Remembering Tony Brown

Our hearts are broken, our friend and NBA referee extraordinaire, Tony Brown, passed away this past Thursday from stage IV pancreatic cancer. The shock of his diagnosis only spurred Tony’s wife Tina to dig deep, summon her greatest, fiercest superpower, “protector-in-chief” to move heaven and earth to ensure Tony had the best treatment available. Tina also activated their tight-knit prayer-warrior community for daily Zoom and telephone prayer sessions. Tony was stubborn and did not like being the center of such attention but entrusted his care to Tina as if his life depended on it — more time is the ultimate motivator. Tony’s deep love for Tina and his children Bailey, Basile, and Baylen and huge community of friends lifted him up during the worst of his treatments. 

Tomorrow is guaranteed to no one, but stage IV pancreatic cancer makes future tomorrows far less certain. Tony and Tina fought for more time with each other, friends, and family and more time to find better treatments. The Lustgarten Community vows to continue this fight for Tony and all patients facing this devastating diagnosis.  

As we celebrate Tony’s life, we vow to continue funding research in the pursuit of earlier detection and better treatments. We will move forward until science no longer fails our friends.  

Our deepest sympathies to Tony’s family, friends, and the greater NBA community. We wish you peace in your hearts and the strength to continue the fight to transform pancreatic cancer into a curable disease.