Damian Lillard’s reputation in Portland has always extended beyond what he did on the court, and a recent story from longtime Trail Blazers reporter Casey Holdahl offered another example of why.
Holdahl, who spent more than 18 years working for the franchise before being laid off earlier this year, recently shared how Lillard personally stepped in to help him and another former Blazers digital staffer, Tucker, find paid work shortly after both lost their jobs.
The opportunity came through Tissot, one of Lillard’s sponsors. The company wanted to arrange an interview with Lillard and planned to bring in its own interviewer and production crew.
According to Holdahl, Lillard rejected that plan.
“When I lost my job, [Dame] made a point of getting me work,” Holdahl said.
He explained that Lillard told the sponsor he wanted Holdahl to conduct the interview and Tucker, who had also been let go from Portland’s digital team, to shoot it. The gesture stood out because neither former employee had asked him for help.
Lillard simply knew they had lost their jobs and used one of his own commercial opportunities to make sure they got the assignment instead.
“For someone to look out for you like that, who’s Damian Lillard,” Holdahl said. “Anything everyone says about Dame about how great of a guy he is and how much he cares about people, it’s 100% true. It’s not PR, that guy really cares about people.”
Holdahl’s account came during a recent podcast appearance (Wake up Rip City) discussing his departure from the Trail Blazers. He had been one of the franchise’s most recognizable digital voices before being included in a large round of business-side layoffs following the organization’s ownership transition.
The story is small compared with the major moments that have defined Lillard’s career in Portland, but that is also what makes it revealing.
There was no public campaign, no press release and no obvious benefit for Lillard. He saw two people he knew suddenly without work and used his own influence to create an opportunity for them.
