Draymond Green Donates $3M to Michigan State University

(Newswire.net — September 17, 2015) Las Vegas, NV — He’s a champion – a champion of hearts, that is. Draymond Green has etched his place in history in more ways than one.

The 2015 NBA champion has made the largest donation by an active athlete to their former school when he donated a whopping $3.1 million dollar gift to Michigan State University.

“Michigan State means everything to me,” Draymond says. “I grew up in Saginaw and was lucky enough to attend Michigan State University where Coach Izzo believed in me and gave me the chance to succeed. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without my Spartan experience and this donation reflects my deep appreciation to the University.”

He adds: “This donation isn’t just about me. I want more kids to have the opportunities I had thanks to Michigan State and want to use this to stimulate all Spartans to give back to the best university in the world.”

Green’s monetary support comes on the back of his new five-year $82 million contract and various other endorsement deals.

The star joins a growing list of what has been dubbed “Athletes Gone Good.”

Just last month, DoSomething.org formulated that soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, WWE Superstar John Cena and tennis sensation Serena Williams were the top-3 “Athletes Gone Good.”

Others making the list included Neymar (No. 5), LeBron James     (No. 6), and Maria Sharapova (No. 8).

“All over the world, athletes are using their platforms to rally fans around important causes,” said Naomi Hirabayashi, chief marketing officer at DoSomething.org. “DoSomething.org is proud to honor these athletes who are using their fame for good.”

Marketing expert, Jim Graham, who has just launched Kickstarter Millionaire, says that an athlete giving back is not some canny publicity stunt.

“It’s easy to be cynical and jaded when it comes to star athletes and celebrities as we’ve seen some well-timed charitable actions before after a wake of bad press, “ Graham says. “But the ones like Green and those on Do.Something’s list really want to help others and it’s inspiring thing to see.”

Inspiring, indeed and hopefully it will go on to inspire the youth that giving back is good.

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