Legendary basketball star Patrick Ewing, who recently tested positive for COVID-19, is the proud father of three grown-up kids who are also athletes like him.
Patrick Ewing
is considered one of the best shooting centers in NBA history. He led the Knicks to two NBA finals in 1994 and 1999 but failed to secure a championship during his 17-year-long basketball career.
Patrick Ewing head during a game between Butler and Georgetown at Capital One Arena on January 28, 2020 in Washington, DC | Photo: GettyImages
He was an
eleven-time All-Star
, part of seven All-NBA teams, won two gold medals with the U.S men’s Olympic basketball team, and is a two-time inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame: for his career and as part of the 1993 U.S Olympic team.
After retiring in 2002, Ewing went on to work as an assistant coach with teams such as the Houston Rockets, the Orlando Magic, the Charlotte Hornets, and, more recently, with Georgetown Hoyas of Georgetown University, his alma mater.
Patrick Ewing #33 of the New York Knicks looks on against the Sacramento Kings on January 12, 1993 in Sacramento, California. | Photo: GettyImages
When asked about the prospect of a career in basketball, she said: “I actually hate playing basketball.”
It was through the University that Ewing released a statement this week sharing he has tested positive for COVID-19. The 57-year-old explained that he was
sharing his diagnosis
, hoping to raise awareness and inform people that the disease can affect anyone.
Erwin’s son, Patrick Jr., later
released a statement
thanking medical staff for taking care of his dad and letting fans know that the Hall of Famer is now resting and isolated at home.
PATRICK EWING’S WIFE & DIVORCE
Ewing met Rita Williams in 1983 when they were both interns at Senators Bill Bradley’s office. Although it’s not clear when they started dating?considering that Ewing
welcomed son Patrick Jr
. with another woman in 1984? they married in 1990.
Ewing and Williams welcomed daughters Randi and Corey, but after seven and a half years together, Williams
filed for divorce
in 1998.
Rita Ewing at the Hue-Man Bookstore and Cafe on Frederick Douglass Blvd. in Harlem. | Photo: GettyImages
Coincidentally, the news came soon after rumors surfaced about Ewing’s alleged affair with a dancer from the Knicks. However, Williams denied those rumors in a statement at the time that
read
:
“We are working toward arriving at an amicable resolution to our problems. There is no ‘significant other,’ as far as I am concerned.”
That same year, Williams and fellow basketball wife Crystal McCrary released the book “
Homecourt Advantage
,” a novel where they gave readers a glimpse into the NBA world and how money and fame can end relationships.
Williams has said that infidelity is part of the curse of being married to an athlete or celebrity, as she
told
CBS News:
“The mentality of the teams and the management condone infidelity.”
Patrick Ewing, Men's Basketball team playing at 1984 Olympics at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Photo: GettyImages
Patrick Ewing Jr., the oldest of Ewing’s kids, tried to follow the NBA star’s steps into the NBA but couldn’t quite fill his shoes.
Patrick Jr.
moved around
five different high schools. He played three positions under three different coaches during that time, which didn’t allow him to develop his abilities in one specific position.
He spent his senior year at the National Christian Academy in Maryland, and
committed
to the Indiana University, taking his father by surprise with the decision.
Patrick Jr. stayed two years in Indiana before transferring to his dad’s alma mater at Georgetown, where he wore the same jersey number as his father, number 33.
Patrick Jr. was the Sacramento Kings’ 43rd overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft, and in August of that same year, he was traded to the New York Knicks.
However, he never got to join the official roster and spent the following years being traded between teams of the NBA minor leagues.
Patrick Jr. had stints with the
Reno Bighorns
and the Sioux Falls Skyforce, among others, and he also played for international teams in Germany, Greece, Qatar, and Spain.
These days, Patrick
works as a realtor
in Washington, D.C. He is happily married to Katie Ewing, and they have four children, Patrick III, Isaac, Bailey, and newborn Austin Aliyah.
Randi, like her father and brother, is also an athlete. However, she went on to make a name for herself in volleyball.
“I think just playing volleyball, I can’t be compared to my dad,” Ewing once
told
the New York Times and
added
:
“But I’ll always, just because I’m an athlete in general, be compared to having him as a dad and having to deal with that.”
Randi was majored in communications and media studies at Fordham University and later
transferred
to the University of Louisville.
In 2012, she claimed she wanted to become a broadcaster for ESPN, preferably as a basketball or volleyball game analyst.
“I definitely want to be on TV,” she
said
. “I want to be able to show that I have a lot of sports knowledge, that it doesn’t only take men who can do it.”
Corey, like her father and brother, also attended Georgetown University. However, when asked about the prospect of a career in basketball, she
said
: “I actually hate playing basketball.”
However, Corey did
play volleyball
and ran track in high school. She graduated from Georgetown with a B.A in Sociology.
Corey has
worked
as a production assistant and was an intern at the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute.
She was also a teacher and basketball coach at the Success Academy Charter Schools for two years before
moving
to the Harlem Village Academies.