Jordan Crawford of the New Orleans Pelicans faced quite the journey back to the NBA following a near three year hiatus from April 16th, 2014 to March 5th, 2017. However, he wasn’t alone. He was backed by an amazing support system that included Mia Fields of Simply Human, his press representative. Mia graciously took some time to answer some questions about Jordan’s path back, as well as some of her day to day responsibilities as a press representative.
Listen to the conversation with Jordan Crawford’s press representative in its entirety here:
You represent Jordan Crawford, and you work for Simply Human. I’m sure many of your listeners think of fancy kitchen trash compactors when they think of Simply Human. Talk a bit about what you do for Simply Human, and the other parts of the company we may not be aware of?
Mia:
“Yes, it’s funny. I talk trash for a living!
With Simple Human. It is a fun company, mostly design base. They sell a lot of house ware products. If you walk into Bed, Bath and Beyond, you can’t miss the brand. I’ve been working for them for seven years.
More recently, I’ve gotten into consulting, which is how I came in contact with Jordan.”
Talking trash really got me, haha. So you’ve been with Simply Human for quite a while. How long have you been working with Jordan?
Mia:
“I’ve been working with Jordan for two years now.”
What led you to this industry? You went to USC before becoming a Public Relations Specialist in 2010. Tell us a little bit about your journey from 2010, and how you came to work with NBA players?
Mia:
“I think early on I always wanted to have my own consulting business. I couldn’t afford business school so I kind of learned through training programs, going to seminars, lectures, diving into different industries.
I came across one of the PR representatives at Simple Human at a job fair at USC, and I was just very persistent, until they let me in the door. It’s been great ever since then.
I love the company and what they do. I manage their public relations side and official marketing, and anything you see on social networks or campaigns, product launches, etc. I have my hands in all of that.”
Very cool, and congratulations!
Alright, let’s get to basketball! Do you watch the New Orleans Pelicans? Talk to me a little bit about when you started working with Jordan Crawford, and his journey from the Grand Rapids to New Orleans, and how you were able to help him in what must have been a whirlwind?
Mia:
“I think it’s actually been a great journey to watch, especially since I am a genuine fan of Jordan and I as well as others, have watched him from China to the D-League and then ultimately to the NBA and the Pelicans.
“It’s definitely a feel good story, because it’s kind of just gives you hope that if you’re patient enough,
and you work hard enough, that you will get to the position that you desire to be in.”
It’s been a pretty crazy journey and story to tell, and I think you mentioned earlier it’s definitely a feel good story, because it’s kind of just gives you hope that if you’re patient enough and you work hard enough, that you will get to the position that you desire to be in, or the position that you believe that you deserve to be in.”
It must be nice representing someone in New Orleans. Tell me, have you had a chance to visit New Orleans and what are some of your favorite things to do and see here?
Mia:
“Yeah, actually I was lucky enough to get to come to New Orleans and I really enjoyed it. The weather was beautiful.
You know, I feel like I’m kind of related to New Orleans, because I’m from Atlanta, so I’m used to the humidity, though I must say the humidity there is about 20 times greater.
But it was definitely a great experience to be able to eat Shrimp Po Boys, Shrimp and Grits, and the really great seafood, so I enjoyed myself fully.”
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Jordan Crawford has had a tumultuous career since entering the NBA. Obviously the work is never finished, but just how fun is it watching a client who has been through so much, succeed and find a home with a team that seemingly wants and expects him to thrive?
Mia:
“Honestly it’s a really great feeling, and I’m so glad I was able to watch it play out and watch him rise to the top.
It’s just been a really great feeling and like you said, this is only the beginning. We thought that we hit the peak, but it can only go up from here, especially since, Jordan has changed and he’s so much more mature now and he has a different vision now, that I think he’s not only going to do really well on the court, but he’s going to be really great in the community and with the youth as well.”
Going back into his formative years in the NBA, the story about Jordan Crawford was that he was a “Me first type scorer, however, with the Pelicans he has fit in so well. You can just see the development not only as a player, but as a person. What kind of hand did you, Darrell Cormer, as well as his family have in the changed young man we see today?
Mia:
“I think it’s a combination of everything. I think Jordan realized it takes patience and with the immaturity, he just grew up, and he changed himself to fit in to this league. Also Darrell has been a big help when it comes to strategy, and putting Jordan in the right place to where he needed to be to make the entrance back into the NBA.”
What’s your day to day relationship like with Jordan? How often do you keep in contact with his agent Darrell Cormer, of ASM sports, and can we expect to see him in any local New Orleans commercials sometime soon?
Mia:
“Jordan and I definitely keep in touch with each other day to day, if it’s not Jordan and me speaking, it’s hopefully Daryl and I doing a recap, or trying to make sure that a lot of our initiatives are being pushed forward.
We haven’t really looked into local commercials just yet, but we are working on a plan with Jordan over the summer that can help him get his hands involved with the community, which I think is a little more important to him personally.
I think his journey back into the NBA will allow him to do to use it to his advantage, and to touch the youth, not only in New Orleans but in his hometown of Detroit.”
You mentioned Jordan Crawford hoping to give back to the community. This is actually something he mentioned earlier. Do you have a plan this offseason for getting involved in New Orleans and possibly in his hometown of Detroit?
Mia:
“I know he mentioned he family being a big part of his journey as well as his career and they actually have a program called the International Food Expo which was started back when Jordan was initially in the league and I think we’re gonna use that platform to kind of push Jordan out into the community and touch the kids in Detroit and in new Orleans through the International Food Expo.”
I just finished speaking with Jordan and apparently during his time in New Orleans he ate almost every meal at Ruth Chris, and in China at TGIFridays. What are you going to do to keep him away from these national chain restaurants!?
Mia:
“Haha! I’m going to try my best not to let him do that anymore, and open his palate to other foods. Especially being in New Orleans since everywhere you go, you can’t go wrong, and just get him away from the chain restaurants.
We actually ate at Fat Dog, which was amazing. It’s just hot dogs, but it was an amazing meal, so that was one of the places we found to be a New Orleans style chain restaurant that everyone can enjoy, and of course there’s always Canes.”