Basketball writer, Jonathan Tjarks of the Ringer in Hospice battling cancer (update: Tjarks has sadly passed away)

[Statlanta]

Even worse that they have to put up a Go Fund Me.

Not trying to derail this but I would think BS would be able to foot that bill...he's been with The Ringer awhile and they're a pretty small organization. That's like chump change to him

OT: but I hate when people assume other people can foot a bill just because they are either popular or have connections.

[azcatz11]

Even worse that they have to put up a Go Fund Me.

Not trying to derail this but I would think BS would be able to foot that bill...he's been with The Ringer awhile and they're a pretty small organization. That's like chump change to him

OT: but I hate when people assume other people can foot a bill just because they are either popular or have connections.

You’re absolutely right and I didn’t mean it like that

[Kingdibs19]

Not trying to derail this but I would think BS would be able to foot that bill...he's been with The Ringer awhile and they're a pretty small organization. That's like chump change to him

I don't know what Bill and the Ringer have and haven't done. Medical bills can be awful and who knows what the insurance does and doesn't cover. The family said they are fine, right now, financially but don't forget they have a 1 year old daughter.

This was truly awful of hear. It really should be a wakeup call to all of us to live life to the fullest now. Nothing is promised moving forward.

Simmons is likely a billionaire at this point with the Ringer being bought out by Spotify. He needs to step up and take care of that family for life. The fact that they have to use a Go Fund Me is pretty sad.

Pretty messed up on Bill Simmons part. As others said, yes medical bills are expensive for most folks but it would be literal chump change for him. Surprised he hasn’t stepped up to take care of it and the family has to resort to creating a go fund me.

[ReddoverKobe]

I don't know what Bill and the Ringer have and haven't done. Medical bills can be awful and who knows what the insurance does and doesn't cover. The family said they are fine, right now, financially but don't forget they have a 1 year old daughter.

This was truly awful of hear. It really should be a wakeup call to all of us to live life to the fullest now. Nothing is promised moving forward.

Simmons is likely a billionaire at this point with the Ringer being bought out by Spotify. He needs to step up and take care of that family for life. The fact that they have to use a Go Fund Me is pretty sad.

Pretty messed up on Bill Simmons part. As others said, yes medical bills are expensive for most folks but it would be literal chump change for him. Surprised he hasn’t stepped up to take care of it and the family has to resort to creating a go fund me.

What's messed up is people like yourself assuming you have any idea what has happened.

[AussieCeltic]

You guys should be angry towards the American healthcare system, not Bill Simmons. If he received this treatment any other developed country in the world, it would be free.

Plus, no one knows what Bill Simmons has done or is going to do. At the end of the day, it’s his money and he can do what he wants with it.

[HotelVitale]

Hospice means they are done battling, now just spending the time they have left together. Was reading his wife's blog. It's on his spine and the doctors have done all they can in terms of surgery and treatment. They have faith in Jesus, so even if you don't think much of that, they are at least at peace with it the outcome and seem to just want to spend whatever time they have enjoying each other.

Jonathan is 33 and she is 34 and they have a son, so that is particularly difficult to think they had all these years to look forward to and now it's likely not going to happen. We are destined to die, but most of assume that will come when we are old and spent.

Found this article he wrote about it last year.

https://www.theringer.com/2021/5/20/22444532/long-night-of-the-soul

Yeah he also wrote an article about fatherhood this year:

https://www.theringer.com/2022/3/3/22956353/fatherhood-cancer-jonathan-tjarks

Such a sad thing to go through..

that fatherhood article stuck with me for weeks afterward

I liked him a lot on podcasts too, very pithy and didn't do the usual caveats/qualifiers in his takes, especially on prospects

I respect that a lot too, he just went right into his takes and stood by them. KOC always tries to avoid offending everyone and always takes the good-guy tac, and Mann always seems to be half-joking or hedging things. Tjarks was always like 'look I'm seeing this and that, and I think you're crazy if you don't.' He also wasn't particularly cocky and understood what he did and didn't know, just did his biz confidently. Wasn't necessarily my favorite bball writer but I knew I was going to get a straight, informed take from him everytime.

[HotelVitale]

You guys should be angry towards the American healthcare system, not Bill Simmons. If he received this treatment any other developed country in the world, it would be free.

Plus, no one knows what Bill Simmons has done or is going to do. At the end of the day, it’s his money and he can do what he wants with it.

I agree, I've also had bosses that I wouldn't want to be paying my bills or floating my family for years. Depends on the relationship you have with them if something like that makes sense. (Plus like you said we also don't know how well those guys are paid, what Simmons has offered, what the Ringer might have as policies, etc) And the gofundme was set up by someone else so fans or folks in his communities could support him, it wasn't a desperate call from the Tjarks themselves.

