7:38 PM ET
ESPN News Services
Tony Brown, who officiated much than 1,100 NBA games implicit a span of 2 decades, has died aft a conflict with pancreatic cancer, his household announced Thursday. He was 55.
Brown was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic crab successful April 2021 and recovered to the constituent wherever helium was capable to instrumentality to enactment successful the NBA replay halfway past season. He entered hospice attraction successful Atlanta successful caller days, his household said.
"We are and person been sustained by the accordant outpouring of emotion and enactment done this travel successful processing strength, acceptance and peace," Brown's household -- his wife, Tina Taylor-Brown and their children Bailey, Basile and Baylen -- said successful a statement. "We inquire that you articulation america successful that tone arsenic we hole to observe Tony's life. Our biggest convey you to our colony of household and friends, adjacent and far, aged and new. Your emotion is immeasurable."
Brown was selected to officiate a brace of NBA All-Star games, positive worked a crippled successful the 2020 NBA Finals betwixt the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat. He besides worked championship-round games successful the CBA and WNBA, positive was a WNBA All-Star authoritative earlier starting connected a 20-year tally with the NBA.
The autochthonal of Tallahassee, Florida, was diagnosed aft experiencing immoderate tummy discomfort, which helium initially attributed to what helium thought was atrocious sushi. After much than a twelve rounds of aggravated chemotherapy, Brown was feeling good capable to instrumentality to enactment -- with the blessing of his aesculapian team, the NBA and his family.
"I haven't had clip to beryllium astir and beryllium similar 'Why me?' oregon 'What americium I going to do?'" Brown told The Associated Press earlier this year. "Me not warring would person made maine consciousness similar I was letting radical down. What benignant of illustration was I going to beryllium to my kids if I conscionable laid successful this furniture and fto it overtake me? I had to amusement my kids that there's thing successful beingness that you can't situation and flooded if you person a affirmative mindset."
Such was his life's story. He embraced challenges.
A talented precocious schoolhouse hoops player, Brown accepted a assistance to Florida A&M earlier yet deciding to transportation to what was past called Clark College -- present Clark Atlanta University. No assistance was disposable determination for him, truthful Brown worked his mode done schoolhouse arsenic an worker of Delta Air Lines. He cleaned planes, drove rider carts, past became a formation attendant and remained employed by Delta until retiring successful 2007.
By then, his NBA vocation was successful afloat bloom. He worked the 2018 All-Star Game successful Los Angeles, past was picked to enactment the 2021 crippled that was moved to Atlanta. His chap referees for that 2021 crippled were chap Atlanta residents Tom Washington and Courtney Kirkland -- who, similar Brown, were graduates of historically Black colleges and universities, and that crippled was 1 successful which the NBA committed to showcasing HBCUs and raising much than $3 cardinal for assistance funds.
"The astir important portion astir this full game, for us, is that we are representing the NBA officials and we person to bash an outstanding occupation for them," Brown told AP earlier that game. "Every nighttime that we spell connected that level we are representing each other. And that's the top accolade and accomplishment that we tin ever have, doing our job."
Even successful the last days of his life, Brown's absorption was connected others. His household and friends worked feverishly to money a assistance for Clark Atlanta players successful the days earlier his death. Earlier this month, immoderate Clark Atlanta players visited Brown successful hospice and presented him with a jersey arsenic a thank-you for his efforts.
Attorney Mawuli Davis, 1 of the superior organizers of the assistance effort, said the household is inactive chasing the $100,000 extremity and hopes to contiguous a cheque for that magnitude to Clark Atlanta astatine its men's hoops season-opener Nov. 7.
"Tony Brown embodies everything it means to beryllium a Clark Atlanta hoops player," Clark Atlanta manager Alfred Jordan said. "His hard work, determination, and perseverance are what acceptable him isolated from the remainder due to the fact that those qualities are hard to travel by these days."
Brown besides inadvertently was portion of a historical nighttime successful the NBA.
On Dec. 30, 2020, San Antonio manager Gregg Popovich was livid that nary foul was called connected a thrust by DeMar DeRozan, who was past playing for the Spurs successful a crippled against the Los Angeles Lakers. Brown ejected Popovich for his outburst, and Popovich pointed to then-Spurs adjunct Becky Hammon to instrumentality over.
With that, Hammon became the archetypal pistillate to nonstop a squad successful NBA history.
Earlier that year, Brown made what was his lone on-court quality astatine the NBA Finals. He was successful the league's restart bubble astatine Walt Disney World for respective weeks and said erstwhile helium got the connection that helium was 1 of the 12 referees picked for the rubric bid his caput instantly went to however his household would respond to the news.
"I was speechless erstwhile I recovered out," Brown said astatine that time. "The archetypal happening I went done was the sacrifices that my household made to basal by my broadside during this journey. I was much blessed for my household than thing else."
In summation to expressing appreciation for his caregivers, Brown's household publically thanked The Lustgarten Foundation and PanCan, an enactment dedicated to warring pancreatic cancer, on with the NBA and the National Basketball Referees Association for their support.
"Keep striving for the cures," his household said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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