Brian Grant’s Fundraiser Not Threatened By Lockout

Former NBAer Brian Grant, who works for the Trail Blazers as a community ambassador, will be holding his Parkinson’s fundraiser this summer as planned, despite the fact that current NBA players aren’t allowed to attend. Via Yahoo!: “The NBA lockout isn’t really posing any challenges for Brian Grant’s big fundraiser to fight Parkinson’s disease, contrary to widespread reports and Internet buzz. Last summer, a few NBA players lent Grant a hand in his ‘Shake It Till We Make It’ gala dinner and golf tournament. This year, that won’t be the case. Grant, who has the disease, serves as a community ambassador for the Portland Trail Blazers. Because of the labor dispute between league owners and players, team employees can’t have contact with players. There will be plenty of other celebrities to help Grant’s cause on July 31 at the Rose Garden Arena dinner. The golf tournament will be held the next day at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club west of Portland. Grant raised $350,000 last year, with participants including Michael J. Fox, Muhammad Ali, Pat Riley and Bill Russell. Reports surfaced this week that Grant was being hamstrung by the no-contact edict and the story spread to Twitter. But the criticism was unfounded, said ‘Shake It Till We Make It’ spokeswoman Sara Perrin. ‘The NBA has been an awesome partner for us. They couldn’t be more supportive,’ she said. Grant can’t address the rumors himself without facing a possible fine.”