Something’s bothering Pau Gasol.
OK, plenty of things are bothering Gasol. The Lakers’ losing. His philosophical differences with Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni. Becoming trade bait for the last three years.
There’s something else too. Gasol’s among five NBA players to participate in the NBA Cares and WildAid initiative dubbed the “No Hype campaign,” which aims to bring awareness about reducing demand for ivory and rhino horn.
Gasol, New York’s Tyson Chandler, Atlanta’s Al Horford, Oklahoma City’s Serge Ibaka and Thabo Sefolosha and Chicago’s Joakm Noah appeared in the PSA above that first aired Thursday during the TNT telecasts Thursday of the Bulls-Rockets game and the Lakers’ loss to the Thunder.
According to WildAid, the number of poached rhinos has outpaced previous records with over 1,000 killed last year in South Africa, as opposed to 668 in 2012 and 13 in 2007. The organization also estimated 30,000 elephants have been killed annually in Africa.
“The demand for endangered wildlife products is not just an issue in Asia,” WildAid Executive Director Peter Knights said in a statement. “In the United States, the second largest ivory market, Hawaii and New York legislatures are considering banning sales of products made from elephant tusk. We need to make ivory socially unacceptable rather than making it more legitimate, because when the buying stops, the killing can too.”
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