[azcatz11]

You guys should be angry towards the American healthcare system, not Bill Simmons. If he received this treatment any other developed country in the world, it would be free.

Plus, no one knows what Bill Simmons has done or is going to do. At the end of the day, it’s his money and he can do what he wants with it.

Okay my bad for derailing this. Let’s all just move on. I just read this. Pretty moving stuff

https://www.theringer.com/2022/3/3/22956353/fatherhood-cancer-jonathan-tjarks

[Saul Goodman]

Just too sad. Ive been listening to Tjarks for years.Ill always have such deep admiration for him keeping his podcasting going for the draft this year in the face of such a terrible prognosis. I hope for as much peace as possible for his wife and child.

[510TWSS]

very sorry to hear, really like listening to him when he's on

[vulture]

That’s really tough man. I met him at summer league years ago and he was nice to talk to about the game.

[ronnymac2]

Very sad to hear. I like his basketball articles. I remember liking them back around 2010ish actually.

I hope he and his family receive the support they need to get through this period of time. The article he wrote about fatherhood and community was sobering yet beautiful.

[Big J]

Simmons is likely a billionaire at this point with the Ringer being bought out by Spotify. He needs to step up and take care of that family for life. The fact that they have to use a Go Fund Me is pretty sad.

Pretty messed up on Bill Simmons part. As others said, yes medical bills are expensive for most folks but it would be literal chump change for him. Surprised he hasn’t stepped up to take care of it and the family has to resort to creating a go fund me.

What's messed up is people like yourself assuming you have any idea what has happened.

Why would they create a GoFundMe if they didn’t need money? It’s pretty easy to connect the dots in this kind of situation.

[Big J]

You guys should be angry towards the American healthcare system, not Bill Simmons. If he received this treatment any other developed country in the world, it would be free.

Plus, no one knows what Bill Simmons has done or is going to do. At the end of the day, it’s his money and he can do what he wants with it.

Of course he can do what he wants with his money. Just like we have the right to call him out for not taking care of one of his employees families when he has a kajillion dollars.

[HumbleRen]

You guys should be angry towards the American healthcare system, not Bill Simmons. If he received this treatment any other developed country in the world, it would be free.

Plus, no one knows what Bill Simmons has done or is going to do. At the end of the day, it’s his money and he can do what he wants with it.

Of course he can do what he wants with his money. Just like we have the right to call him out for not taking care of one of his employees families when he has a kajillion dollars.

I mean to be fair to Bill Simmons since everyone seems to be attacking him.

The family did not set up a Go Fund Me, his friends did. His family have repeatedly said they're in a good position in terms of finances. Nobody knows what Simmons has done behind the scenes, seeing how he's pretty close to him, I doubt he hasn't helped out in anyway.

[SA37]

I forget how I came across Tjark's article about being sick, but I ended up reading 2 of them. They're well written and really moving. I suggest everyone read them. It's such an unfortunate, sad thing for someone to go through. The family must just be devastated.

[MotownMadness]

You guys should be angry towards the American healthcare system, not Bill Simmons. If he received this treatment any other developed country in the world, it would be free.

Plus, no one knows what Bill Simmons has done or is going to do. At the end of the day, it’s his money and he can do what he wants with it.

I remember being friggin outraged with the way they used my dad when he had stage 4. That was when i realized just how much of a business cancer is for big pharma.

Not even sure if they would want a cure with how many meds and hopeless treatments they can get away with at that point

I mean they had him so damn zombied out on everything he couldn't even recognize me.

Go fund me helped us out big time cause obviously nobody could work watching the guy deteriorating on his last couple months.

Screw the medical bills though in that situation. Worry about that stuff later and pay them like a $1 a month just to keep them from collections.

[oikosnomos]

My experience with crowd funding/charity apps, most of the time they get setup by people who just want show love and support in a financial way to someone going through a hard time. It's great because it requires nothing of those you are giving to, it communicates to them that you care and it is useful to them even if they don't immediately need it or have asked for it.

[LqdSnk]

I stumbled across this article: https://journalism.utexas.edu/news/jonathan-tjarks-fellowship-fund-master-arts-degree-school-journalism-and-media

"The Jonathan Tjarks Fellowship, set up by the Bill Simmons Family Foundation, will fund a master of arts degree in the School of Journalism and Media. The $50,000 fellowship is intended to cover the cost of tuition, housing and incidentals for a graduate student pursuing the 12- to 18-month degree. Applications open in September; the deadline is Dec. 1."

I'm not a Simmons defender or fan really, but saw all the negative posts and thought I should share this.

[mixerball]

if he is in hospice, he isnt fighting anymore.