Photo by Marcin Suder Photography
Yesterday morning Ukrainian professional and Harlem Globetrotter Dmytro “Smoove” Kryvenko sent the following message: “Would be great to be mentioned by SLAM in other circumstances, but thank you for your work.”
I feel a similar conflict in my first story in SLAM magazine. On one hand it is a tremendous honor to have my debut fast-tracked to a print issue. I’m grateful for the opportunity to be in SLAM and to tell a very important story for people who need to be heard and recognized for their resilience in wartime. On the other, the reporting is about people who have had their lives destroyed by an unprovoked invasion. The circumstances could not be worse. Uncertainty looms over Ukraine as they continue to fight for their country. The war has gone on for six months. Thankfully, everyone who I’ve spoken to for the story is safe, their families are safe, and they remain optimistic. But that safety is not secure.
Photo of Valentyn Dubas
In speaking to former Arizona Wildcat Kyryl Natyazhko he said, “we as human beings, we can adjust to anything.” It’s a profoundly tragic truth. The limits of human will are being tested in Ukraine. The trauma is immeasurable. The piece opens with Valentyn Dubas, a basketball coach from Hostomel, and an AK-47 to his head. He was not armed and he was not enlisted in the military. He was simply collecting supplies to repair homes in his neighborhood. Everyone I spoke with has spent nights in underground bomb shelters. Wives, parents, and children have fled. In the worst of scenarios, loved ones are now behind the borders of Russian occupation and the possibility of annexation threatens their future. There is hope though. I’ve seen videos of people playing pickup again in Kyiv. Children are attending basketball camps. The war is not lost and it’s not over.
Please go read the story, which is on shelves in issue 239 and now available at Slamonline.
I am proud of the work I did for SLAM. It’s my best work to date and my biggest byline. I want to thank the editors of SLAM for approving my pitch and expanding the piece. They did so without hesitation, which is a huge vote of confidence given this was our first run. I also want to thank all the people who spoke on record and helped me make connections for this story. Thank you: Valentyn Dubas, Kyryl Natyazhko, Alex Len, his agent Michael Lelchitski, Dmytro Kryvenko, and Natalia Yudytska.
Ukraine still needs aid. Len and Svi Mykhailiuk have set up a mutual aid foundation called the Hope 4 Ukraine Fund. Please consider donating. Please share info about their foundation. Please share this story. Please keep Ukraine on your mind. It’s important that people all over globe continue to declare support for Ukraine and pressure their representatives to provide support and action. Kyryl Natyazhko was very concerned about the sustained global pressure. His biggest concern was about what would happen when the world stopped caring. He told me this two months ago and it remains relevant:
“Most important is to understand that war is still going on. If you cannot donate or give goods, keep posting on Instagram. Keep sharing on social media. Keep reporting. Keep telling people so people understand it is not normal. They wait for that. They wait for the noise to go down. So they can do the stuff they want to do. As the time moves on we become stronger because we have support from all over the world. They become weaker because no one want to support evil. It’s like a game. We wear them out and wear them out.”
ні війні / No War
