HOUSTON — Several years had passed since Rodney Rogers, a 12-season and seven-team NBA veteran, suffered a devastating injury that left him paralyzed from the neck down. Life had become a succession of some good — and many not so good — days. So Rogers’ wife, Faye, made a tough-love call.
No more pity, Rodney. Get out and do something.
“I remember I didn’t want to leave the house,” Rogers said. “She grabbed me and told me I had to make the best of it and get out the message of my life.”
That message is one of hope, a message the 41-year-old spreads through his appearances for The Rodney Rogers Foundation, a charity based in Timberlake, N.C., that raises funds to offer financial assistance to victims of spinal-cord injuries.
During All-Star weekend, there’s another game, the Original Legends Classic, featuring former players such as Anthony Avent, a driving force behind the classic, Dominique Wilkins, Steve Francis and Shawn Kemp. It is set for today at the University of Houston’s Hofheinz Pavilion.
Part of the proceeds of the game go to Rogers’ foundation and another ex-NBA player’s charity, the Brian Grant Foundation, which battles Parkinson’s Disease, in addition to local charities. (Donations can be made at TheRodneyRogersFoundation.org and Briangrant.org.)
Rogers made the 20-hour trip from North Carolina by van to be here because “it’s so important for Rodney to be at the game and let people see him,” his wife said.
Rodney and Faye relate to the feelings of other families coping with spinal injuries. They have lived it since the fateful day of Nov. 28, 2008, when Rogers rode his dirt bike at high speed into a curve in North Carolina. The accident left him with a broken neck.
“Rodney says there are times you think you can’t make it, there are times you want to die. You have to suppress those thoughts,” Faye Rogers said. “Rodney can tell them, ‘You will make it.’ ”
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Rogers endured a rough childhood in Durham, N.C., before becoming an All-America at Wake Forest. The 6-foot-7 forward was drafted with the No. 9 pick by Phoenix in 1993. That began his trek through the NBA, which included a Sixth Man Award with the Suns in 1999-2000.
Rogers had a two-season stop with the Nets and went to the 2003 NBA Finals. Along the way, he hit one of the biggest shots in Nets playoff history, the decisive basket in Game 3 of the first round in 2003 against the Bucks.
His NBA career ended after the 2005 season. Late that year, his new life was beginning. He met Faye. They were engaged in April 2008, seven months before the accident.
“I fell in love with him that first night, and I’ve been in love with him since,” she recalled.
She has provided the strength Rogers required to survive catastrophe.
“Some days are good, some days are not good,” Rogers said. “But I survived and I feel blessed. I can’t keep going around being all sad and depressed. I’ve got a loving wife I thank for that.
“She has never complained. She’s been there every step of the way, and I love her to death,” Rogers added. “Now I’m trying to get out there more on my own with the help of my nurses.”
Rogers, with annual medical expenses hovering around $400,000, is confined to a wheelchair that cost nearly $90,000. He is on a ventilator and requires the full-time care of two nurses.
“Rodney was lucky he played in the NBA for 12 years and was able to have supplemental medical [assistance] from the NBA,” Faye said. “So Rodney can afford the essentials of life for a quadriplegic or a paraplegic. A lot of other people cannot because it’s too expensive.”
Rogers has a special place in his heart for youngsters in need, mentioning one 15-year-old he is determined to help.
“He needs a van — his mom is struggling to get it,” Rogers said. “I want to help the ones who really need the help out of necessity. That’s why I try to get out to talk about helping.”
It’s the message he will deliver today. The idea of coupling the Original Legends Classic with the foundations started by Rogers and Grant arose at last year’s All-Star Game in Orlando, when Faye Rogers spoke with Avent, who promised to help.
“A lot of people tell you they are going to do things and they never follow through,” Faye said. “Anthony followed through.”
So Rogers gets to go to his first All-Star weekend because a wife said “enough” and insisted her husband help others.
“We’re much better now,” Faye said. “Honestly, the first and second year, Rodney and I were both devastated, we were both depressed. [Eventually] I told him I’m not going to have any pity on you because there’s a lot of things you still can do. He can eat. He can travel. He can do whatever he wants to do. He just can’t do those things with his arms and legs.”
What Rogers wants to do now is spread hope.
“I was a person who went as far as I went and remembered where I came from,” he said. “Bad things happen to good people, but I feel I’m blessed.”