Howard Soifer
In Memoriam
1949 - 2003

Howard Soifer was born in the Bronx and moved to Monsey, New York in 1963. Following graduation in the Spring Valley High School Class of 1967, he attended the University of Toledo for two years and received his undergraduate degree from Long Island University in Brooklyn.

Soifer was a proud 1977 graduate of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan. He was an accomplished lawyer, and a shareholder in the firm of Loomis, Ewert, Parsley, Davis & Gotting, P.C. at the time of his death on Wednesday, January 29, 2003 at the age of 53. He began his legal career as an Assistant Ingham County Prosecutor and after entering private practice, specialized in litigation, zoning and employment law. He frequently lectured at Cooley Law School and co-authored an article published in the Thomas M. Cooley Journal of Practical Clinical Law regarding the 1998-99 NBA Lockout.

More than anything, Howard loved sports. Throughout his life, he was an avid New York Yankees fan and during his 29 years in East Lansing, Michigan, he became a loyal Michigan State University Spartan. Later in his career, Howard’s passion for basketball, baseball and football led him to represent several prominent professional athletes. He was proud to have negotiated a $2.5 million donation to Michigan State University by Steve Smith, NBA Champion, MSU All-Star, client, and close friend, which was and still remains the largest gift from a professional athlete to his Alma Mater.

Howard was a devoted husband and best friend to his wife of more than 30 years, Sandy Kirsch Soifer. To all who knew him, it was apparent that Howard’s family was his greatest source of pride. His two daughters, Halie and Marci, ages 27 and 23 years, are both graduates of the University of Michigan. Halie and her fiancé, Andrew Kauders live and work in Washington, D.C. Marci has been volunteering and traveling in South America for the last six months, and looks forward to a career as a writer.

All who were part of Howard’s life will remember him for his great sense of humor and his extreme loyalty, integrity and strength. He was truly a warm, caring person and an exceptionally devoted husband, father and friend. Howard touched the lives of all who knew him. His dedication to his family and his profession and his passion and love for life will never be forgotten. He considered every moment of every day as a new and exciting chapter in the great story of life. His enthusiasm and his passion were both infectious and awe-inspiring. Not a day goes by that he is not truly missed by his family, friends, partners, clients and colleagues alike, all of whom know that life without Howard will never be the same.

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Steve Smith

Steven Delano Smith was born in Highland Park, Michigan, on March 31, 1969. His parents are Donald and the late Clara Bell Smith. Steve attended Pershing High School in Detroit and Michigan State University from 1987-1991, where he became a First Team All American basketball player, and the Spartans’ all-time leading scorer, with 2,263 points. At that time he ranked 5th all-time in Big Ten history, and was also First Team All-Big Ten in his senior season.

Steve first entered the NBA as the Miami Heat’s First Round selection (5th player selected overall) in the 1991 NBA Draft, and since then has played with the Atlanta Hawks (1994-1999), the Portland Trail Blazers (1999-2001), and the San Antonio Spurs, where he earned a championship ring in 2003. Steve was also a member of the New Orleans Hornets (2003-2004), and competed with the Charlotte Bobcats and Miami Heat during the 2004-2005 season.

In 1994, Steve was chosen to represent the United States as a member of the gold medal winning “Dream Team II” in the World Championships held in Toronto, and in 2000, Steve’s basketball ability was further recognized when he was chosen to represent the United States as a member of the gold medal winning United States Olympic Basketball Team in the 2000 Olympics held in Sydney, Australia.

Steve has always been an active member in his “community” by working with and for inner city youth organizations in Michigan, Miami, Atlanta, Portland, San Antonio, New Orleans, and Charlotte. In 1997, Steve, who believes you can never give too much, donated $2.5 million dollars to Michigan State University. This donation helped construct the Clara Bell Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center, in honor of his late mother, Clara Bell Smith, who died of cancer during Steve’s rookie NBA season. This remains the largest single donation ever made by a professional athlete to an alma mater. The building was formally dedicated on September 12, 1998, and it remains a state of the art facility in this country. At Steve’s insistence, a portion of this generous donation also funds The Steve Smith/Pershing High/MSU Scholarship for Academic Achievement. In 2001, Steve donated an additional $600,000.00 to fully endow the scholarship. This scholarship provides, on an annual basis, high-achieving students from Detroit Pershing High School the opportunity to attend Michigan State University. In honor of Steve’s generous gift to Pershing High School, Pershing paid tribute to the basketball star by holding “Steve Smith Day” in September 2001, where they renamed the school’s gym after the 1987 graduate.

Steve’s generosity has been recognized not only by the various charities, organizations, and institutions he donates to, but by the NBA as well. During 1997-1998 NBA season, Steve received the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, and was later awarded the Joe Dumars Sportsmanship Award in 2002.

Steve served as a member of both the National Alumni Board and National Development Board of Michigan State University. In addition, Steve is most proud to currently be a member of the National Board of Reading is Fundamental (RIF), a non-profit organization which was created to eradicate illiteracy in our nation’s urban public schools. Steve has served RIF admirably, particularly by donating proceeds from his annual Steve Smith Annual Charity Challenge Golf Outings to RIF.

On September 30, 2005, Steve returned to MSU to announce his retirement from the NBA after 14 seasons. He still remains involved with the NBA, however, as the Atlanta Hawks’ TV color analyst.

If anything else need be known about Steve, his character and/or his values, it can be easily found from his own words which he delivered at the January 1997 announcement of his donation to Michigan State University. His words, in part, were as follows: “I have had great coaches, but none greater than my mother. I have had great role models, but none greater than my mom. I have had great teammates and fans, but none greater than Clara Bell Smith.”

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Russell T. Granik
Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer
National Basketball Association

Russ Granik has been a guiding force in helping to establish the National Basketball Association as the most popular sports league in the world. Mr. Granik, the NBA's Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer, has represented the league in a wide range of successful projects, including collective bargaining agreements, television contracts and the formation of the Dream Team, which has represented the United States in the last four Olympics.

Mr. Granik joined the NBA in 1976 as a staff attorney. He became Assistant General Counsel in 1978 and General Counsel in 1980. When David J. Stern was named NBA Commissioner in 1984, he named Granik to succeed him as Executive Vice President. In February 1990, Mr. Granik was elected Deputy Commissioner by the NBA Board of Governors.

Mr. Granik has participated in every major negotiation on behalf of the NBA since 1980, including the television contracts with NBC and Turner Broadcasting, signed in 1997. He also has been the chief negotiator for the league during collective bargaining that resulted in agreements with the National Basketball Players Association in 1988, 1995, 1999 and 2005.

Mr. Granik has also played a major role in the NBA's international expansion. From 1996-2000 he served as the President of USA Basketball, the United States' national governing body for international basketball competition. From 1989-96, he was a Vice President of USA Basketball and, in that role, he was instrumental in working out the details of the participation of NBA players in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympics. In November 2005, Mr. Granik received USA Basketball’s Edward S. Steitz Award, which recognizes an individual for his outstanding contributions to international basketball.

Mr. Granik is Chairman of the Board of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, where he has been a Trustee and member of the Executive Committee since 1984.

Mr. Granik graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1969 from Dartmouth College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and Cum Laude from Harvard Law School in 1973. He was associated with the law firm of Breed, Abbott & Morgan in New York before joining the NBA. He lives in Armonk, N.Y., with his wife Joyce, and has two grown children, Daniel and Erynn.

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