Of all the basketball players who have signed a contract with the Utah Jazz over four decades, J.P. Gibson is the only one who ever used a purple crayon.
Back in 2014, the then-5-year-old leukemia patient captured the hearts of the organization and its fans when he signed a one-day contract with the Jazz. In the years since, he’s developed relationships with players and team officials who celebrated his gradual recovery and apparent remission earlier this year.
Then in July, a tough blow to stomach: Josh Gibson, J.P.’s dad, told the world through social media that his son was going through another bout with cancer. Another Jazz fan, who had never met the Gibsons before, felt that he had to do something.
“I don’t know why I felt impressed to do this — I’m usually the kind of person who tries to stick to himself,” said Steven C. Diaz, designer who lives in the Salt Lake Valley. “But I saw a need, and I wanted to see if I could help in some way.”
Diaz decided to put his talents to work, and he created a design: A Jazz note form the “J” in J.P.’s initials, with “Strong” written into the straight edge of the “P.” He imagined the logo appearing on a shirt which he could sell to help the family.
After working with the Jazz and the NBA to clear legal hurdles, Diaz handed over the rights to the shirt and the design to the Jazz. On Wednesday, just days before J.P.’s eighth birthday on Sunday, “J.P. Strong” shirts went on sale for the first time.
Within two hours, the Jazz had sold 212, according to Miller Group spokesman Frank Zang. By the end of the day, the initial order of 500 shirts had sold out.
“It’s amazing seeing all the people who care,” Josh Gibson told The Tribune. “It really does make a difference.”
In one sense, it makes a financial difference for a family facing at least two more years of costly cancer treatments: All proceeds from shirt sales are being donated to help cover J.P.’s medical costs. The Jazz received another shipment of shirts on Friday, and they’ll also be available at an Oct. 6 preseason game against the Phoenix Suns (the Jazz hope J.P. will feel well enough to appear).
Zang said the T-shirt sales fits in with larger organizational goals of the Jazz, which are also fighting cancer through their “5 for the Fight” campaign represented by patches on the team jerseys this year. But with the Gibsons, the effort is much more personal: Many within the organization, including Zang, count the Gibsons as friends and have followed J.P.’s health throughout the years.
“ It was a punch to the gut when the cancer returned this summer because we’ve always seen him as so young and energetic and fun to be around,” Zang said. “It’s gratifying the way people respond. You can have these causes, but when things like this happen, they really hit home.”
The campaign has also sent a powerful message to the Gibsons, who have seen just how embraced their son is by the larger Utah Jazz community with the shirt sales. He’s been in the hospital several times in the past two months, and seeing the support has a galvanizing effect on his spirit as he goes for another round with cancer, Josh Gibson said.
“He thinks that’s really cool: What kid wouldn’t want the team to make a shirt for them?” he said. “We love the Jazz. They’ve always been there for us, checking in on our family. … It breaks our heart to be in position again, but it’s been a great blessing to our family to have that in our life.”
One of those new friends is Diaz, who hopes to meet the Gibsons in person for the first time on Oct. 6. Diaz, who has three children of his own, said he got emotional when he saw his T-shirt become a reality and understood how it would help the family.
“I couldn’t even imagine what the Gibsons are going through,” he said. “I don’t know if I’d have the strength I see from them to get through it. I definitely think that was a reason I felt like I needed to do something.”