Kings’ DeMarcus Cousins surprises Sacramento family with new car
DeMarcus Cousins’ fiery on-court demeanor and penchant for running afoul of officials has made him a polarizing figure among NBA fans and observers, but it’s awful tough to knock the work the Sacramento Kings’ All-Star big man has done over the past few years to try to brighten up the holidays for Northern California families going through tough times.
Just a couple of days after hosting his fourth annual holiday shopping spree for underprivileged Sacramento youth — an event in which 100 local kids, many from low-income families, each received $200 to spend on holiday presents for themselves, their friends or their families — Cousins partnered with a local Chevy dealership to give one family the kind of gift you mostly just see in television commercials: a brand new car, complete with a giant bow on top.
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Evidently not content with just continuing his shopping spree tradition, Cousins reportedly sought aid from the Kings organization in finding a family to whom he could donate a car, much like fellow Western Conference All-Star Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder did earlier this year. He eventually decided to go with Maurice Williams and Selena Pina, who are engaged and plan to get married next summer, “because of their remarkable story,” according to Sean Cunningham of Sacramento’s ABC 10:
Williams and Pina are raising their 3-year-old daughter Marina, in addition to Selena’s two younger twin sisters J’nay and J’nette Sims, who were twice abandoned — once by their biological mother, and then again by family friends who didn’t want them anymore.
Malnourished and neglected, the twins, almost six-years-old at the time, were left at the front door of Maurice and Selena, who then contacted Child Protective Services for help.
They worked to try to get full custody of the J’nay and J’nette and raise them as their own, beginning an adoption process. In Oct. 2015, Maurice and Selena were granted full guardianship of the twins.
During that process, Maurice was working to finish school. He has a medical assistant diploma but hadn’t been able to find a job because of lack of transportation and childcare. Selena is currently attending Yolo Continuation School and is scheduled to graduate in May with her high school diploma. She had their daughter Marina when she was 16-years-old.
That selflessness and sacrifice — to open your home and heart up to two infants while already raising one child on somewhat unsteady financial ground — clearly touched Cousins, as did the immediate emotional response the couple offered to the new car. The moment called to mind another from his most recent shopping spree event, as detailed by Cunningham:
One mother was so thankful for Cousins’ charity that she shed some tears watching her two children experience that kind of joy.
“I didn’t see [that], but I’m kind of glad that I didn’t because I don’t really know how I would have reacted,” Cousins said with a chuckle. “But, like I said, that’s what it’s really about.”
As it turns out, Cousins reacts pretty fine to a mom crying tears of joy as a result of a kind turn he’s done for her and her children. That’s good, because he may well be dealing with this situation again soon; on Thursday, he’s hosting another children’s shopping spree in his hometown of Mobile, Ala., giving another 100 kids $200 to buy holiday presents at a local Target.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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