About Eric
When it comes to NBA players (or professional athletes in general) and their outside activities, few can be labeled with the term "community ambassador" better than former Cleveland Cavaliers co-captain and NBA veteran Eric Snow. Now officially retired after his 14th NBA season, Eric is serving as an analyst for Turner Sports’ NBATV. He has been one of the league's models of consistency both on and off the court.
With a career that has included three trips to the NBA Finals (1996, 2001, & 2007) the former Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and second round pick from Michigan State University has seen it all and done it all. Recognized as a winner on nearly every team he has ever played on,
Eric Snow is one of the few players in the league who can be called a true team leader.
While he has never possessed the gaudy statistics needed to be regularly mentioned among the league’s elite point guards by television commentators, Eric Snow has played with and has had incredible success against many of the best NBA players. And when a few of those who were his teammates or opponents are eventually inducted into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame (like Gary Payton, Allen Iverson, and LeBron James), each of them will say without hesitation that it was the assists from Eric Snow on and off the court that helped make their success possible.
This is what Eric Snow has been doing for more than a decade in the NBA. He has been helping others to realize their goals. And the only part of his professional life that may be able to outshine the thousands of NBA assists he has dished out to his teammates for 3-point shots or slam dunks (he amassed over 4,200 assists for his career) might be the number of other ways in which he has helped the NBA through being one of its most consistent and well-known community spokespersons.
Eric Snow has made a point of not only being a leader among his peers, but also with his neighbors. Eric has had a tremendous influence on the lives of thousands of people, particularly men, children, and families.
Since its founding by Eric Snow in 1997, the foundation itself has been dedicated to supporting and strengthening communities and families within the Philadelphia, Northeast Ohio (with a special focus on Canton and Cleveland) and Greater Atlanta metropolitan regions. It strives to accomplish this goal through an emphasis and concentration on community activities aimed at empowering and encouraging fathers in their relationships with their children and families as well as in the areas of business and home ownership, the promotion of men's health and wellness, economic development, financial security, education, employment, and social policy as it relates specifically to men, fathers, and families.
Overall, the foundation has helped to raise more than $250,000 for fathers and families. It has found the time and resources to move outside of its mission to support related causes by providing relief for Hurricane Katrina victims, aid for students in Eric's hometown of Canton, Ohio, and even funeral expenses for a young African American student athlete from Cleveland who lost his life and promising future to violence.
For his tireless work off the court and his supportive relationships with players of all levels throughout the NBA, Eric has been called upon by league officials on numerous occasions to represent them in their national outreach initiatives. He also has been recognized with multiple community service awards from his peers and others who recognize the value of having a public figure present such a strong image to the community.
Of course, long before Eric became an NBA star and public figure, he was receiving special attention for his leadership. As a senior at Michigan State University, he was presented with the Chester Brewer Leadership Award, which noted both his athletic as well as his academic achievements along his strong record of exemplary character and leadership. He was one of only four Spartan basketball players ever recognized with this honor in the university’s long and distinguished history.
However, it was through his stunning display of courage as co-captain of the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2000–01 NBA Finals that the league and communities throughout the nation began to associate the name “Eric Snow” with toughness, determination, and leadership. The next season, Snow was asked by the NBA to join then-Philadelphia mayor John Street as host and spokesperson during the 2002 All-Star game hosted in that city. Later, Eric was elected vice president of the NBA Players Association (NBPA), a post he has held for the past five seasons.
In addition to receiving the NBA Sportsmanship Award and Joe Dumars Trophy (he was previously runner-up two times in the voting), Eric was joined in San Antonio, Texas by other notable public figures including Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy, Minnesota Vikings owner Red McCombs, and multi-platinum country recording group "Lone Star" to accept a National Fatherhood Award issued by the National Fatherhood Initiative. He was also recognized with major grassroots Fatherhood Awards by two high-profile Philadelphia area organizations (the Father's Day Rally Committee and Fathers Go Get Your Sons & Daughters, Inc.), each of which has an impressive history of providing positive programs for fathers in the Philadelphia, Camden, Atlantic City, and southern New Jersey communities.
In his first season in Cleveland (2004–05), Eric was recognized with the Alfred J. Lerner Community Award, the city’s top honor for a public figure or athlete who demonstrates an outstanding commitment to community service. He won the honor again in 2006–07, along with his second NBA Community Assist Award (the David Robinson Plaque) for his continued work in Cleveland supporting local fathers and children as well as opening the new Eric Snow Reading and Learning Center in his hometown of Canton, Ohio. His peers recognized him during the 2005 NBA Weekend Gala in Denver, Colorado with the league’s Community Contribution Award (an honor given to only 5 of the 450 NBA players), and in April of 2005, Eric received the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, presented annually by the Professional Basketball Writers Association. The award, named for the league’s second commissioner, is the oldest citizenship and community service award in the NBA. It is generally regarded nationally as the NBA’s highest honor for service and has a recipient list that includes NBA greats such as Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Julius “Dr. J.” Erving, Joe Dumars, Dikembe Mutombo, and Reggie Miller. Eric Snow is the second Cavalier to win the award (Austin Carr won it in 1979–80) and the third Michigan State alumnus to be honored with the award (Magic Johnson received it in 1991–92, and it was given to Steve Smith, now a pro basketball analyst for NBATV alongside Snow, in 1997–98).
Eric Snow is quietly rounding out his 14th and final NBA season as an inactive player on the Cavaliers' roster. Early in the 2007–08 season, he suffered a career-ending knee injury that left him unable to resume his athletic career and compete at the elite NBA level. Eric currently resides in the Atlanta area working as a pro basketball studio host for Turner’s NBATV and as a public motivational speaker, in addition to holding a specialized role as a private real estate investment consultant for Williams Realty Advisors.
Eric and his wife DeShawn, along with their three boys (E.J., Darius, and Jarren) have long-term plans to remain highly involved and influential in the Greater Atlanta region. Many of Eric's outreach activities are being shifted to Atlanta so he can remain connected to his spiritual mentor Bishop Eddie Long (Newbirth Missionary Baptist Church) and support fatherhood programs through the Andrew and Walter Young Atlanta YMCA.
DeShawn Snow has also been quite active with her own community vision and founded the DeShawn Snow Foundation (www.deshawnsnowfoundation.org), of which Eric is a board member. The DeShawn Snow Foundation focuses on empowering young mothers and girls.
For more information or to book Eric Snow to speak to your corporation, organization, business, or camp, contact Julani Ghana of Pro Sports Community Consultants at (866) 389-0018. To see some of Eric’s past and present community work or to learn more about his athletic accomplishments, log on to www.eric-snow.com.
