue was joined at Quicken Loans Arena on Monday by players Kyrie Irving, Iman Shumpert, Chris Andersen, Kay Felder and DeAndre Liggins. Families were selected from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s “Project ACT,” which supports students and their families or are homeless or facing other economic hardships.
Lue’s charitable work at home escalated a few years ago, right around the time of the riots in Ferguson, Mo., which is about 110 miles from where he grew up. About the time relations between police and the communities became strained, Lue took the proactive measure of including the police in his charity work.
“Just so they can get related so they can see each other, know each other on a first-name basis. I thought it was very important,” Lue said. “I think when you see kids growing up and you know their name and their family and their backgrounds, or kids know you, and you’re helping our community out by giving out turkeys and giving out food, I just think it helps bridge that gap between the police officers and our communities.”
As part of the Cavs’ recent trip to the White House, Lue and the players met with Attorney General Loretta Lynch to discuss the relationships between the police and inner cities. Lue was able to share his work between the city and police and illustrate how it has helped improve relations.
“I just thought it was better to bridge that gap,” Lue said Monday. “When young kids can grow up and see those police officers giving you free stuff and giving you toys on Christmas, I just think it’s big for them to see that so it’s not, ‘Oh here come the police’ or they’re scared of the police, or vice versa, our community police officers being afraid of the kids growing up in our environment. Just trying to have a relationship, build a relationship. And it’s been working. It’s been great.”
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.