Orland Magic forward Jonathon Simmons got trapped by Hurricane Harvey, and rapper Trae Tha Truth came to his rescue.
This story is actually incredible. Trae Tha Truth is a legendary Houston rapper, and he’s spent the last couple of days on a boat doing rescue missions. It’s clear that he loves his city. Trae “felt helpless” when he got stuck, and someone had to come and save him from his home. One of the people he came to the aid of was Jonathon Simmons, the newest forward for the Orlando Magic and a Houston native.
Simmons, who’s experienced multiple hurricanes, gathered enough supplies to last three days before heading to a friend’s house in Richmond, Texas. However, plans quickly changed:
“I had bought all of these air mattresses and covers and blankets and food and water for everybody. We were good for three days, but my other friend’s house had started getting flooded early, so he came there to the house, too. So that gave us another 11 extra people and most of them were kids. We had to let the kids eat first, so most of the last two days it was kind of rough (without food).
“There was at least 20 people in the house and probably eight of them were kids.”
After putting the children before himself, Simmons said all he ate for a day-and-a-half was a pack of ramen noodles. The supplies dwindled rapidly because of the 20 people. As Simmons prepared to get everybody to safety, Trae came through on his boat and rescued the party.
“Trae the Truth, the rapper, is from Houston and we know a mutual friend from San Antonio. They brought a boat to Houston because (Trae) had to evacuate as well,’’ said Simmons. “They came and got (Trae), and then he came and got us right away. Luckily, I had a friend in the area who could help us out.”
Despite the efforts, the team wasn’t immediately safe. “We still had to ride a boat, walk through muddy water and ride on the back of a dumpster truck for like five miles. It was crazy,’’ elaborated Simmons. “I had to hold up my people and I had some kids with me. Most of the kids were old enough to walk, but one of them I had to carry with me.”
Simmons is now fixated on giving back. Once the water begins to drain, the 27-year-old wants to donate his time and money to help rebuild the city of Houston.
He’d join a growing list of people inside the NBA who have aided the relief efforts. The most notable came from Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander, who initially pledged $4 million to Mayor Sylvester Turner, but then turned around and upped it to $10 million; Chris Paul also donated $50,000.
John Wall and Bradley Beal started a group text inside the Wizards organization that generated $250,000. Most recently, Sean Cunningham reported that Houston natives De’Aaron Fox and Justin Jackson would play in a basketball game in September that’s benefitting Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.
I will be doing my part by making donations to various organizations to help the city of Houston. Additionally, TBN Media will take 25 percent of all proceeds from our store, The Hub, and donate them to the fund started by Houston Texans star J.J. Watt.
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