For so long, the Los Angeles Clippers franchise had been the laughingstock of the league due to poor decision-making and an overall ineptitude. Former owner Donald Sterling had a huge part to play in making the Clippers the butt of many jokes. But the Clippers are clearly no longer the franchise they were under the management of Steve Ballmer, and Tyronn Lue will attest to how incredible a person Ballmer is beyond his position as the team governor.
Not too long ago, Lue came to Ballmer for ideas on how to help out his hometown of Mexico, Missouri. The former Microsoft CEO replied that for him to get a better picture of what the town needs, he and Lue must tour the town together. Nevermind Ballmer's status as one of the richest people in the world.
Steve Ballmer knew that this was important to Tyronn Lue so he wanted to make an effort to be able to help out the team's head coach in a much better way.
“[Ballmer] actually came to me like, ‘OK, these dates work. Let’s go down there.’ So, having him to come down there to Mexico and stay in the Best Western as a $100 billionaire, it just meant a lot to our town and to our city,” Lue said, per Marc J. Spears of Andscape.
The town of Mexico wasn't the most glamorous town, so to see Ballmer be okay with staying at a less-than-fancy hotel meant the world to Lue.
“Mr. Ballmer came to Mexico, Missouri, stayed at a Best Western and said, ‘Oh, I slept great.' When you have some as humble as he is, knowing his stature and what he means to a lot of people with his charity work and what he and his wife, Connie, have done for a lot of people, it’s just great,” Lue added.
Tyronn Lue, despite being able to provide shoes, clothes, and even basketball training camps to local children, wants to do more for his hometown. A town with a population of only 12,000 people, they are facing considerable education and health care shortcomings, mostly driven by poverty. And Steve Ballmer can't help but be moved by Lue's passion to give back to his community.
“The way Ty said, ‘We need more energy, we need more joy. This park used to be full of kids playing when I was a kid. They’re not out there. The kids don’t have access to ways to get better.’ What do we need? A community center, and the community shares his passion. I would say he is at least as passionate, if not more so, than anybody else in a room. But the community clearly shares his passion,” Ballmer said.
It's not going to be an easy climb for the small community of Mexico, Missouri, but with Lue and Ballmer joining forces, they at least know that they won't be left to their own devices when it comes to dealing with their problems.
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