Through Military Connection, Richardson Mentors

story of Josh Richardson and Elijah Bird. On this episode of the broadcast, How you doing out there, Brian Seltzer, welcoming you back to another edition of the broadcast. You can find us anywhere you get your pods, whether that is Spotify, Pandora, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, tune in SoundCloud. Just type in seventy six ers Podcasts or Sixers podcast Network and to find our feed and you can follow and subscribe seventy sixers. They are going through it right now.

As of the taping of this podcast. It is the day after a tough loss to the Orlando Magic. The Sixers of Now dropped four in a row on the road and four out of their last six. But the theme that at least for me, I keep going back to is continuity and the lack of it at this

early stage of the season. Last seven games, the seventy Sixers have not just been missing a guy or two, they've been missing at least one All Star from their starting lineup, and Brett Brown said from the very beginning of training camp that talent does not trump time in the end. The hope is that it wins out and the expectation is that it will. But as the Sixers navigate through the first three to four weeks the season, there have been injuries, there's been a suspension, there have

been a ton of road games. Sixers. They're just trying to figure some things out and establish further cohesion. Might take a little bit of patience at the moment. No no one wants to hear that, but the Sixers hope to get on a role as they continue their current road trip. For this edition of the podcast, we are going to hear from our reporter Lauren Rosen a little bit later on, and she will recap all the important

pertinent headlines dealing with the team. But I want to begin this episode of the podcast with our opening tip segment talking about this A full disclosure about Brian Seltzer. I'm gonna be honest. When I'm in the presence of military service women and men and their families, most of the time, I kind of feel out of place, a little bit awkward. The latest instance of this was the other day when the seventy sixers hosted the Charlotte Hornets

on military Appreciation. I was walking in the back of house area at the Center, making my way from our offices to the media dining area, when I passed by a group of about two dozen Army officers who I think we're getting ready to help present the American flag at Center Court during the pregame singing of the national anthem. If I were to do an internal audit of myself, there are probably a couple of areas of the reason why. Like I said, this type of situation can be awkward

for me. First, my immediate impulse is to thank these women men for their service. Depending on the setting and the feel of the situation, sometimes I do, but then other times I don't. Why not do it all the time and make it personal standard practice? Well, in my own weird, compulsive, overly analytical way. I constantly review my thoughts and decisions. Is it too cliche to thank military people for their service? Is it a nice, genuine thing

to say? Of course, But then I start wondering if the gesture is truly sufficient in respect to what we owe these women men for putting their lives and the lives their families in peril on a regular basis so the rest of us can attend a basketball game or cover a professional sports team for a living. I, by no means am trying to do a soapbox segment here. That's above my pay grade, and there are plenty of other places you can go to for that type of content.

All I'm trying to do is give you my perspective and share where I personally am coming from. For me, I think that in the grand scheme of things, what I do with my life is so insignificant compared to what these military people do, what they have committed themselves

to do, what they're prepared to do. I just end up feeling incredibly small, like there's nothing I could possibly say to show enough thanks to our military for ensuring that this country well certainly not perfect is a place where you're afforded liberties and freedoms and rights that don't exist everywhere. That brings us to October thirtieth, two thousand and four. The United States was less than a year into the Second Iraq War. Combat was on the verge

of intensifying. Marine lance Corporal John T. Bird, the Second belonged to a unit based in the western part of the country called the Anbar Province, iraqs border with Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. That day, while Bird was carrying out increased security measures near the Abu Great Prison outside Baghdad, an enemy suicide car bomber crashed into his vehicle, killing Bird and seven other marines. The Volus area is urban, It's got complex terrain that has difficult avenues of approach.

It has very zealous fighters. According to The New York Times, October thirtieth would be the deadliest day for American forces in Iraq in almost six months. Could have been A sport utility vehicle heavily laden with explosives totally destroyed our truck. Less than two weeks later, on Veteran's Day in his hometown of Fairview, West Virginia, Bird was buried with full military honors. His family, including wife Jessica, was presented with

a purple heart and ceremonial folded flags. In an Associated Press account of the funeral, there was a local pastor quoted He recalled Bird as a gentleman and a good guy. The pastor also noted that Bird played basketball. In January two thousand and five, Jessica Bird gave birth to a son, Elijah. Elijah's now fourteen years old. It's a military appreciation at the Center. The seventy six ers are getting ready to take on the Charlotte Hornets, and Elijah is grabbing rebounds

for Josh Richardson during pregame wars. Are you get the rebound? Crazy? The way his mom describes him, Elijah is a teenager who very much is turning into a teenager. You can see you to a certain degree. A snippet of what Jessica Bird is talking about. Elijah's got a bounced to him, a bright smile. In between Richardson's shots, he twirls a basketball and his right index figure as if he were trying to be a Harlem Globe tribe. Elijah is full

of energy. We came out into the court, Um me and Josh and um I was hossing the ball too long and I met Josh person. But yeah, he was t me like, set some screens up. I was like, yeah, I just had a screen for Josh Richardson. I was freaking out for, you know idea. How was it that Elijah had the opportunity to tell Richardson get ready for

the game that night. Elijah, a ninth grader at Central High School in the Logan section of Philadelphia, is part of the seventy sixers Walk in My Shoes mentoring program through an affiliation with another organization called TAPS, the Tragedy Assist Program for Survivors. Elijah never met his father, John, died when Jessica was about seven months pregnant, but today

