There were tough games, but Joe Ingles couldn’t bring himself to worry about a missed jumper or a turnover or even a loss.
No, something heavier weighed on him.
“There were days I wouldn’t be myself in practice or games,” he said. “You guys probably tweeted something about me not playing well and I didn’t care. I just had so much going on for a small period of time.”
The Utah Jazz forward would leave the locker room, go home, and worry about his son. Jacob wasn’t like his twin sister, Milla, and the Ingleses wondered why.
In a piece published on the Australian website ExclusiveInsight.com, the family revealed last week that 2-year-old Jacob has now been diagnosed with autism. And now, Ingles says, he is turning worry into awareness for an issue he previously knew little about.
“We don’t need sympathy,” Ingles said Wednesday after spending the All-Star break with his family. “We did it purely for the awareness and for other families that are going through the same thing.”
Jazz head coach Quin Snyder was one of the first people Ingles told about his son. Snyder, along with a few of Ingles’ teammates, helped provide support during a difficult time.
“It’s a long process. It sucks. There were a lot of days that I didn’t really want to be here,” Ingles said. “But having these guys and my family made it a lot easier.”
Now, Ingles hopes to be able to provide support for families going through the same thing.
Ingles has been in search of a charitable cause to put his time, money and heart into since signing a multiyear contract with the Jazz in 2017. He has found it now.
“We’ve done bits and pieces here and there,” he said. “But this gave us such a clear direction.”
Jacob was diagnosed on Jan. 8. A day later, his father had a puzzle piece—a symbol of autism awareness—tattooed on his wrist.
“I want people to see it,” he said. “I want people to ask about it and talk about it and raise that awareness for other families.”