Manute Bol died today. He was 47. He had kidney trouble and developed a skin condition called Stevens-Johnson syndrome (very nasty disease – you don’t want pictures) that irritated his mouth. He went 11 days without food because of the disease’s complications.
Manute played from 1985-1995 and helped start the Ring True Foundation, although you might not hear the specific purpose of the organization in the news this week. Ring True raises money and awareness for Christian persecution and death in the Sudan. From 1999-2001 his travel was restricted by the Sudanese government in suspicion of supporting the Dinka rebels (his dad is a Dinka tribal leader). He wasn’t allowed to leave the country. The government wanted a bribe. He sold his furniture and had friends in Connecticut send additional funds. The U.S. government wouldn’t let him bring his family with him until he filed for refugee status. He did and they were able to make it back to the U.S.
Manute wasn’t a perfect guy, by any means, but he is someone to read more about. In YMCA basketball my teammates used to call me ‘Manute’. (My dad thought they were chanting ‘Lute’ because they were huge U of A fans.)
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