Famed NBA referee Tony Brown dies after cancer battle
Brown was diagnosed with cancer in April 2021 after experiencing stomach pains he initially attributed to bad sushi. He officiated more than 1,100 NBA games during his 20-year tenure.
Famed NBA referee Tony Brown died this week after a battle with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He was 55.
According to ESPN, Brown officiated more than 1,100 NBA games during his 20-year tenure. Before that, he worked championship-round games in the CBA and WNBA and was a WNBA All-Star official.
He was diagnosed with cancer in April 2021 after experiencing stomach pains initially attributed to bad sushi. He recovered to the point where he was able to return to work in the NBA replay center last season following more than a dozen rounds of chemotherapy.
The sports world mourned Brown’s death on Thursday.
“Tony Brown was one of the most accomplished referees in the NBA and an inspiration to his colleagues,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement, ESPN reported. “After his pancreatic cancer diagnosis early last year, Tony fought courageously through countless rounds of treatment to return to work this past season at the NBA Replay Center, demonstrating the dedication, determination and passion that made him such a highly respected official for 20 years.”
In his statement, Silver added that the whole NBA family mourns Brown’s passing and extends its condolences to his wife Tina, their children Bailey, Basile, and Baylen, and his fellow referees.
“We are and have been sustained by the consistent outpouring of love and support through this journey in developing strength, acceptance and peace,” Brown’s family said in a statement, according to ESPN.
Sports Insider reported that LeBron James recalled some of his interactions with the referee who officiated the 2020 NBA Finals, in which the Lakers defeated the Heat 4-2 to claim the championship.
“R.I.P. Tony man!!” James tweeted. “Great ref but greater dude! Loved when I ran on the court for warmups and he would be on the game that night! Your smile & laugh will be missed tremendously here in our sport!”
Brown, a gifted basketball player in high school, initially accepted a scholarship to Florida A&M before transferring to what was then Atlanta’s Clark College. He was no longer under scholarship, but supported himself by working for Delta Air Lines until his retirement in 2007 when his NBA career was at its peak.
In the days leading up to Brown’s passing, his family and friends worked to raise money for a scholarship for Clark Atlanta players, ESPN reported. Some of the school’s athletes visited Brown earlier this month in hospice, where they gifted him a jersey as a token of appreciation.
Attorney Mawuli Davis, one of the main organizers of the scholarship program, said the family is still working toward the $100,000 target and intends to give Clark Atlanta University a check for that sum during the men’s basketball team’s season opener on Nov. 7.
Brown’s family thanked supporters in a statement, ESPN reported. “We are and have been sustained by the consistent outpouring of love and support through this journey in developing strength, acceptance and peace,” Brown’s wife Tina Taylor-Brown and their children — Bailey, Basile and Baylen — said. “We ask that you join us in that spirit as we prepare to celebrate Tony’s life. Our biggest thank you to our village of family and friends, near and far, old and new. Your love is immeasurable.”
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