Elijah does bear some resemblance to his dad. An old military headshot of John reveals similarities between him and Elijah in their facial structure, their eyes, cheeks, even the way they cut their hair. On Military Appreciation Night, Elijah, Jessica, Elijah's grandfather, who served in the army, and his cousin were all guests of Richardson in the seventy sixers and given VIP treatment before tip off, Elijah was recognized on the floor as the strong kid of the game, his legacy.

Every day, it's nice to just see him so happy and energized and motivated and laughing with a big smile on his face, Like not something I see very often with the stress of high school and his sports and everything. Right now, that's Jessica Bird. For anyone out there who's either gone through or maybe currently is still in high school,

you know, it is not the easiest of times. There's so much you got to manage, with implications about your present, your future, your personal and social lives, all that stuff. In the words of his mom, Elijah is extremely dedicated to his academics and is very regimented. That's a good problem to have, right Jessica says she likes seeing that type of commitment from Elijah on weekdays, but on weekends every now and then she thinks it might do him

some good to take a breather, decompress a bit. Even on the weekends. He's working as academics, he's studying, he's writing, and so to see him take a break from it and actually like let go and release and enjoy some time, as his mom is really refreshing, you know, because I'm just like, let me take a break sometimes, man, and

I can't stuff is due. How seriously does Elijah take his schoolwork so much so that he was initially concerned that participating in the Walk in My Shoes program would have an adverse effect on his grades, even if one of the perks was that he'd be able to hang with someone like Josh Richardson. Here again is Jessica bird As. I was talking to some of the coordinators and they had a great point. They're like, these cures are as regiment, so they'll get it, you know, And I was like, huh,

that's true. So I told Elijah a couple of times and he's still like just wasn't quite sure about the time requirements, but you can see he's happy. What else does a mom want? You know? I could feel he thinks a lot, like when he meets new people, you know, he doesn't really open up very fast, but you can always tell you it's like something going on upstairs. That's Josh Richardson. Military Appreciation Night wasn't the first time he

had Elijah Bet. They were introduced about a month and a half ago after the seventy six ers Blue and White Scrimmage at seventy six ers Field House in Wilmington, Delaware. Once I got to know him, wasn't he can hung out a little bit? Like he's funny, you know, he's passionate about soccer, which I am. So that's like a good tie. I mean, he's expressive, he's he's cool, like you know, I like him. He's a cool good Josh

Richardson grew up in a military household. His mom, Alice, was stationed at Tinker Air Force Base in uncle him A City. His father, Michael, was a firefighter. The military tie was the basis for Richardson becoming Elijah Bird's mentor was a military It was cool being in out of the base a lot, was It gave me a good like perspective. No, my mom was pretty disciplined, and everything in my house was like very tight, you know, like very like my grades had to be good, like just

he ran a tight shift. But you know, I appreciate it now because I don't have a problem like being disciplined, and like everybody in my house has to be disciplined up through the Walk in my Shoes program, through multiple touch points throughout the season when a player and the person he's mentoring see each other. But so far, Richardson

has made himself available beyond that. A few days after the Blue and White scrimmage, he and Elijah went to a Philadelphia Union playoff match at the Center of the other night, they discussed grubbing. Sometime soon at a Center City institution, herschels the same PASTRAMI stand inside renting Charminal Market. We were saying how we should go out to get one right, and he was like down, you know, and

stuff like that. We were talking about how he like he's like a soccer player, you know, because dude, he was like, he was like Rotes tasting his boxes. Trust me. So I passed to him, but the dude guys it with his foot starts kicking it around. I was like, bro, what are you doing right? And then he passes it back to me like cat and I was like, bro, we're when we running gast soccer and you're giving me the sauce. I was like, come on ground. He was like,

all right, bed's a day, right. I was like, all right. Cool. For a handful of reasons, Richardson realizes he's fortunate not only does he have this budding, successful NBA career, he still got his mom in his life, and as Elijah's story reminds us, many military children can't always say the same.

