LSU Student-Athletes Help Victims of Katrina
Courtesy: LSU Interactive
Release: 08/31/2005
Courtesy: LSU Sports Information
BATON ROUGE -- The LSU athletic community is showing its true colors. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many members of the LSU athletic community have come to the aid of those who were less fortunate.
All 20 of LSU's athletic teams have had representatives, both coaches and players, spend time over the past two days lending a helping hand wherever and whenever possible.
With the LSU campus serving as a recovery site for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, many of the LSU student-athletes have used their free time to assist the Red Cross as volunteers at the two shelters on campus.
On Tuesday night, LSU men's basketball standout Glen "Big Baby" Davis, who recently spent a month as part of USA Basketball's U-21 team that placed fifth at the World Championships, was among the dozens of volunteers spending their time at the triage unit at the Maravich Assembly Center. As dozen's of ambulances lined up outside the arena with scores of injured and battered victims, Davis spent the night inside the arena, working until at least 3 a.m.
Davis did everything he could. He unloaded trucks. He wheeled in patients and even assisted doctors with a severely injured man on the floor of the arena.
Just five months ago, Davis was on the same arena floor helping John Brady's basketball team to a 14-1 home record by averaging 13 points and eight rebounds a game. Now, Davis was part of a group of volunteers, which included many doctors and nurses, who were witnessing that of the critically injured and in some cases, he even saw death.
On the other side of the arena, LSU strength and conditioning coordinator Tommy Moffitt and offensive line coach Stacy Searels worked hand trucks, unloading several 18-wheelers full of supplies that included medicine, baby beds, and food. Gymnastics assistant coach Bob Moore was also on hand assisting in any way possible.
Earlier on Tuesday night, LSU coach Les Miles along with offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher visited the Maravich Assembly Center and the Carl Maddox Field House, the facility hosting special need victims.
Across campus, LSU equipment manager Greg Stringfellow and his staff were at the Football Operations Building washing linens and clothes, not for the football team or soccer team, but for those victims who needed clean sheets to sleep on or a change of clothes at the shelter. As the clothes came out of the dryers, the volleyball, women's soccer, softball and gymnastics teams were all there to fold the clothes and return to the Maddox Field House.
In all, Stringfellow washed an estimated he washed 4,000 pounds of linens on Tuesday followed by another 10,000 pounds on Wednesday.
The Tiger football team has also been involved, going to the Baton Rouge River Center to spend time with those families who have been displaced from their homes. The football team brought t-shirts and posters and signed autographs and took pictures with the children and their families.
"I just don't know what to say. It's such a horrible deal but if there is any small, miniscule way that we can try to help people or just a distraction to put a smile on somebody's face, we will try to do it," senior center Rudy Niswanger said. "We had a Red Cross lady come up to us and talk about what a great thing it was that we were there. It really made me think that we were only there for 45 minutes signing things and passing out shirts and this lady is going to be there 24 hours a day for the next three weeks probably. And she's talking about what a great thing it is we are doing?
"It really makes me think about what she is doing and what the contributions of people like that are making. This definitely shows that football is just a game and it is entertainment. It is not anything of what these people are going through."
The Tiger football team has also secured a 15-foot trailer and is filling it with clothes, shoes, non-perishable food items and anything else that can make someone's stay in Baton Rouge just a little bit easier. The team plans to fill the trailer, which is already hall full, and distribute the items at the Maddox Field House later this week.
The LSU women's soccer team, who is already a week into its season, still managed time to volunteer despite having a practice earlier in the day.
"We filled out forms and helped fax," LSU soccer standout Tara Mitnick said. "But more than anything, we just listened to people. We listened to their stories, what they had to say. We just gave them someone to talk to."
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Behind the Scenes: Katrina aftermath hits LSU hard
Bill Martin, LSU Sports Information
Special to Rivals.com
Editor's note: The following is a firsthand account from Bill Martin, a student assistant in the sports information office at LSU, of the devastation from Hurricane Katrina being felt in Baton Rouge and the horrors he witnessed on Tuesday night and into Wednesday.
Little did I know what I would be doing following Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, but as I type right now, there won't be a more gratifying or more surreal experience than I went through tonight.
Associated Press
Flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has been catastrophic throughout Louisiana.
We went up to the office today and held a press conference regarding the postponement of the [North Texas] game and it was the right decision. As the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and Field House are being used as shelters, we decided as an office to do everything we could to help the situation.
At first, we were just supposed to make copies of this disaster relief form for all of the people. The copiers will never print a document more important than that.
It's weird. Nearly 12 hours ago we were running off copies of game notes for a football game that is now meaningless. We printed the copies and carried them over to the Field House at 6:30 p.m. I wouldn't leave the area for another eight hours.
On the way back to the PMAC in a cart, it looked like the scene in the movie Outbreak. FEMA officials, U.S. Marshalls, National Guard, and of course the survivors.
Black Hawks were carrying in victims who were stranded on roofs. Buses rolled in from New Orleans with other survivors. As Michael and I rode back to the PMAC, a lady fell out of her wheelchair and we scrambled to help her up.
We met Coach [Les] Miles and Coach [Tommy] Moffitt in the PMAC to see all the survivors and it was the view of a hospital. Stretchers rolled in constantly, and for the first time in my life, I saw someone die right in front of me.
A man rolled in from New Orleans and was badly injured on his head. Five minutes later he was dead. And that was the scene all night.
What did we do? We started hauling in supplies, and thousands of boxes of supplies. The CDC from Atlanta arrived directing us what to do.
One of the U.S. Marshalls was on hand so the supplies could not become loot. I asked him what his primary job was. He serves on the committee of counter terrorism, but once he saw of the disaster, he donated his forces to come help. He said the death toll could be nearing 10,000. It was sickening to hear that.
After unloading supplies, I started putting together baby cribs and then IV poles. Several of our football players and Big Baby (Glen Davis) and Tasmin Mitchell helped us.
At the same time, families and people strolled in. Mothers were giving birth in the locker rooms. The auxiliary gym "Dungeon" was being used as a morgue. I couldn't take myself down there to see it.
I worked from 8 p.m., until 2:45 a.m. Before I left, three more buses rolled in and they were almost out of room. People were standing outside. The smells, the sights were hard to take.
A man lying down on a cot asked me to come see him.
He said, "I just need someone to talk to, to tell my story because I have nobody and nothing left."
He turned out to be a retired military veteran. His story was what everybody was saying. He thought he survived the worst, woke up this morning and the levees broke. Within minutes water rushed into his house.
He climbed to the attic, smashed his way through the roof and sat there for hours. He was completely sunburned and exhausted. Nearly 12 hours later a chopper rescued him and here he was.
We finished the night hauling boxes of body bags and more were on the way. As we left, a man was strolled in on a stretcher and scarily enough he suffered gunshots. The paramedic said he was shot several times because a looter or a convict needed his boat and he wouldn't give it to him.
Another man with him said it was "an uncivilized society no better than Iraq down there right now." A few minutes later, he was unconscious and later pronounced dead. I then left as they were strolling a 3-year old kid in on a stretcher. I couldn't take it anymore.
That was the scene at the PMAC and it gives me a new perspective on things. For those of you who I haven't been able to get in touch with because of phone service, I pray you are safe. Send me an email to let me know. God bless.
Rivals.com encourages donations to the American Red Cross. You can specify your donation go toward "2005 Hurricane Relief." To make donations, please click here.
This was reprinted with the permission of Mr. Martin. The death toll estimate that he was given should be considered speculative at best.
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