Towering Man, Early End, Manute Bol Dies

Manute Bol

Seven foot Seven inches tall. Manute played for ten years in the NBA.

The proximate cause of his death was Kidney Failure, brought on by Stevens–Johnson syndrome an auto immune disorder that can have behavioral causes or other more innocent origins. For instance, it can be brought on by ibuprofen usage.  In Manute's case it seemed to be kidney disease, which he treated with drugs, which then apparently brought about the SJS and then finally caused renal failure.

CNN - "Bol, who was listed at 7-feet-7 inches tall and 225 pounds, played for the Washington Bullets, Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat in his 10-year career.

The native of war-torn Sudan was known during and after his career for his charity work for his home country.

'He was a wonderful person. He would always talk about the civil war going on in Sudan, because he was sending all of his money back to Sudan,' Charles Barkley, Bol's teammate on the 76ers and an NBA analyst for TNT, told CNN's Don Lemon. 'I can honestly say I never played with a better person,' Barkley said.

'He never forgot about the Sudan. He would talk to us about it all the time. ... The world is not a better place today; It's worse because we don't have Manute Bol,' he added.

In 2004 after he was nearly killed in an auto accident, Bol told Sports Illustrated, 'God guided me to America and gave me a good job. But he also gave me a heart, so I would look back.'

Bol donated his NBA earnings to charity, according to the article."

In his early days, Manute looked like a human spider, or an invader from another world, as tall and thin as he was.  The "other world" was the Sudan, he was a "Dinka" tribesman.

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