San Antonio, TX, June 6, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- San Antonio Spurs fan Jim Corbin was extremely excited after the Spurs won game 1 of The Finals 2014 last night. Corbin was named "Designated Driver for the Season" for the Spurs and attended Game 1 as a grand prize winner of the "Responsibility Has Its Rewards" sweepstakes.
Gerald Mitkowsky was named "Designated Driver for the Season" for the Miami Heat and will attend Game 3 of The Finals as the other grand prize winner of the sweepstakes. Corbin and Mitkowsky were randomly selected among all of the fans who pledged to be designated drivers at the Spurs and Heat home games. Designated drivers pledge to refrain from drinking alcohol and provide their friends and family with a safe ride home.
Throughout the season, the NBA, Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management (TEAM) Coalition and NBA teams across the country have worked together to make more fans aware of the designated driver programs at NBA arenas, encourage responsible drinking, positive fan behavior and promote traffic safety. The success of those efforts is demonstrated by the fact that nearly 65,000 adults pledged to be designated drivers during the 2013-14 NBA season. In addition to the two grand prize winners, the "Designated Driver for the Season" from the New York Knicks, Brian Fagen, was selected to attend the 2015 NBA All-Star Game in New York, NY, the first prize in the annual sweepstakes.
The top five NBA teams for designated drivers at the end of the 2013-14 season are:
- Dallas Mavericks with 9,892 designated drivers
- Oklahoma City Thunder with 8,200 designated drivers
- Houston Rockets with 7,330 designated drivers
- Sacramento Kings with 7,004 designated drivers
- San Antonio Spurs with 4,262 designated drivers
"The success of the 'Responsibility Has Its Rewards' campaign with the NBA this season is a direct result of the commitment from the league, the teams and all the campaign partners," said Jill Pepper, executive director of TEAM Coalition. "Teamwork is what this campaign is all about. We are demonstrating that when everyone - including the fans - takes responsibility, everyone wins."
About TEAM Coalition
TEAM Coalition is an alliance of professional and collegiate sports, entertainment facilities, concessionaries, stadium service providers, the beer industry, distillers, broadcasters, traffic safety experts and others working together to promote responsible drinking and positive fan behavior at sports and entertainment facilities. TEAM Coalition members and supporters include National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, NASCAR, National Football League, National Hockey League, National Collegiate Athletic Association, ARAMARK, Delaware North Companies Sportservice, Ovations Food Services, Beer Institute, National Beer Wholesalers Association, Anheuser-Busch Companies, MillerCoors, Brown-Forman, Live Nation, National Association of Broadcasters, Contemporary Services Corporation, Elite, International Association of Venue Managers, Stadium Managers Association and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. For more information go to TEAMCoalition.org, ResponsibilityHasItsRewards.org or FansDontLetFansDriveDrunk.org.
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