Nike CEO Mark Parker Accepts Kobe Bryant's ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Bringing awareness to Lou Gehrig's Disease.

words // Brandon Richard

If you've logged into social media anytime during the past few weeks, there's a good chance you saw a video of a celebrity dressed in gym clothes dumping a bucket of ice water over his or her head. This is all part of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, a campaign implemented to bring awareness to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. About 30,000 Americans have the disease, which attacks nerve cells and ultimately leads to paralysis, while the mind remains sharp.

The challenge calls for one or more people to pour a bucket of ice water over their heads or make a donation to the ALS Association. This seems a bit counterproductive, but many people do both. In fact, the association says it has received $13.3 million in donations since July 29, compared to $1.7 million during the same period last year. After taking the challenge and posting it to a social media platform, the participant keeps to ball rolling by issuing the challenge to friends.

Of course, the Ice Bucket Challenge has spread to the world of sports, where athletes are actually accustomed to submerging themselves is large buckets of ice. Nevertheless, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant accepted the challenge and, in turn, challenged Nike CEO Mark Parker among others. Minutes ago, Parker accepted...