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Good man.... Thuglone..
he's doing some good work.
'The Mailman' and his crew bulldoze through bureaucracy to help victims
By Tony Bertuca, USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...-katrina_x.htm
Karl "The Mailman" Malone is still delivering, no matter what the weather.
The former NBA all-star and a crew from his logging company in Arkansas spent two weeks in Pascagoula, Miss., hauling away debris left by Hurricane Katrina.
"Everything about this just felt right," Malone says. "My mom died two years ago, and in our last conversation, she told me that one day I would have to step up on a grand scale and help people. I knew this was it."
Malone, whose team cleared 114 lots, said he brought 18 vehicles to Pascagoula, including a backhoe, three bulldozers and several RVs for him and his crew.
"We were totally self-contained with our own food and everything," Malone says. "We didn't want to take even one bottle of water away from these people. When we told them we were doing this for free, they looked at us like we were crazy or something."
Malone, 42, an experienced truck driver and logger who was born in Bernice, La., spent 12 hours a day behind the wheel of his heavy machinery.
"We started every day at seven in the morning and didn't quit until we got it done," he says.
When Malone arrived, he says he ran into resistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Army Corps of Engineers officials who said he wasn't authorized to bring his machinery into the area to clear private property.
"There was a lot of red tape, and I ain't got time for that," he says. "I found out that if you're going to do something good, just go ahead and do it."
Bob Anderson, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers, says FEMA and the corps by law could only allow approved contractors to clear debris and that only government agencies could work on "public rights of way."
Malone says landowners were told that debris had to be moved out to the street before it could be hauled away. "How is a landowner who just lost everything going to pay $15,000 or $20,000 to have a lot cleared? I mean, there were two or three houses on top of one another in some places."
This put Malone in the middle of territorial disputes with private contractors.
"We had one guy come up to us and tell us to go to another neighborhood and that these people could afford to pay," Malone says. "I told him, 'Why should they pay? They just lost everything.' "
Bringing the kind of hardboiled at ude to philanthropy that made him a much-feared power-forward during 18 seasons with the Utah Jazz and one with the Los Angeles Lakers, Malone decided to stay right where he was.
"Once I get in my machine, no one is going to get me out," he says. "We just said 'the with it.' FEMA didn't approve, but we did it for the people."
Steve Glenn, a FEMA official in Mississippi, said rules regarding clearing debris on private property exist to protect individuals' rights: "We can't just go onto private property on a whim."
But Steve Mitc , a public works official in Pascagoula, says Malone's crew performed a valuable service for the community.
"Our view was, more power to you," Mitc says. "If he got resistance, he didn't get it from us. I wish I had known about the trouble he had. I wish he were still here. Essentially, we just said 'bless his heart.' "
Through it all, Malone said he and his men could not help but feel the joy begin to grow around them. "There are these American flags everywhere, and people have unbelievably big smiles," Malone says. "The feeling was a high that all the guys got."
Good man.... Thuglone..
Thats something good that the dirtiest player to ever play in the league is doing
Good for him to help out in the aftermath of Katrina.
Still.
I would have knocked that guy on his ass!! What worm!"We had one guy come up to us and tell us to go to another neighborhood and that these people could afford to pay," Malone says. "I told him, 'Why should they pay? They just lost everything.' "
Those FEMA bas s better watch out for malone and his elbows, at leasts his doin a good deed in the community but still doesnt change my mind about him about bball.
Dirtiest Bball player ever? Yes.
I hate him as a player but I always liked his offseason schedule and being like a normal guy in his little town.
props to Malone.
My opinions of him have changed.
I hate him on the floor. Off the floor I just think he's a bit of a prick.
I cant believe people still hate him! DRob forgave him! What more do you need? He doesnt play anymore, so why you still need to hate him?
I respect him immensely for helping out like that.
But I still hate his ass.
You people are such gots. We have all seen video of Bruce Bowen karate kicking two different players in the face, and you manage to rail on Malone after his retirement in a thread about him devoting not just resources but many hours of his time to clean up a natural disaster.
I can understand hating Malone because he buried our asses repeatedly in the 90's, but all the crying about dirty basketball needs to stop, especially since Bruce Bowen is on our team.
Was he looking for Mexican girls in the debris?
You're a ing if you put Bowen's "dirty play" on the same level as Malone's. Just STFU.
Bruce is ultra compe ive, and probably crosses the line once in a while. Bruce also never put anyone in the hospital. Malone's M*A*S*H list:
DRob - concussion
Donyel Marshall - broken ribs. missed the last few weeks of the season
Isaiah Thomas - elbow to the head. 40+ stiches, internal and external. Missed a couple of weeks.
I truly believe, and will believe until I die, that Malone was out to intentionally hurt people on the court. These weren't cases of incidental contact. In every case, he was swinging elbows, and two of them were to the head. David could have died that day if Malone's elbow had been a few millimeters one way or the other. A sharp blow to the temple has been known to be fatal, and that's exactly where Malone hit him.
I'll freely admit that If I weren't a Spurs fan, I probaly wouldn't like Bowen, but he'd be more in the jerk or pest catagory, about where I place Raja Bell now. Malone is a criminal, and my happiest moment as a Spurs fan was winning it last year without Malone on the roster, after he pulled his 6 month prima donna BS tour.
Way to overreact. Everyone here has given him props for helping out with the debris. I can respect that. It doesn't change the fact that he was a dirty ball-player.
PS: Can we please stop using phobic references to describe people we think are stupid?
Evil El Bow vs. FEMA. I'm not sure who to root for.
Props to Malone and all the volunteers helping people.
Bob Anderson, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers, says FEMA and the corps by law could only allow approved contractors to clear debris and that only government agencies could work on "public rights of way."
Malone says landowners were told that debris had to be moved out to the street before it could be hauled away. "How is a landowner who just lost everything going to pay $15,000 or $20,000 to have a lot cleared? I mean, there were two or three houses on top of one another in some places."
This put Malone in the middle of territorial disputes with private contractors.
"We had one guy come up to us and tell us to go to another neighborhood and that these people could afford to pay," Malone says. "I told him, 'Why should they pay? They just lost everything.' "
sheeeeeiiiit. I smell a dirty backhanded uder the table payemts type o' FEMA & "approved privete contractors" deal.
Malone was doing it for free... why didn't they just give him thier stamp of "approval"? they seem to expidite things real quick when it's worth it.
meanwhile:to Malone. That is a real stand up guy IRL. I never had the extreme hatred for him that some others do. I think he was a dirty player - but is one of a guy.
PLUS it;s nice to see someone of his celebrity get his hands dirty doing the "real" work instead of just throwing $$ at the problem. the guy had a skill (heavy equipment / truck driver) and he was more than willing to put it to use.
Way to go. thats freakin awesome!
Malone has always been a generous person off the court as far as giving to the community was concerned. But he was a dirty player on the court, case closed.
I remember when Jazz fans used to say the same thing about Malone.
Admit it. You'd be saying the same thing about Malone had he been a lifetime Spur. Malone is one of those guys that you hate if he's on some other team, but you you love him if he's on yours.
Bowen may not have ever put anyone in the hospital, but you can chalk that one up to good luck because he certainly has done some things that could have easily ended careers.
Last edited by IceColdBrewski; 09-30-2005 at 09:25 AM.
Thanks for help Karl but, the real help began when you stepped off the court.
Thanks again.
Every dog has is day!
I'm so wicked. Karl Malone didn't have to help but he did. I'm sure the Katrina victims are grateful.
Nice job Karl.
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