Hornets Believe: Bobby Jackson
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Upon returning to the Sacramento Kings following the death of his mother Sarah, Bobby Jackson had T-shirts printed with the word “Sarah” on the front. The Kings planned to pass out the shirts to each player on the club. To honor Sarah, each member would wear the T-shirt during warmups and the national anthem of that evening’s Sacramento home game. However, Bobby learned prior to tip-off that due to league rules, the NBA would be required to fine every member of the Kings for wearing the shirts, which were in violation of the uniform code. After explaining to his teammates the situation, the other Kings insisted that they would gladly pay the fines. “I told all of the guys that they would get fined if they went ahead and wore the shirts,” Bobby said. “But they all said, ‘You know what? This is for your mom, not for the league. We’re gonna wear them. We’re sticking with you.’ “It showed me that every guy on my team respected me and had my back. And I had theirs.” The close-knit nature of the Sacramento team was in further evidence at Sarah Jackson’s funeral. Every Kings player traveled to North Carolina to attend the funeral and support Bobby Jackson. “That’s the type of team we had,” Jackson fondly remembers. “Off the court, it was like a family. That’s how teams should be.” |
The Hornets believe in community, and for one of the newest members of the team, that belief carries with it a personal commitment to making a difference in the race for a cure for breast cancer. In January 2003, Sarah Jackson, the mother of Hornets guard Bobby Jackson, died after battling the disease. As the second-most common form of cancer among females, 13 percent of American women are diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lifetime. An average of 40,000 U.S. women die annually from breast cancer.
In this edition of Hornets Believe, Bobby Jackson discusses the role Sarah Jackson played in his success and explains why he supports breast cancer research and awareness. The 33-year-old is a substantial contributor to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, which is dedicated to research, treatment and efforts to discover a cure.
When you’re a professional athlete, there’s never a good time to be injured. For Bobby Jackson, though, the broken knuckle he sustained in a game on Christmas Day 2002 proved to be what he now calls “a blessing.” After being forced out of the Sacramento Kings’ lineup due to the painful injury, Jackson was able to visit his mother at her North Carolina home and care for her during the final two weeks of her life.
Sarah Jackson – who raised Bobby and his twin sister, Barbara Ann, in rural North Carolina as a single mother – worked long hours in her two jobs as a hotel manager and house cleaner, to support her children. As a result, young Bobby vowed that he would be successful someday, allowing his mom to never have to juggle multiple jobs again.
Bobby achieved that goal in 1997, when he became a first-round NBA draft pick and bought Sarah a new home and car. Six years later, in January 2003, the son was needed by his mother for something more urgent: to help care for her during the final stages of her battle with breast cancer.
“My mom was from the old school,” Bobby remembered. “She was the nicest, most caring person, but she was also a disciplinarian and didn’t take any nonsense from anyone. She was my backbone. I get my toughness from her. I grew up without a father – I knew my dad, he just wasn’t around – but I saw how tough my mother was and that was instilled in me as a kid.
“It was so difficult seeing her go through what she did (in the weeks prior to her death) because you knew she only had a certain amount of time left to live. She was struggling so much. I did some of the things for her that she did for me when I was a child. If I didn’t have a chance to be there by her side like that, I don’t know if I could’ve dealt with it or accepted what happened. I thanked the Kings for letting me go home for those two weeks, to spend time with her.”
Sarah’s death, along with the passing of Bobby’s maternal grandmother due to breast cancer, spurred Bobby to become heavily involved in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. In addition to serving as a spokesperson for the organization, Jackson has raised money by organizing countless events, including the annual Bobby Jackson Weekend in his hometown of Salisbury, N.C. Each summer, Jackson hosts bowling and golf tournaments, a youth basketball camp and a celebrity All-Star game, with half of the proceeds benefiting the Susan G. Komen Foundation (the other half is donated to local Livingstone College). Jackson says he has already received a commitment from Hornets teammate and fellow North Carolina native Chris Paul to participate in next summer’s festivities.
“It’s important to me because I never knew how serious breast cancer was until it happened to my family,” Jackson says. “My grandmother had passed a year before my mom from breast cancer. Breast cancer is hereditary and it’s in our genes. That’s the scary thing about it, because I have three daughters and nieces. It’s important to me to educate people, give them the knowledge about it and make them aware of breast cancer.
“I tell my wife to get a check-up every six months. My mom didn’t believe in check-ups. Like I said, she was from the old school. I think that got the best of her, because the cancer was so far along (when it was diagnosed) that they couldn’t do anything.”
While raising money and increasing awareness of the disease, Jackson also believes he is honoring the memory of Sarah Jackson, a woman who made tremendous personal sacrifices so that her son could eventually become a nationally-known, ultra-successful NBA player in his 10th pro season.
“I watched how hard she worked and I definitely wanted to provide for her,” Bobby said. “I was determined at a young age to do that. She showed me she was willing to do anything she could to take care of her family and put food on the table.
“When I made it to the NBA, I always made sure there was money in her bank account, so she didn’t have to worry about anything. So she had whatever she wanted. The thing was, my mom was the type of lady who didn’t ask for anything from anyone – even from me. I had to do it on my own, because I knew if I didn’t do it, she wouldn’t ask for it.
“I’ve always wanted to show her how much I appreciated everything she did for me.”