I've definitely thought about that. You know. All I can do is like pour my heart out to those kids, you know, And that's why I try to be involved with like groups like TAPS, like so I can you know, give a positive a positive influence and those to those kids, you know. And I have some friends when I was growing up, they had to move, you know, a bunch of places, and you know that sucks, having to you know, make all new friends, learn a new environment. And I

never had to experience that. So, you know, I want to like empathize those people, but I can't because I don't really understand what that is. Like. When I spoke with Elijah and his family on Military Appreciation Night, I didn't really want to dive too much and dwell extensively on the past. That's not why the birds were there. They were there to help honor and celebrate a loved one's memory and also their own courage and strength and

persevering through at first circumstances. Still, I did ask Elijah's mom, Jessica, about the value of a program like Walking My Shoes and how interacting with someone like Richardson could ultimately benefit her son. Her cadence slowed down a bit as she acknowledged the unfortunate reality that Elijah has never had a direct fellowship with his father John. I just feel like in regards to leadership, and especially with me being a single mom, and like Collijah says, I work too much

or like I'm too dedicated to my work. So it's like it's nicely he kind of gets to see that other people are doing it too, and not just him, and you know, they're sacrifices that need to be made. So I think it's invaluable. I don't think that there's a value for it. I think it's really important to just give back and to to kind of feel a little bit of a void, you know that's that's been there. You know. I would never try to like be a father figure, like be a real family member, but like

just giving him, you know, an older male figure. It is large who you can talk to, who you can just kind of, you know, lean on. And I think that being able to give back in that way and be a mental as important. Appreciate the Bird family being willing to talk about their story and Josh Richards A two For more information about taps at the seventy six Ers Walk in My Shoes program is a Sixer's Youth

Foundation dot or all Right Shifting Gears. Seventy Sixers Crossover the art exhibition presented by Reebak this Saturday through next Tuesday at the Fiddler Club in Center City. Sixers dot com slash seventy Sixers Crossover for information about tickets and how you can be there. How can you be inside the center this season? Options are limited, but there are seventy Sixers Flex packs. Create your own flex pack and choose the four seventy Sixers games that you want to

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visit sixers dot com slash and flex pack. You can email tickets at seventy six ers dot com or called two on five three three nine seven six seventy six two on five three three nine seven six seven six. It is now my esteem pleasure to bring onto the podcast for the first time. I think this is a first and a welcome first. Our seventy six ers digital reporter, Lauren Rosen. Lauren, Well, what do we call him this segment? I don't know. I think I think Rosin Report is fine.

It's not as cheeky as it could be, but it's fine. It's cheeky enough. There's some alliteration, a fan of both things. Sure, Okay, we'll go with that for now. Okay, it can evolve, of course, it can become something new and different as we move along with This is our first four a into this segment on the podcast. Who knows how frequent it will be. I think pretty regular to maybe always regular. Okay, we'll see, we'll see how terribly the first one goes. Now,

terribly good, terribly great, terribly informative. So you're our reporter, our seventy six ers digital reporter. We've had about a month worth of activity so far in the regular season. Things got off to a great start. Right now, the team is trying to grind through a stretch, get back on track. Talent does not trump time, you know, we get to stay sane and like try to grow this thing. We can really feel responsible where we've delivered something as

perfect as perfect as we can make perfect. In April fifteen, my impression is that right now, what I'm saying is my stance is continuity. There's not much of it. The team is trying to a learn about each other while be managing the important players being available and then not being available. Absolutely. I mean, if there's one thing that I would say is that I'm just excited about the potential of the group, right. I mean, a lot of

new faces, a lot of high ceilings. I think the ceiling is incredibly high, and I'm just excited, like you said, to see them get to play together more, to get more continuity. I mean, just look at the first the beginning of the season, right, it's one of the hardest schedules. It's such a challenging schedule to play. I think nine of the first thirteen away from home accurate number. And at home they've been great. We've had four opportunities and four wins at home. I think there are only five

teams left that are undefeated at home. I guess a little bit easier if you've only played four games at home, But I think it'll be nice for them to be able to get into a little bit more of a rhythm playing at home more often. Maybe not playing as challenging of an early schedule as far as caliber of the teams were playing against, so hopefully in the next few games they can fall into a better rhythm. I think it'll be nice for the content department to get

into a rhythm of the team playing at home. I agree. One guy who had a pretty strong game against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday and the second out of a back to back and who I think has been an all around valuable edition, Certainly not going out on him by saying that, but it is worth stating for the record, Josh Richardson. Richardson on a dribble drive. I don't know about you, but to me, he's been really impressive. He's been asked to do a lot, and he has been

doing a lot and doing it pretty well. Absolutely, and Coach Brown said it at the preseason media luncheon that he was hoping Josh would become a glue or a mortar for this team, And it really does feel like whenever the team needs something, Josh is someone that could contribute. I mean, he's been a solid scorer this whole time. I believe he's second behind Ben and assists. Does that sound right to you? So he's sharing, well, he's creating, well,

He's not that he's necessarily exceeded expectations. But I think a lot of us weren't super familiar with Josh when he came on the scene here in Philadelphia. But only good things as far as what I've seen. Yeah, he seems to be real tenacious and nasty when he's out of the court, but off the floor, a very mellow, chill, for lack better words, vibe. Do you find that the personalities this year are extra special when it comes to this group? I like them. I like them a lot.

