Noted basketball star Jerome Kersey passed away at age 52 on Wednesday, Feb. 18. Kersey spent 17 seasons in the NBA and was a beloved player for the Portland Trail Blazers.
The cause of his death has not been released, but Comcast SportsNet Northwest reported that Kersey went in for a routine knee surgery earlier this week.
“Wednesday [he] reportedly told fellow Trail Blazer employees at the team’s Rose Quarter office that he wasn’t feeling well and was going to go home,” the site reported, adding that a source told them Kersey collapsed on the way to his car. There is, however, a conflicting report that he was taken by an ambulance from his home in Lake Oswego to a local hospital.
“Today we lost an incredible person and one of the most beloved players to ever wear a Trail Blazers uniform,” Blazers’ owner Paul Allen said in a statement to the Washington Post. “My thoughts and condolences are with the Kersey family. He will be missed by all of us. It’s a terrible loss.”
Kersey was a noteworthy small forward on the Portland team. He was originally drafted in 1984. He is survived by his wife Teri and four daughters.
