Young Donates to Cancel Medical Debt

Trae Young, who ranks fifth in the NBA in assists, was in assist mode off the floor as well on Wednesday, donating $10 thousand to relieve over $1 million of medical debt for Atlanta residents who could not afford to pay it off.

The Hawks' point guard partnered with RIP Medical Debt, a nonprofit organization committed to erasing medical debt in America, and the Trae Young Foundation to relieve $1,059,186.39 of debt for 570 people in the Greater Atlanta area.

"The city of Atlanta has welcomed me with open arms," Young said via a Hawks press release. "Giving back to this community is extremely important to me. I hope these families can find a bit of relief knowing that their bills have been taken care of as we enter the New Year."

Blessed to have such a Great Team around me to help me make this happen!!

For the A❤️ #MakeADifference https://t.co/EIAFDN9ViR
— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) January 8, 2020

After the news broke, Brooklyn Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders tweeted in support of Young's donation:

Big time by Trae!

Also speaks to our debt based system when $10k in cash cancels $1M in debt. Sickening. https://t.co/SW7uXt5sFQ
— Spencer Dinwiddie (@SDinwiddie_25) January 8, 2020

This is extremely generous. But it shouldn't take an NBA star's generosity to stop medical debt from crushing Americans.

We are going to eliminate ALL past-due medical debt in America. https://t.co/e2kPIqdvb3
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) January 8, 2020

Before Wednesday night's game, Young explained why he chose this particular issue for his donation. His grandfather dealt with health issues a few years ago, and experienced the kind of medical debt Young and RIP are looking to eliminate. He wanted to positively impact Atlantans while also addressing an issue that was personal to him.

"I have family members who were really sick, especially my grandpa," Young said. "That's who I play for. When I was a kid, just seeing him being sick, and I have a lot of family members who have had to go through that type of debt. So it's something special to me. I just wanted to do something for the city of Atlanta and something that was special to me."

RIP Medical Debt is a nonprofit that buys and forgives medical debt across America. RIP works with individual donors, philanthropists and organizations to purchase medical debt for pennies on the dollar to provide financial relief for those burdened by impossible medical bills. To learn more or pitch in to their mission, visit their website.

This story was updated to include Senator Sanders' tweet and Young's quote before Wednesday's game.