Minute Matt Pazaras He worked in the business side of the NBA and was walking through the arena stands when a team doctor found him looking unwell. The next thing I knew, he was in the hospital, in a wheelchair, spending three weeks there, hoping he wouldn't die.
Multiple sclerosis, a chronic disease of the central nervous system, is not unique to Pazaras. But it's also something he's survived and managed to do as a husband, father of three, and a sometimes stressful, sometimes high-profile career.
And now, for 10 years, he has served as Chief Business Development and Strategy Officer.th During his year with the Milwaukee Bucks, he hopes to strengthen his role as an advocate and ally and an example that others can live, work, have a family and thrive with MS.
“People can have symptoms, but it’s invisible,” Pazaras said. I'm like, “Wait, I know he knows X, Y, and Z. Seems okay.”
“In that regard, one of the funny things for me is, well, there's something that bothers me every day, especially since my last attack. I want to apologize to anyone whose name I've forgotten, because it wasn't intentional. !”
Matt Pazaras gets big contract with Bucks
Under Pazaras' leadership, the Bucks' partnership revenue has increased 477%, said longtime friend Barry Boehm, who is also the Bucks' chief communications officer.
Pazaras signed the naming rights partnership for the new Bucks Arena with Fiserv, and has agreements with BMO, Johnson Controls, Frottart & Medical College of Wisconsin, Motorola, Beechwood Sales & Service/Anheuser-Busch, and Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. It was Pazaras who tied it. . Boehm said his team is also building partnerships with national and global brands.
Indeed, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the 2021 Milwaukee Bucks' NBA championship also helped Pazaras take the Bucks from “last place in the NBA to third in the NBA in partnership revenue.” says Bohm. But this cooperative effort on the business side changed the image of the Bucks and Milwaukee.
“We wanted to build a world-class organization, and from a partnership standpoint, we wanted to be known as one of the best organizations to partner with,” Pazaras said. We started in Wisconsin, but have since expanded far beyond nationally and internationally, with partners all over the world. ”
He said that's unique for a city like Milwaukee. People are starting to learn about Brew City for more than just its proximity to Chicago.
“By the way, you have been to Manchester, England, right? no? do you know anything about it? no. But…you've heard of it, right? why is that? Here you go! ”
Neurologist struggles to diagnose Pazaras' MS
But there was a time when Pazaras was really unwell and didn't know what was going on. When he was working for the Brooklyn Nets in 2006, he experienced extreme pain in one of his legs, burning through his clothes and even the hardwood floors. He went to see a doctor, but no one could give him an answer.
“Then in the spring of 2007, it came back full circle,” Pazaras said. “Every day I was losing some function. My eyesight, whatever it was. I was losing it. If it were the stairs, I would fall.”
Worse, he and his neurologist couldn't find an answer.
“The most difficult part is those in-between moments when it's mysterious and you don't know what's going on,” Pazaras said. “It could be Lyme disease. Or it could be a variety of illnesses. And you have no idea what's going on with your body.”
The Nets' team doctor found Pazaras, asked him a few questions, and immediately sent him to the hospital (Pazaras can't remember the name, but he's still grateful). After undergoing numerous tests at Hackensack Hospital, he was finally diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. tAccording to the Mayo Clinic, the body's immune system attacks the myelin sheath, which protects nerve cells in the brain, optic nerves, and spinal cord.
Pazaras confided in his very good friend Peter Feigin, who also worked for the Nets at the time and is now president of the Bucks.
“And Peter said, 'This is serious.' Mark Lasry, he's on the board of directors at Mount Sinai Hospital. Let's talk to him and see how we can help. ” Pazaras said. “And Mark connected us to our doctor at Mount Sinai.
“It felt like the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders. Even though I was physically at my worst, it felt so good because someone showed me what I had.”
With sheer determination, strong steroids, and support, Pazaras continued treatment for MS to reduce his chances of developing the disease.
“After about a year, I became normal. I didn't know if that was going to happen. And then it all went away,” he said.
Pazaras has only had a few major episodes in the years since he was diagnosed with MS. But it took a lot of hard work and a little luck with connections.
Nets and Bucks helped Pazara with resources to deal with multiple sclerosis
Pazaras was launched with the Bucks in December 2014, shortly after Mr. Fagin and Chief Financial Officer Pat McDonough took over. The three worked together at Madison Square Garden for the Knicks. Pazaras and Barry Bohm worked together on the Nets when the team was still based in New Jersey. It is a close-knit group that has supported Pazaras. But even he was surprised to find even more help here in an unexpected place.
The move to Milwaukee was stressful for the usual reasons, but it was made even more stressful because Pazaras would be leaving the medical team. But on his first day on the job with the Bucks, he was introduced to the leader of a major sponsor who also has MS and directed to a team of doctors at Freedert.
In 2019, Pazaras began serving on the board of directors for the Wisconsin chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, hoping to make resources accessible to all people living with MS.
“It's great that Matt is using his influence and his struggle to inform others. With the right attitude, the right resources, and the right support network, life can be beautiful. “It's very possible,” said Rob Marthaler. , President of the Wisconsin MS Association.
“Like I was told, I learned that there is much more benefit in being open and vulnerable than in hiding things,” Pazaras said. This is because employment benefits will be lost.
“The Nets have been very cooperative, and the Bucks have been incredibly cooperative.”
People with MS may also have to struggle with acceptance from employers and the pressures of living with the disorder.
“For people with MS, or another autoimmune disease or chronic disease, there are invisible symptoms,” Martala says. “In other words, you don't know what's going on in someone's head and heart until you talk to them.”
The MS Society also has an information packet titled “But it's so nice.”
Martala gave the example of an acquaintance with MS who was recently released by his employer after disclosing that he had MS. Some people walk away from jobs and scenarios that are too stressful. Stress is one of the worst triggers for MS patients. Pazaras believes one of his biggest episodes was a result of mourning the sudden death of his best friend.
“Yes, people are being discriminated against and, frankly, being illegally or unfairly fired because of this disease,” Martala said. “Because people think, “Oh, I can't handle it.'' “Oh, they can't keep it up.'' Then they look to people like Matt. It’s my position.”
Event at Pfizer nightspot Blu benefits MS Society
On Tuesday, Pazaras will be a guest bartender at Blue at The Pfister to raise money for the MS Society. It's part of a larger program called BlueTender, where the famous hotel invites guests from nonprofit organizations to act as bartenders every Tuesday.
Milwaukee's building skyline, from Hoang Bridge to the Fiserv Forum, will also turn orange, MS's iconic color, that night and in commemoration of MS Awareness Week, March 10-16.
Murtala said nearly 1 million people in the United States live with MS. There are probably many others. There are more than 20,000 people with MS in Wisconsin, one of the states with the highest incidence in the country. Some people may be infected but not properly diagnosed.
“We have an officer who travels to small towns, and he goes there, but the MS is on farms and in rural cities, and they don't know it,” Martala said, adding that black people He said the community has been affected and many people are undiagnosed.
“It's very mysterious. It's very strange. I know someone who took three years to get a diagnosis because it baffled doctors,” Martala said.
Multiple Sclerosis Resources
National MS Society: https://www.nationalmssociety.org/
MS Society Wisconsin Chapter: https://www.nationalmssociety.org/Chapters/WIG
MS Navigator: 800-344-4867; Contact nmsws@nmss.org;
https://www.nationalmssociety.org/Resources-Support/Find-Support/Ask-an-MS-Navigator