'BE' Modern Man Article

Name: Caron Butler

Profession: 13 Year NBA Veteran

Age: 35

One word that describes you: Grateful

Caron Butler grew up as a troubled youth in Racine, Wisconsin. By the age of 11, Butler was hanging out with a tough crowd and began dealing drugs which landed him in jail nearly 15 times before his 15th birthday. After spending over a year in jail Butler became committed to turning his life around. He found a good job at a local Burger King and got serious about pursuing his dreams of playing basketball. With a renewed enthusiasm and hunger for success, Butler moved to Maine to attend Maine Central Institute. During his years there, Butler polished his game and earned a scholarship to play for Coach Jim Calhoun at the legendary Big East powerhouse, the University of Connecticut. After a standout freshman season, Butler helped lead the United States to a gold medal in the 2001 FIBA World Championships then returned to UConn his sophomore year to lead the team to an outright Big East Championship in 2002. Coming off an extraordinary season, Butler declared for the 2002 NBA Draft following his sophomore season and was selected tenth overall by the Miami Heat. Throughout Butler’s 13-year NBA career he has become known for his tenacious style of play, winning attitude and reliability as a player and teammate.

Open-minded and approachable, Butler truly feels blessed to be where he is at. “I just love life,” Butler tells BE Modern Man. “No matter who you are, or what your financial status is I love meeting people and try to inspire all those I come in contact with.”

Heading down the wrong path as a young boy, Butler’s love for his family provided him the strength to push through his troubled start. “My main inspiration was my family,” says Butler. “My book Tuff Juice: My Journey From the Streets to the NBA which releases on October 7, 2015 details the adversities we went through as a family.” Wanting to see his family make it, Butler used basketball to turn all of his wrongs, right.

Now with a family of his own, Butler prides himself on being a great husband, father and son. Incarceration took the most important relationships away from him early on in his life. “It goes back to my being incarcerated,” Butler tells BE Modern Man. “I appreciated those relationships even more when I got out and I found my niche in the world.”

A man of strong character who comes from difficult circumstances, Butler makes the most of his opportunities. “I’ve met the President, and recently attended the United States Conference of Mayors where I was on a nationwide platform telling my story,” says Butler. Whether its sponsoring programs, clinics, camps, or job fairs, Butler has been involved in community programs since day one. “Even when the media isn’t there, I’ve always been doing it out of the kindness of my heart because it is the right thing to do.”

Not only does Butler want to change the conversation taking place in the black community, he wants to be a voice and use his platform to push the dialogue forward to create change. “Whether it’s a race relations thing or a community policing issue, the fact is we should be talking about it,” Butler tells BE Modern Man. “With my story, you have a white police officer and myself, a once-troubled African American male. I owe a degree of my success to that police officer who made a decision that changed the course of my life.” The time is now to have these conversations between all people from different walks of life. “I’m blessed to be in a position to help bring these issues to light,” says Butler. “It’s something I’ve embraced with open arms and I love doing it.”

Creating an impact on and off the hardwood Butler says “a BE Modern Man is a man of dignity and morality, and someone that handles business to the fullest while giving back to help others.”

The BE Modern Man team salutes Caron Butler. A man who is blessed to play the sport he loves at the highest level, but does not take his position for granted. Using his platform to impact fans across the world is high on his priority list and a part of his job description. Charismatic, an admirable teammate a dedicated community leader, and most importantly a family man, Caron Butler is putting up numbers where it matters the most.

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