INDEPENDENCE: Mother’s Day is Sunday, Father’s Day is not far behind and Richard Jefferson worries.
Not about last-minute gifts or the perfect dinner or balancing family time with preparation for Wednesday’s start of the Eastern Conference finals.
Jefferson worries about his Cavaliers teammate and close friend Channing Frye, who lost his parents within a span of 28 days in October and November.
Frye is surrounded by a close, supportive team that knows how to lift his spirits. His Road Trippin’ podcasts with Jefferson and Allie Clifton of Fox Sports Ohio have helped him strengthen those bonds. The Cavs have started the playoffs 8-0 in their quest to repeat as NBA champions. Frye’s wife, Lauren, gave birth to their third child, a daughter, in August.
But there are times when Frye can’t escape the sadness.
“Kids don’t know. His 5-year-old son is like, ‘Daddy, stop crying,’ ” Jefferson said.
“It never goes away. You never lose that feeling,” Jefferson said of Frye’s grief. “Those memories and those moments will always come. Mother’s Day coming up, there’s always going to be those firsts, Father’s Day is shortly thereafter. It’s going to be a wave of emotion for the next bit of time. You just try and navigate through that and show people around you that you love them and that you care about them.”
Frye’s mother, Karen Mulzac-Frye, 58, was an Emmy-winning television reporter and producer in Phoenix. Battling cancer, she underwent multiple surgeries, including one shortly before the Cavs’ season opener and championship ring ceremony, according to Cleveland.com. Frye and the Cavs were at Game 2 of the World Series when he received the call that he needed to fly to California to say goodbye. He made it in time; Mulzac-Frye died the next day.
Frye’s parents were divorced, but the loss of his ex-wife was a tough blow for Thomas Frye, 64, co-founder of “I” Athlete, a company that advocates excellence in academics and athletics. He passed away unexpectedly of complications from dilated cardiomyopathy, alone at his Phoenix apartment on Thanksgiving.
When Frye got that call, he and his family were at Jefferson’s for a food and football fest that included teammate Chris “Birdman” Andersen and a few friends. Jefferson was glad Frye was with the Cavaliers, having been traded by the Orlando Magic in February 2016.
“To be around people who love you and care about you at a really, really tough time, it was fortunate,” Jefferson said after practice Thursday at Cleveland Clinic Courts. “He could have been in Orlando, he could have been on the road, he could have been at a hotel by himself, he could have been on the plane and no one was able to get ahold of him. I think the fact that you can be around not only your teammates and somebody that you’ve known for years, but also have all your family there is very fortunate.”
Jefferson did not attend either funeral or the celebration of Thomas Frye’s life, but because their families are so close, his mother paid her respects after Thomas Frye died.
“He said he kept it together until he saw my mom,” Jefferson said of Frye.
Jefferson believes God has a reason for a person’s stops on life’s journey, and the fact that he is in Cleveland to help Frye cope with the personal tragedies reinforced that. Jefferson is 36, Frye turns 34 on May 17. The two first met when Frye was 14 and Jefferson considers Frye like a younger brother. Jefferson recruited Frye at the University of Arizona.
“After practice yesterday, I went over to his house. His wife had ACL surgery. My wife and his wife are over there hanging out, our kids are playing together,” Jefferson said. “We go from a road trip to doing Road Trippin’ to sitting at each other’s houses, I left my car someplace so he gave me a ride in. We spend abnormal amounts of time together.”
Jefferson said there have been moments when Frye has told him he’s appreciated his support.
“Sometimes being alone with your thoughts sucks, so I’m glad I was able to be there for him,” Jefferson said.
Frye has spoken little of his parents’ passing. He missed seven regular-season games after their deaths. He was interviewed extensively for a Cleveland.com story in December and wrote an article for the Players’ Tribune last month. In it, Frye said there were days during the regular season when he “felt on the verge of tears” on the court, regretting that his parents were no longer watching him play. He wrote that he found it hard to get out of bed, that he wasn’t invested emotionally.
In his essay, he said the drive to Cleveland Clinic Courts is extremely difficult because there is a cemetery alongside the property and because he used to call his mom and dad on the way to and from the facility.
“A lot of players can relate because you call your mom, you call your friends because you’ve got that 20, 25 minutes in the car. We all can relate to not being able to have that phone call and missing out,” Jefferson said. “He’s told us as a group, ‘I appreciate all the support. Let’s just go about our business. When I get into the locker room I want to laugh and joke and have fun with you guys.’ I think that helped him get through it.”
When Frye joined the Cavs last season, he infused what Jefferson calls “a big shot of life” that General Manager David Griffin said was a major factor in the Cavs’ championship run.
“He was coming from such a bad situation,” Jefferson said, referring to the Magic. “When Channing first got here it was like, ‘Yo, all I get to do is shoot open 3s. Why is everyone so serious around here? Oh, my God, we’re in first place.’ He wasn’t coming in here with any type of stress like, ‘We’ve got to win it.’ He came in with, ‘I’m so happy to be here’ and I think that rubbed off on people. He brought joy and boy-like excitement to do this. I think that helped everyone.”
Because of what Frye has given the team, Jefferson said he knew Frye would get the emotional support he needed, at least as much as the Cavs could offer.
“You’re always worried about somebody in that situation. But you feel very confident about the group around him,” Jefferson said. “Had he been on a team that was 20 games below .500, had he been dealing with an injury … We had a sub-.500 month, that was our biggest drama. We were in first place all year. He was in a very good situation.
“He has moments. He’s got his brother [Logan], he’s got good family members. He’s in this amazing situation. He just had a baby girl. He’s got three kids. He’s got reasons to be excited and be happy. It sucks that it coincides with such a dark time, but I think he’s in a really good spot.”
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.