On Wednesday morning, sportswriter Robby Kalland shared on Twitter that Atlanta-based NBA blogger Bo Churney had died by suicide and that Churney’s brother had hoped to spread word to the online NBA community.
Within hours, a fundraising page set up to benefit an Atlanta organization that provides outreach to at-risk LGBT youth in Atlanta had raised more than $5,000 in Churney’s honor.
The news of Churney’s death rocked much of the Twitter NBA world, with dozens of people, from high-profile writers to regular fans, expressing shock and sharing their memories.
I don’t even have the words right now…one of my favorite twitter followers and eventual colleagues @bochurney committed suicide yesterday. I will always remember Bo as one of the nicest people thanks to this app.
— Andrew Hammond (@ahammALDC) May 23, 2018
RIP @bochurney. The world is so, so much worse without you.
— Andrew Lynch (@AndrewLynch) May 23, 2018
https://twitter.com/MichaelFosterSN/status/999327829669175296
https://twitter.com/IanDougherty/status/999311806077136896
The Atlanta Hawks acknowledged Churney — who wrote for a number of publications including HawksHoop, Atlanta’s ESPN TrueHoop affiliate — through both their main account and their PR account.
The NBATV show The Starters even displayed a photo of Churney’s Twitter avatar in its studio Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Kalland and fellow writer Jared Dubin set up a fundraising page, with proceeds benefiting Lost N Found Youth, an Atlanta-based non-profit that, per its website, “exists to end homelessness for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ+) and all sexual minority youth.”
“If you loved him, if you liked him, if you knew him, if you just want to help some kids who need help, donate here,” NBA writer and Hardwood Paroxysm founder Matt Moore wrote on Twitter while sharing a link to the page.
As of 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, the page had raised $5,132, a figure that was rising by the minute. You can donate right here.