And that's not to say anything about the players who were previously here in year's past. But I do think it's a good group. I think everyone seems to know what their lanes are, so to speak. And yeah, especially the new guys like that. To me, is one of the exciting parts of this time of years that you're still getting to know the guys like a Josh Richardson or an Al Horford or a Trade Burke or who

will Nato. These new guys come in and they're they're all by all accounts, seem like very good human beings and it's just being good basketball players. Definitely good human beings also good basketball players. But we talk about someone like Josh who's so smiley and infect she has this infectious personality off the court. I feel I feel the

same way about Kylo Quinn Matisse thible. And then they get onto the court and they can really lock in and they have that Philly edginess that Coach Brown talks about that they always look for, and it's almost like when you're in the locker room, when you're around these guys, they're smiley, they're happy, their personalities are big, and then they get on the court and it's like they have this very similar mentality that's this through line of intensity

and grit that I think is really exciting. I would agree. I would hope the people out there saw the piece of furkon Corkmas content that was pushed on at sixers the other day from after the win against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, turk you're stuffy. There you go. I will try tell me about your experience with Furkon and the Turkish taffy. Well, first of all, Furkan is just the most delightful individual. The more the more I see,

the more I like out fur Con. I think I came into the locker room one of the coaches had found it, and I wish I don't think I was there when the when the Turkish taffy was brought into the room, but when I got there, Furkan was examining the Turkish taffy. So I'll have to do some more investigative reporting to figure out who actually gave it to him. But it was something that he was familiar with, that

he had seen before but maybe hadn't tasted recently. He was definitely excited about the taffy, as all, who doesn't get excited whether it's from Turkey or the Ocean City boardwalk. Absolutely, he was really excited about it. It tickled him, I think, and he gave it a shot. It was difficult to open, and then once he figured out how to open it, it was difficult to bite into, maybe due to the cold weather outside. It's not just us that's being affected

by this climate, it's it's our candy as well. Sure, so, I think once he was able to finally try it, there was a nostalgia factor there that he really enjoyed, and it was just an overall delightful moment from a guy who was slowly or not even slowly quickly developing quite the passionate following, don't you think deservedly? So? Absolutely, we just need more content like that. Well done by you. What do you enjoy tweeting more about Matisse, Thyble or James?

And it's the third who do you enjoy providing updates about more? You cannot put me on the spot like that. Love my absolute two of my absolute favorites, I mean, and interestingly enough pretty pretty similar guys, right that have been able to come off the bench and provide an instant impact in different ways. I mean, James is just so athletic and more of a quiet guy off the court.

It's that it's that same thing we were talking about before, where regardless of what their personalities are like on the court, they all have the same like fiery grittiness that I love to see. And James has been fabulous off the bench matise obviously, We've talked about him a ton, and he has a very specific, very special skill set. I don't know, it's a tie. I can't pick. I can't pick between those two. That's not fair. Something's a monitor

as the season progresses. What are you looking for? Is this road trip wraps up? Um? That's a good question. I mean, I think for a while we've had OKC circled on all of our calendars because I think Joe Well and Russell Westbrook have always had quite the rivalry. Now without rusted okaysee, they're obviously a different looking team, but that doesn't make it any easier to play there. I know it's a difficult place to go. Their fans are almost as passionate as ours. I would say they're

great fans. Say that's a really good place to see a game that stays, that stays exciting, I think, And again, I'm just happy for them to come home next week and play three games at home, the first time they'll play three in a row at home in what feels like a while, I mean, at all this time of the season. Yeah, correct. So it feels like we've gone too long without them being able to spend a whole

week at home, so I'm particularly excited for that stretch. Excellent, Lauren Rosen, what do we say we're calling the Segonde again? I forgot already. The Rosen Report made mark it down. It happened here this edition of the podcast. Thank you, Lauren, thank you. It's an honor. Now the pleasure is all

on this end right, Thanks big thanks to Lauren. Once again, thanks to the Bird family and Josh rich rewind additions to the podcast coming away the day after every game winner lose will be on the lookout in your feed and we will talk to you next time here on the broadcast. Hea